Our Mission
Did your student receive an invitation to Summer Reading Camp? These Camps are a great opportunity for students to enjoy learning to read in a relaxing and exciting way. Schools will provide 60 hours of reading and literacy instruction to students in kindergarten through third grade. Check with your local school to find out more information about summer learning opportunities.
Summer Literacy Fun
The Alabama Reading Initiative is excited to share literacy activities with families. Take a look at these exciting literacy activities to keep your students engaged during the summer and develop their skills in phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.
Snail Talk
Snails are slow creatures, so tell your student that you are going to say words like a snail, which is called "snail talk". When you use snail talk, your student will need to figure out what you are saying. For example, take a simple word like "hat" and stretch it out very slowly (e.g./ hhhhhhaaaaaattttttt/) , then ask your student to tell you the word. You can do several words for your student and then switch roles and have your student stretch out a word for you. This is an excellent activity to do while eating meals, riding in the car, etc.
Letter Sound Freeze Dance
Looking for a fun way to keep your student engaged in learning that prevents the summer slide? Try the letter sound freeze dance. Movement always makes learning more fun. You can incorporate learning letters and sounds with music and/or dance. Write letters on the pavement (sidewalk or driveway). Play your student's favorite music. While the music is playing, everyone dances around. When the music stops, yell out a sound and have your student race to find the corresponding letter. You also can yell out a letter and let your student race to it and say the corresponding sound.
Word Reading Bingo
Everyone loves a good game of BINGO. You can use this childhood favorite to promote word reading with your student. Fill in a blank Bingo board with words your student should be able to read. If you have trouble thinking of words, you can generate a word list containing specific spelling patterns using this website (PHINDER). When you call out a word, have your student search for the word and cover it with a bingo chip. Once they get a vertical, diagonal, or horizontal row of words, they yell Bingo and are declared the winner. Have them read each word in their row as they uncover it.
Beach Ball Blends
Materials
- Colorful beach balls
- Marker
Activity
- Write different consonant blends on each colored panel of a beach ball (e.g., bl, cl, fl).
- Students toss the ball to each other, and when they catch it, they read the blend closest to their right thumb.
- They must then say a word that starts with that blend.
Materials
- Water balloons
- Permanent marker
- 3 or more people
Activity
- Write phonics sounds, single syllable words, or multisyllabic words on water balloons.
- Toss the balloons gently among the students in a circle.
- When a student catches a balloon, they must say the sound or read the word before tossing it to the next person.
- If a balloon bursts, the group says the sound or word together.
Say It, Draw It, Write It
Using the Summer Word list provided, you and your student select a word to learn. (This can be once or twice a week throughout the summer.) Once you have chosen a word, give your student an index card (plain white paper will work if you do not have index cards). Have them draw a diagonal line across an index card. On the top half, have them write the vocabulary word and definition. On the bottom half, have them draw a picture of the word and write it in a sentence. (See picture for example.) Throughout the summer, see how many times you and your student can use the word correctly. The person with the most usage, gets to choose a special treat!
Materials Needed:
Index cards (or paper)
Summer Word List (pdf)
Pencil
Crayons/markers
Bonus: See if your student can come up with an antonym or synonym for the word.
Extra activity: Help your student choose words that can make a story and then join the cards together for a comic strip.
Vocabulary Summer Fun Activities
Summer is long, and learners need to practice their vocabulary or they lose much of the knowledge they’ve gained during the school year. A great way to encourage your students to retain their vocabulary knowledge is through playing games.
Using the summer word list provided, create cards with the vocabulary word at the top, and, underneath, list words they cannot say while guessing. Team members have to guess the vocabulary word while one team member tries to describe the word, without using any of the words that are listed on the card. When all of the cards have been used the game ends. Whichever team has the most cards, wins the game.
Roll & Chat
The purpose of reading is to understand what you have read. This fun Roll & Chat activity can be used with any book your student reads this summer. After reading selected book, roll the dice, and ask your student the question beside the rolled number. Have fun and chat away!
Materials:
Fun Book
Dice
Sticky-Notes Patrol
Use this Sticky Notes Patrol Worksheet to help keep track of important parts of a story. This would be a great activity for a chapter book or graphic novel, which would require you to print multiple copies of the handout.
Alternatives:
- If you do not have access to a printer, write information on a sticky note and stick it on a sheet of paper.
- If you do not have sticky notes, you can write information on index cards, notebook paper, or blank paper.
Retelling a Story
Read a book with your students and ask them to retell the story to you in their own words. You can select a book from home, visit your local library to find a book, or listen to the read aloud below, Pete at the Beach. Encourage your student to include three to five events from the story during the retelling. You can locate the closest library to you by searching here: Alabama Public Library Service (state.al.us).
An example retelling of Pete at the Beach:
Pete goes to the beach with his mom. He builds a sandcastle and takes a walk on the beach with his mom. Together, they enjoy a sandwich and lemonade at the beach. Bob teaches Pete how to surf at the beach. Pete is scared at first, but he ends up having fun while surfing.
Summer Writing Challenge
Can you complete a writing activity for an entire month during the summer? Download this writing activity calendar and see how many you can finish before school starts!
Prewriting Activites
Pre-writing skills are the fundamental skills students need to develop before they are able to write. They are essential for the student to be able to develop the ability to hold and move a pencil fluently and effectively so that legible writing can be produced. Below are a few fun, low-cost activities that will strengthen pre-writing skills!
- Dance Ribbons and Scarves: Have your student hold a length of ribbon or a scarf in their hand and use it to draw letters or numbers in the air. Use LARGE movements and focus on different writing strokes (up, down, diagonal, clockwise circles, etc.). You can also add positional terms (top, bottom, left, right) as you encourage your student to move their entire arm in different ways.
- Toy Car Paths: Using a toy car, encourage your student to move it on the floor in a circle or a variety of other shapes, as well as on a diagonal line or on a curved path.
- Sticks or Rocks: Incorporate nature and the outdoors into learning! Go outside for a walk and gather sticks and / or rocks. Build shapes and letters with them.
Summer Writing
Example: I would really like to eat three flavors of ice cream this summer.
First, I'd like to eat peanut butter and chocolate ice cream. The saltiness of peanut butter mixed with the sweet, velvet flavor of chocolate would taste like a rich summer dream on a hot day.
