Grand Prairie Public Library Summer Reading Challenge!

Grand Prairie Public Library's Summer Reading Challenge kicks off this Saturday, June 7th. One of the librarians visited our school a few weeks ago to share information and to encourage the students to keep reading over the summer. The library has many fun events planned throughout the summer. You can check out the details on their website.

We Give Books: Read For My Summer

We Give Books, a resource we use in class all the time, has a free reading program this summer. According to their site, they will highlight one book per week, based on your child's age group, for you and your child to read from their online book selection. They have partnered with ReadWriteThink to also provide interactive lessons to go along with the books. We Give Books is free to join. I love We Give Books because for every book that is read on their site, they give a real book to a charity that focuses on bringing literacy to those who would not have it otherwise.


 

Keep Kids Reading This Summer!

As summer approaches, so does the dreaded "summer slide!" Here is a great article from Reading is Fundamental about the "summer slide" and ways to avoid it. They also have an article about what families can do to keep their kids reading during the summer.

This Summer

Last week the students drew a detailed picture of at least one thing they did this summer. They then wrote a personal narrative about their summer.

Personal Narratives: Summer Vacation

During the first few weeks of school, the students wrote personal narratives about events from their summer vacation. They worked on drawing detailed pictures and then using those details in their writing.

Summer Bucket List

The students created a summer bucket list of things they would like to do this summer. I found this idea on Pinterest. I believe the original idea came from TeachWithMe. After creating the buckets and writing their lists, the students visited the computer lab to write a friendly letter to their parents using the Letter Generator from ReadWriteThink to tell them about one thing they would like to do this summer.

Time For Kids

As you've seen with the issues that come home, our grade level subscribes to Time Magazine for Kids. The kids love the magazine not only because it is on their independent reading level but also because the articles are easy for them to relate to. A very important aspect of learning to be a good reader is being able to make connections to texts. To enjoy some of the features of the magazine at home this summer, check out The Time Magazine for Kids webpage created specifically for kids. The site is updated frequently with current events put into terms that your child can understand.