Summer is great for all things fun! From swimming to baseball games, it can be an active time of year. A great way to keep your students’ minds activated this summer is by doing a bit of summer reading. While some of you might not think you have, the use of read-alouds is a great way to read on your way to practice, games, or vacation.
Why Try Summer Reading?
Reading is a fundamental skill for students. Studies show that students who don’t read or get read to over the summer can lose up to two months of instruction. What does that mean? When your student starts school again in the fall, the teacher is going to have to go back and rebuild skills that were lost. This takes time away from pushing students forward.
How to Incorporate Summer Reading?
While it can be difficult to make the time to read with all the activities you might have going on this summer, there is a way! An easy way to get in your summer reading is to bring it in the car with you by using videos that read the story to your child. While there’s no app to replace your lap, this is a great way to incorporate some reading.
What does this look like? Check out any of the four books below on Amazon, save the YouTube link and go! When you are on your next road trip, pack a couple of books and let your student follow along. If there is more than one person in the car who can read, have someone read the story out loud. If your student already knows how to read, have him/her listen to the story first, then ask them to read it to you. These are all great ways to incorporate summer reading.
What Should I Read?
If you’re anything like me, finding a good book to be read can be a challenge. It usually takes me so much time to find what I want. So, here are four great books you can get from Amazon and the best part is the read-aloud is available for each book on YouTube.
And Then Comes Summer
And Then Comes Summer is a fun read-aloud for all students Pre-K to second grade. Your student will love reading about all the fun things you can do when the days get longer. It even includes some of those exclusive summer items like flip-flops and swimsuits! Because this book is longer, 32 pages, you can stretch this book out a bit. You can find the read-aloud here!
Jabari Jumps
This book follows Jabari as he confronts a fear many students have: jumping into the pool. Even though he feels ready to jump on it, there are still quite a few nerves there. Your student will love the main character’s personality in Jabari Jumps and it will be fun to listen to on YouTube!
The Watermelon Seed
Watermelon is a staple food in my house especially in the summer. This hilarious book, The Watermelon Seed, follows a crazy alligator as he faces his one fear: swallowing a watermelon seed. Your student will love to laugh along with this book as they watch and listen to it here!
The Relatives Came
One of the best things about summer is the time we get to spend with family. During this time of year, with weddings and everything else, we tend to see more family than usual. Especially the crazy ones! This story talks about the crazy fun family who comes to visit. While there is a lot of fun, there is a heartfelt goodbye that’s a little sad. However, there’s always next summer. Your student will love reading The Relatives Came and listening to it here!
Reading is such an important skill. Finding ways to read this summer with read-alouds or by using my Picture Book Pal activities will be vital to your students’ success next school year. So, make sure you take the time to read with your student even if it’s just in the car on the way to the next summer activity.
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