6 Activities to celebrate Roald Dahl Day with your students

Every 13 September, many schools celebrate Roald Dahl Day, marking the birthday of one of the most well-known children’s authors of all time. From the fantastical world of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory to the quiet brilliance of Matilda Wormwood, Dahl’s stories have sparked imagination in young readers for decades.

But Dahl wasn’t just a storyteller. He was a spy, an ace fighter pilot, a medical inventor, and a historian. His life was every bit as extraordinary as his fiction, and that richness gives you plenty of material to work with in the classroom. Whether you’re teaching English, exploring creative writing, or looking for cross-curricular connections, Roald Dahl’s work offers something for every year level.

So how do you move beyond simply reading a Dahl book aloud and turn his world into something your students actively engage with? The six activities below are designed to help you do exactly that, with practical steps and ClickView video resources to bring each one to life.

A note on Dahl’s legacy

Dahl’s stories have shaped childhoods for decades, but his legacy is complicated. During his lifetime, he made publicly antisemitic statements that his own estate later apologised for. His work has also drawn criticism for racist, sexist, and xenophobic content, including the original portrayal of the Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and stereotyped characters across several of his books.

In early 2023, this history came into sharp focus when Puffin Books announced edits to over 150 passages across its catalogue, updating language around body size, gender, and race. The decision divided opinion: many welcomed the changes as long overdue, while others argued that altering an author’s original text crosses a line, however well-intentioned. Puffin ultimately chose to publish both the edited and original editions side by side.

For teachers, this need not be a reason to step away from Dahl’s work. If anything, it’s an opportunity to go deeper, particularly into notions of context. Helping students notice, question, and discuss harmful representations in texts, even beloved texts, builds the kind of critical literacy skills that sit at the heart of quality English education. The activities in this guide celebrate what makes Dahl’s storytelling so compelling, while leaving room for honest, age-appropriate conversations about the author behind the stories.

Getting to know Roald Dahl

Before diving into creative activities, it helps to build a foundation. When students understand who Dahl was and what shaped his writing, they engage more deeply with the texts themselves.

1) Discover the man behind the stories

Most students know the characters, but how much do they know about the author? He grew up in Wales, attended boarding school, served as a fighter pilot in World War II, and even worked as a British spy before becoming a full-time writer. And here’s a detail your students might love: when he was at boarding school, a local chocolate factory invited students to trial new chocolate bars. Thirty-five years later, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published.

Start by screening the Great Authors: Roald Dahl video (18 minutes, Years F to 6) as a whole-class introduction. This gives students a broad overview of his life and works in a format that’s accessible for primary students.

For Years 3 to 6, follow up with The Genius of Roald Dahl (47 minutes), which features comedian David Walliams exploring Dahl’s world and meeting those who knew him best. This longer documentary works well split across two sessions or used as a guided viewing activity where students answer questions as they watch.

Try this in your classroom:

• Before the video, ask students to write down three things they already know (or think they know) about Roald Dahl
• After viewing, have them revisit their list and add three new facts they learned
• Discuss as a class: what surprised you most about Dahl’s life? Which experience do you think influenced his writing the most?

Secondary school extension: Older students can research Dahl’s wartime experiences and analyse how real events influenced his fiction. This works well as a short research task tied to English or History.

2) Host a Dahl film screening and discussion

Film adaptations of Dahl’s books are a brilliant way to hook students into deeper literary analysis, and ClickView has a strong collection to choose from. A film screening doesn’t have to be passive viewing; with the right framing, it becomes a rich learning experience.

Choose from these ClickView titles based on your year level:

• Matilda (1 hour 34 minutes, Years F to 6)
• The BFG (1 hour 53 minutes, Years F to 6)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (1 hour 23 minutes, Years 3 to 6)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1 hour 45 minutes, Years 5 to 6)
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1 hour 36 minutes, Years 3 to 6)
• Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot (1 hour 28 minutes, Years 5 to 6)

Try this in your classroom:

• Give students a viewing guide with focus questions to fill in as they watch, for example: “How does the director show the audience that this character is a villain?” or “What mood does the music create in this scene?”
• After the screening, run a “two stars and a wish” discussion where students share two things the film did well and one thing they would change
• For younger year levels, pause the film at key moments and ask students to predict what happens next

Secondary school extension: Compare the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to explore how different directors interpret the same source material. This ties neatly into media studies or film analysis units.

Creative writing inspired by Roald Dahl

Dahl’s writing style is distinctive, playful, and full of invented language. That makes it an ideal springboard for creative writing across multiple year levels.

3) Write your own revolting rhymes

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes retell classic fairy tales with darkly comic twists, and they’re perfect for teaching poetry with a sense of fun. Have you ever seen a class of Year 4 students giggling their way through a poetry lesson? This is how you make it happen.

Start by watching Revolting Rhymes: Part 1 (29 minutes, Years 4 to 6) as a class. The animated adaptation brings Dahl’s poems to life and gives students a clear sense of the rhyme scheme, rhythm, and comedic tone. Follow up with Revolting Rhymes: Part 2 for more examples.

Try this in your classroom:

• After viewing, choose one fairy tale as a class (for example, The Three Little Pigs or Goldilocks) and brainstorm a “revolting” twist together
• Model the writing process by co-writing the first few lines on the board, focusing on rhyming couplets
• Students then choose their own fairy tale and write a revolting retelling of four to eight lines
• Share finished poems in a class “revolting reading” session where students perform their rhymes aloud

For younger year levels (Years F to 2): Simplify this by focusing on rhyming words rather than full poems. Read a short Dahl rhyme aloud and ask students to identify the rhyming pairs, then create their own silly rhyming couplets.

4) Dive into magical realism

Roald Dahl is a master of magical realism, blending the everyday world with sprinkles of the fantastical. Think about it: Matilda lives in a perfectly ordinary house with perfectly dreadful parents, but she also has telekinetic powers. That combination of the real and the magical is what makes Dahl’s writing so compelling.

Introduce the genre with the Magical Realism video from the Literary Genres series (three minutes, Years 3 to 6). It’s short, clear, and gives students the vocabulary they need to discuss this style of writing.

Try this in your classroom:

• After watching the video, create a class anchor chart with two columns: “Real world” and “Magical elements.” Together, sort examples from a Dahl book students have read
• Ask students to write a short paragraph (five to eight sentences) set in their own school or home, but with one magical element woven in
• Younger students can draw a picture of a “normal” scene with one magical addition and explain it to a partner

Secondary school extension: Older students can compare Dahl’s approach to magical realism with other authors in the genre. This connects to broader English units on narrative techniques and genre study.

Character and storytelling activities

Dahl’s characters are larger than life. From the terrifying Miss Trunchbull to the gentle BFG, they give students rich material for exploring characterisation, motivation, and storytelling.

5) Design a Dahl-inspired character

What makes a Roald Dahl character so memorable? Often it’s the contrast: sweet grandmothers with secret rebellious streaks, or villains who are ridiculous rather than simply scary. This activity gets students thinking about what makes characters tick.

Direct students to ClickView’s Characterisation topic page for video resources that break down how authors build characters through appearance, dialogue, actions, and thoughts.

Try this in your classroom:

• As a class, brainstorm the features of well-known Dahl characters: what do they look like, how do they speak, what do they want, and what makes them funny or frightening?
• Give students a character creation template with sections for name, appearance, personality, a secret, and a special ability or quirk
• Challenge them to create an original character who could fit into a Roald Dahl story
• Students can share their characters in small groups and vote on which one Dahl himself would have loved

For younger year levels: Provide a simpler template with space to draw the character and write three describing words. Students can present their character to the class in a short “show and tell” format.

6) Compare a book with its film adaptation

This activity builds critical thinking and analytical skills while tapping into students’ natural enthusiasm for both reading and watching stories. It works particularly well around Roald Dahl Day when you’ve already screened a film (Activity 2) and read the book as a class.

Try this in your classroom:

• Choose a title where you have both the book and the ClickView film available, for example Matilda or The BFG
• Create a comparison chart with columns for “In the book,” “In the film,” and “My opinion on which is better and why”
• Focus on specific elements: how is the main character introduced? How is the villain portrayed? Does the ending differ?
• Students write a short response (a paragraph for younger students, or a full comparative piece for Years 5 to 6) arguing whether the book or film version tells the story more effectively

Secondary school extension: Older students can analyse how filmmakers use visual techniques (camera angles, lighting, music) to convey what Dahl achieved through language alone. Pair this with viewing both versions of the chocolate factory films to explore how audience and era shape adaptation choices.

Tips for ongoing integration

Roald Dahl Day on 13 September is a great starting point, but these activities don’t need to stay confined to a single day. Here are some ways to weave Dahl’s work into your teaching throughout the year:

• Build a Dahl reading corner. Stock it with his books and rotate the featured title each term. Pair each book with the corresponding ClickView film for students to explore during independent reading time.
• Create a “Dahl word wall.” Dahl invented words like “scrumdiddlyumptious” and “whizzpopping.” Encourage students to collect their favourite Dahl words and add their own invented words to the wall.
• Use Dahl for author study units. The combination of biographical videos, film adaptations, and rich literary texts on the Roald Dahl Day topic page makes him an ideal subject for an extended author study in any term.
• Connect across subjects. Dahl’s stories touch on themes of fairness, kindness, resilience, and standing up to bullies. These connect naturally to PDHPE and wellbeing discussions at any time of year.

Whether you’re celebrating Roald Dahl Day or simply looking for ways to spark your students’ love of reading and writing, his stories remain as engaging and teachable as ever. Explore the full collection of resources on ClickView’s Roald Dahl Day topic page to find videos, discussion starters, and more for your classroom.

References

1. Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. (n.d.). Roald Dahl’s Timeline. Available at: https://www.roalddahl.com/roald-dahl/timeline (Accessed: 13 May 2026).
2. The Roald Dahl Story Company. (n.d.). Roald Dahl Day. Available at: https://www.roalddahl.com/roald-dahl-day (Accessed: 13 May 2026).