Are you looking for fun ways to practice reading and writing skills over the summer? Although reading books is always great, here are some more active ways to engage your students in literacy over the summer.
Back to Basics
Practicing the foundational skills of reading and writing can make all of the difference! There are a lot of fun options to practice the phonograms and their sounds. Here are just a few:
Sidewalk Chalk Phonogram Fun
Play hopscotch, make a maze or just have fun writing and reading phonograms with sidewalk chalk! Create a hopscotch game for your student by filling in each square with a phonogram that they have to read off as they jump on it, or create a maze where students have to read the phonogram sounds in order to move forward and make their way to the other side. Practice handwriting by calling out sounds and having your student write them in sidewalk chalk. For a twist, have your student write the phonograms with sidewalk chalk on a fence.
Add in the Water Fun
Have your student read the sounds of each phonogram that has been written with sidewalk chalk and then spray the chalk clean with a spray bottle, squirtgun, water hose or have them try to hit the phonograms with water balloons!
Words, Phrases, and Sentences
Help students to build fluency with words, phrases and sentences in order to improve decoding and comprehension skills. You can help students develop confidence by having them decode words in isolation first and then by presenting phrases and sentences to decode.
Outside Fun
Help your student discover the wonder of reading by creating a scavenger hunt or obstacle course or just have fun with a high-frequency word race! Engage a student’s imagination by creating a treasure or scavenger hunt with clues the student needs to read in order to go from place to place and discover the end goal. Students love a good challenge, so create an obstacle course where the student needs to read words, phrases or sentences at each obstacle, or have them read the directions for each stage of the course. Embrace your student’s energy by giving them a fun run with words! Make a pile of words and designate a place to run the words after they read it. For a twist, invite a friend or sibling to join in and make it a relay race!
Inside Summer Projects
On days when you might want to stay inside, use student creativity to make a word quilt, create your own board game or write your own story! Students can practice spelling by writing words on pieces of paper and decorating them to show the meaning. For more advanced students, have them make a dictionary entry or put the word in a sentence on the square as well! You could also create your own board game or add word cards to read before playing a family favorite, or let your student’s imagination run away with them by having them write and illustrate their own story! For a twist, let them act it out as a movie when it is finished!
What about books?
Reading books is always a great way for students to engage in literacy over the summer. Take a fun trip to the library, find a sunny spot to read together or let your student choose a book to read to you. For a twist, cover the pictures in a book and have the student draw illustrations for the pages to work on reading comprehension! Another fun activity is to allow students to write an alternative ending to one of their favorite books. This is a great way to practice comprehension skills and writing skills!
Reading practice can happen through many different fun and engaging activities throughout the summer. Mix it up! The most important thing is that students are practicing literacy skills and having fun in the process! Enjoy your summer!
Resources
- Get printable high-frequency word lists on our website!
- For more great literacy game ideas, check out our Game Book!