One of the great International Reading Association traditions is International Literacy Day.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established Sept. 8 as International Literacy Day in 1965 to focus attention on literacy around the world. IRA celebrates each year by highlighting the event and most recently supplied online printable resources for literacy educators everywhere. This year’s program, “Lift Off to Literacy,” partners IRA with NASA for some out-of-this-world activities, including “Story Time from Space.” The activities focus on devoting an extra 60 days on literacy in the classroom every day for 60 school days.

Here are just a handful of ILD activities happening this year:

• In Edinburgh, Scotland, McDonald Road Library is hosting author of The Panopticon and poet Jenni Fagan to talk about her work, past and future. A successful local writer, she is one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists.
• Bangladesh Reading Association will close the 2014 Asia Literacy Conference today. The theme this year was “Emerging Issues for Teachers Professional Development,” to create opportunity to explore situations, approaches, issues and questions relating to PD.
• In Wisconsin, more than 70 agencies and sponsors, including West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency, Inc., (West CAP) Literacy Program, and Wisconsin Literacy, will kick off the 11th Annual 1200 Tutors in 12 Weeks campaign. Volunteer tutors work with adults on basic reading and writing, math skills, computer skills and job readiness for career training programs, GED programs, or simply to get a better job. West CAP also works with immigrants and refugees to learn and improve their English.
• The Missouri Press Association is using “Lift Off to Literacy” and, in addition to the 60 seconds a day for 60 days activities, it created a feature that utilizes the newspaper to improve literacy skills for kids. To access the materials, please visit www.mo-nie.com. The download code for this feature is “literacyday.”
• The Puerto Rican Reading Association will hold its ninth Literacy Marathon.
• In Haiti, one IRA member has translated IRA ILD activities into Haitian Creole for students.
• One Arkansas teacher is using “Lift Off to Literacy” to add an extra 60 seconds of literacy for 60 days by reading short pieces of scientific research conducted in space or scientific improvements as a result of space exploration. The class will write a tweet about what they’ve learned, confined to Twitter’s 140 character limit, in order to distill the most important themes and information.
• Christina Dellibovi, who is on the Brain Injury Team at PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., will celebrate Sept. 17 with a host of activities for the hospital’s 60 patients and their families. Food inspired by books, including Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, will be served and kids will be encouraged to write on the tablecloths. Other activities will include creating poetry collages from magazines, creating word families on pipe cleaners, and making bookmarks. Writing prompts will line the windows with window markers at hand to inspire stories.

“For this event, I really wanted to help make literature more accessible to children who are hospitalized for a prolonged amount of time for a variety of reasons,” Dellibovi said about her event. “Indeed, patients here this month are essentially missing the beginning of the school year, so inserting a literacy event can help normalize the environment while providing a unique dose of fun.”

April Hall is the editor of Reading Today Online. She can be reached at ahall@/.