Celebrate the first day of summer with summer reading.
Event Description
Summer reading is an important component of an overall reading program. Research shows that summer vacation often has a significant negative effect on student learning. Providing opportunities for students to read regularly during the summer can prevent documented reading achievement losses. The bottom line is that students who read during the summer do better in the fall.
Classroom Activity
A June literacy fair for students and their families is the perfect way to end the school year and get students off on the right track for the summer. In addition to standard carnival fare (face painting, games of chance, etc.), offer a variety of fun literacy-based activities.
- The cost of entrance? Ask students to bring a lightly used book as an entrance pass, to be collected on a table or display. As students leave, each person can select a book to keep from the donations.
- Hold a literary trivia contest, with new, donated books for prizes.
- Invite an author to your school for a book reading/signing event.
- Don't forget to invite families to your event and to include informational material.
Websites
This collection of NCTE blog posts is the perfect place to begin looking for summer reading resources. They are full of text suggestions!
Reading Rockets provides ideas to keep kids reading during vacation. There are activities and tips on encouraging children to love reading.
Whether for summer reading or during the school year, these selections will reinvigorate the curriculum and inspire students to forge rich connections to literature and media.