Preventing the summer slide can be a difficult task. Studies show that students who do not read during the summer can lose up to two months of reading performance before back-to-school in the fall. Summer reading is so important and can easily become part of a family's summer routine with some tips and motivation. Creating a summer reading bag for students to take home at the end of the year will help motivate students and their families to continue reading throughout the summer and help prevent the dreaded summer slide. Be sure to grab the Free Reading Lanyard Printables too!
Students can set their own reading goals for the summer using summer reading posters. Students can create their own goals for summer reading by choosing a goal, creating actionable steps to reach the goal and then deciding how to celebrate once their goal is met. These posters make it easy for students to take their goals home for the summer where they can track their progress. They will love coloring their poster as they work towards their goals!
Summer reading passports are the perfect way to challenge students while also encouraging them to read. Students will love filling their passport with stickers as they complete the reading-focused challenges. Students can read in the car, read to a friend, read with a flashlight, and more. Kids love a good challenge, and using stickers is the icing on the cake!
Let your students create a summer reading bag to take home using a blank bag and Sharpie markers. Students will be so proud of their bags once they're done decorating and personalizing them. This bag will hold everything they need for their summer full of reading! Whether they are home or on the go, they can bring their bag along. These bags encourage reading throughout the summer to prevent the "summer slide".
Once students have decorated their bags, you can begin to fill it with the tools they need for a successful summer of reading. Student passports will challenge them and a summer reading log will encourage students to keep track of reading to remain accountable. You can add in a small notebook and pencils for students to write notes or pictures as they are reading. Fun bookmarks can be added too as a special gift! To help give students a start on their summer reading, you can provide a book for them to add to their bag as well.
When you are ready to send students home with their bags, you may also send home some tips and ideas for parents so that they can better understand the summer slide and why summer reading is so important. You can grab a free flipbook to create for parents here. You can also give students a fun reading lanyard to wear home that says, "Ask me about summer reading." When students come home with their fun lanyard, parents will be sure to look through the materials in their reading bags. Download the Free Reading Lanyards Here.