Need some new library ideas for November? I’ve rounded up my favorite activities, book display ideas, and ready-to-use lessons for Veterans Day, Election Day, Thanksgiving, and Native American Heritage Month. Whether you have a few minutes before checkout or a full class period, you’ll find ideas that fit your schedule.
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Thankful for Books Display
One of my favorite ways to make a book display last all month is to let students help fill it! Start with a few books and a sign that says “Books We’re Thankful For.” During checkout, invite students to add a favorite book and leave a sticky note telling the next reader why they liked it. As books get checked out, there’s room for new recommendations.
November Wonder of the Week
If you have a screen in your library, try putting up a “November Wonder of the Week.” Start with a question like, “Why do some leaves change color in the fall?” Ask students to make a prediction, then show them how to find the answer in a library book or database. You can do the whole thing in five minutes before checkout.
Ready-to-Go Resources
If you’d like materials ready to go, the November Library Display Posters will help you get a display up quickly, and the November Digital Bulletin Board gives students something to read while they wait to check out.
If you’re planning several elementary library lessons this month, the November Elementary Library Bundle includes storytimes and activities you can spread across your November visits.
Books by Native Authors Display
Pull a few books by Native authors for a checkout display. Mix stories set in the present day with biographies and historical titles. When an author identifies their tribal nation in their bio, add it to a small sign beside the book.
Explore a Tribal Nation’s Website
For a quick research mini-lesson, choose one nation represented in your display and show students its official website. Ask them to find one thing the nation shares about its history and one thing it shares about its community today, then share in groups.
Ready-to-Go Lesson for To Walk the Sky
If you have time for a full library lesson, try reading To Walk the Sky by Patricia Morris Buckley aloud. My To Walk the Sky Picture Book Lesson is designed for Grades 3–5 and includes slides and an activity to go with the book.
Dinovember celebrates both dinosaurs and nonfiction! Get it? Di-KNOW-vember?
Make a Dino-Display
Display nonfiction books about dinosaurs. Add some cards with a picture of a dinosaur on one side and a fun fact on the other side.
Student-Created Trading Cards
Give students an index card. On one side, they draw or paste a picture of a topic that interests them. This could be sports, hobbies, places, foods, animals, whatever the student is interested in. Then students find 1-2 fun facts and write them on the back of the index card, using the dinosaur cards as examples. Display the cards on a wall or bulletin board where students can easily flip the cards over to see the facts.
For an extra challenge, have students write the source where they got their facts at the bottom.
Ready-to-Go Dinosaur and Nonfiction Resources
My Dinosaurs Library Lesson (Grades 1–4) includes a short presentation and an activity for a Dinovember library visit. For younger students who are learning to tell stories and informational books apart, try Library Storytime – Fiction and Nonfiction (Grades K–2). For older students, run the Nonfiction Digital Bulletin Board (Grades 7–12) on your library screen to highlight nonfiction text features while they browse.
Vote for the Next Read-Aloud
Give students a sneak peek at two books, then have them vote with colored pompoms in a cup, with each book as a different colored pompom. Count the pompoms together and read the winner on your next library visit. With younger students, this is an easy way to introduce words like vote and tally.
Following Ballot Directions
Following directions when voting is so important! To underscore this, pretend students are voting for a new library mascot. Create three sample ballots, all with the directions “Vote for one.” Mark one choice on the first ballot, two choices on the second, and leave the third blank. Show students the instruction “Vote for one,” then ask them which ballots they can add to the tally for that contest. Finish by asking students what they think happens when voters do not follow the directions on the ballot. Do their votes get counted?
Ready-to-Go Election Day Resources
For Grades K–3, my Election Day Storytime pairs a read-aloud with simple voting activities. If you’d like something students can browse during checkout, my Election Day Digital Bulletin Boards come in two versions, one for Grades 3–6 and one for Grades 7–12.
Veterans Day is November 11th! My dad is a Vietnam veteran, and being asked to talk about his military service in front of a class would have made him very uncomfortable. Even a well-meaning question can put a veteran on the spot or bring up memories they’d rather keep private. That’s why I use picture books to help students talk about military service and how we can honor veterans.
Here are three of my favorite Veterans Day read-alouds.
The Wall by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Ronald Himler
Recommended read-aloud: Grades 1–4. A boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to find his grandfather’s name. It’s a quiet story about how a family remembers someone the boy never had the chance to know.
The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans by Barbara Elizabeth Walsh, illustrated by Layne Johnson
Recommended read-aloud: Grades 2–5. During World War I, teacher Moina Belle Michael finds a way to honor those who served. This picture-book biography tells how her efforts helped make the red poppy a symbol of remembrance.
Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld, illustrated by Matt Tavares
Recommended read-aloud: Grades 3–6. This nonfiction picture book tells how the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier came to be and follows the sentinels who keep watch at Arlington National Cemetery. Students learn what the guards’ carefully measured steps mean and whom they honor.
Ready-to-Go Veterans Day Resources
My Veterans Day Library Lesson (Grades K–5) and Veterans Day Digital Bulletin Board (Grades 7–12) introduce when and why we observe Veterans Day and teach students about the different branches of the U.S. military. Both include trivia, would-you-rather questions, and vocabulary related to U.S. veterans. Use the elementary lesson during a class visit or let older students browse the digital bulletin board during checkout.
Display Your Cookbooks
Put Your Cookbooks on Display
Thanksgiving is a great excuse to pull those cookbooks off the shelves! Set out a mix of kids’ cookbooks, baking books, easy meals, and cookbooks featuring foods from around the world. Ask students, “Is there something you like to cook or help make?”
Beside the display, put up a What’s Your Favorite Thanksgiving Food? voting chart. Start with a few choices like mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, rolls, and pie, and leave room for write-ins. Give each student one sticker to place next to their favorite, so everyone gets one vote. If they’re curious about how to make their favorite dish, point them to the cookbooks and see if they can find a recipe!
Passive Library Display – Vote for Pie
Prop one or two books in your display open to a pie recipe. Beside the display, set out three clear glass jars labeled Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, and Pecan Pie. Add a sign that says Which Pie Would You Pick?
At the circulation desk, give each student one button, pom-pom, or bingo chip to drop into the jar for their favorite pie. Students can vote during checkout or whenever they stop by, and the clear jars let them see which pie is in the lead.
Bake You a Pie
Speaking of pie, my favorite, favorite read-aloud for Thanksgiving week is Bake You a Pie by Ellen Olson-Brown and Brian Claflin. Each two-page spread features the same song, but the words are slightly changed to represent a different kind of pie. The audio CD pairs each song with a different music genre, so this is also a great way to review book genres. The book is currently out-of-print, but you may have it in your library or be able to find it. As of this writing, I found it on Amazon here.
Ready-to-Go Thanksgiving Resources
My Thanksgiving Library Lesson (Grades K–5) explores Thanksgiving traditions in the U.S. and around the world. The Thanksgiving Haiku Writing Templates (Grades 3–6) give students a place to draft and illustrate their poems, and the Thanksgiving Activities Booklet (Grades 2–5) is handy for early finishers or students waiting to check out.
If you have a group, try the Thanksgiving Trivia Game (Grades 4–7). If older students mostly drop in, run the Thanksgiving Digital Bulletin Board (Grades 7–12) on your library screen so they can read a slide or two while they browse.
