This summer reading challenge is perfect for kids on summer break. Make reading fun by providing kids with a list of ways to read instead of a list of books to read.
The summer slide is very real. Research shoes that kids who don’t read during the summer actually enter the next school year reading on a lower level than they ended the previous year.
I don’t know about you, but that makes my teacher heart hurt! I don’t ever want to think about my students moving backwards.
That is why sending students who have just started reading into summer without resources to continue reading is a big mistake!
Rather than sending a list of books or a super giant reading log home, I have found great success with posing a reading challenge to my students instead.
A Summer Reading Challenge to Avoid the Summer Slide
I gave this reading challenge to my students last year during one of our “off track” months. (I taught at a year-round school). The students LOVED the challenge, and so did their parents!
I even heard that it was great not to just get a “list of books to read.” Many parents told me that it made their students realize that “reading is everywhere.” SCORE!!!
This simple printable challenges students to read different types of texts in different (and fun) WAYS!
I got such great feedback from families and students, that I also wanted to share it with all of you!
HOW THE SUMMER READING CHALLENGE WORKS
Reading is everywhere! I don’t want my students thinking that the only time to read is during Daily 5, homework, or time in the library.
The goal of this challenge is to help students connect with reading outside of school. So I split the page into two columns.
Column One
The first column tells students what to read. So these are things that are probably already at home. You could even find and print some of the items from the Internet (recipe, comic strip, a menu etc.).
Column Two
The second column shows kids all the fun ways the kids can read. “Read to pet” is a fan favorite. No surprise there. š Reading in different places, to different people and also in different ways changes what could be considered a “chore” to a fun activity!
When I hand this challenge out, I encourage my students to use this as a “jumping off point” for their summer reading. This is a starter list with lots of ideas. Once they have done them all, they can start their own list of fun things to read and things to read to!
Click HERE to instantly download this free summer reading challenge!If you want to recommend some books to check out from the library, check out this giant list of my favorite books to read aloud!
Enjoy your summer!
