May 2024

Dive Into Summer Reading and Learning!

In this issue: Summer Learning / Children’s Books & Authors  / Learning at Home / In the Classroom  /  Literacy Events

Summer Learning: A Season for Reading and Hands-On Exploration

As we transition into summer, we’re thinking about how to use unstructured time to help children fill their “knowledge bank” about the world. Follow children’s interests – some will dive deeply into science while others may be more interested in the creative arts or history or cultures of the world. Here are some resources to explore!

To Learn About the World … Start with a Book!

On our companion summer learning site, kids choose topics they want to explore (dinosaurs, detectives, bugs, flight, folktales, stars, music …), find great kids’ books for each topic, and then dive into some of the hands-on activities, writing ideas, educational apps, podcasts, and websites for inquisitive kids.
 

Bug Out! 

Have you heard the buzz about this year’s rare “double-brood” cicada event? Check out this article from Chicago’s Field Museum: What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Cicada Double Emergence.

That makes this summer a great time to explore bugs with kids! Investigate all things insect with Bug Buddies, our free resource for families and summer youth programs with recommended books, videos, apps, and hands-on activities to guide kids’ exploration of insects and their role in our ecosystems and lives.

Explore Birds, Space, Rivers, Weather, and Music 

Start with a Book offers a wide range of other STEAM toolkits to jumpstart out-of-school-time learning. Try flying imaginations high with Bird Buddies, launching into the moon, Mars, stars, and space exploration with Space Rangers, plunging into local waterways with River Rangers, or taking the weather by storm with Weather Wonders.

For music loving kids, step up to the mic with Tune In, and explore songwriting, musical genres, and the many ways that music is woven into our lives.

Use Summer Fun to Build Background Knowledge 

When kids have lots of experiences to draw on, they have a better chance of making a connection with what they read! Help your child build background knowledge this summer with these activities. (Tips available in English and Spanish)

Summer Learning, Side-by-Side 

Children are full of questions about the world around them, and summer is a perfect time to tap into your child’s interests. Here are some ways to start a journey of discovery together. (Tips available in English and Spanish)

Summer Learning Tips to Go!

For bite-sized activity ideas, try our Reading Tips to Go text message service. Sign up to receive three messages per week, featuring hands-on activities to keep kids reading, creating, exploring — and learning — all summer long! (Available in English and Spanish)

Children’s Books & Authors

Our Annual Big Summer Booklist!

Ahhhh, summer … the perfect time to slip in some extra reading time, together or side-by-side, in a makeshift tent, indoors or out. We’ve put together an awesome collection — here, you’ll find colorful, interactive board books for the littlest ones, friendship and community stories, graphic novels, science and nature books (including a fairy tale about tardigrades!), picture book biographies, a little bit of poetry and fantasy, and much more. Discover the latest by Kate DiCamillo, Sophie Blackall, Minh Lê and Dan Santat, Linda Sue Park, and other wonderful book creators.

Find more great book recommendations from our children’s literature expert (and blogger), Maria Salvadore, in our 2023 Big Summer Booklist, Themed Booklists, and Book Finder.

Celebrating Asian Pacific American History and Culture 

Through children’s books, video interviews with award-winning children’s authors, activities, and educational resources, we celebrate and learn about the rich history and cultural heritage of Asian Pacific Americans. May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, but we encourage sharing these authors, books, and histories throughout the year and across the curriculum.

Drawn Together: Meet Author Minh Lê  

Minh Lê is the award-winning author of Drawn Together and Lift (both illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat) and other picture books for young readers. He is also the author of Green Lantern: Legacy, a middle grade graphic novel for DC Comics. In our NEW interview, Minh talks about the deeply personal inspiration for Drawn Together and The Green Lantern: Legacy, why he loves collaborating with Dan Santat (check out their latest book, Built to Last), what story time is like in the Lê family, the importance of diverse books, and much more.

Literacy and Learning at Home

Active Read Alouds  

The best story times are very interactive: You are reading the story and asking questions, your child is talking and there is lots of conversation between the two of you. We’ve got lots of practical tips on lively read alouds that celebrate reading joy, model fluency, and help your child build vocabulary and comprehension. (In English or Spanish, from our Growing Readers series).

Watch how one reading volunteer engages kids in active conversation about vegetables, and how an outdoor "milking station" turns into a memorable way to learn new vocabulary words like "pasteurizing." (To set up your own farm station, download our Farms reading adventure pack.)

How do I, as a hearing parent, read aloud with my deaf child?  

Dr. Leala Holcomb, an expert in Deaf education and literacy, says that all children — hearing and deaf — need the experience of being read to by a caring adult. Dr. Holcomb offers lots of tips for making the experience fun and full of learning. And don't worry if you are still learning to sign — your enthusiasm will be contagious! (Presented by Dr. Leala Holcomb, interpreted by Dr. Hannah Dostal)

Watch this video Q&A and find answers to other questions about helping deaf children build reading and writing skills in our Reading SOS series. (Developed in partnership with the National Education Association)

Communication in Babies and Toddlers: Milestones, Delays, and Screening

Did you know that a baby’s brain is developing the most rapidly during the first two years of life? These early years offer a critical window of opportunity, like no other time, to launch language early and get a jump start on school success. Learn the milestones that develop from 7 to 24 months.

Explore more:

• How Parents Can Support Social Communication Development
• National Speech-Language-Hearing Month resources from ASHA

In the Classroom

Tier 2 Strategy: Pre-Teaching  

A pre-teaching approach to Tier 2 instruction can help struggling students comprehend grade-level texts, boosting motivation and confidence. In this recent post, Tim Shanahan says:

“… there are studies showing that it is possible to use instruction to transform a text from frustration level to instructional level (e.g., Parker & Burns, 2014). That means that such pre-teaching — however and wherever it might be delivered — could have a real payoff in terms of student learning even within English Language Arts. Much comprehension instruction takes the form of guided reading practice with increasingly difficult text, and this approach would allow a greater percentage of students to benefit from such practice with more complicated texts than in the past.”

Related:

From Anticipation Guides to Visual Imagery, get ideas on how to help your students strengthen their reading comprehension in our strategy library.

Writing 101: Our Self-Paced PD Module  

Teachers, are you looking for PD opportunities for the summer? Try our updated self-paced course on evidence-based writing instruction. Dig deep into the key elements of writing — basic mechanical skills (handwriting, spelling, grammar and punctuation); a strong vocabulary; an understanding of genre, text structure, and voice; organizational skills; and higher-order thinking. Learn more about the writing process and instructional strategies that work. (Developed in partnership with the National Education Association)

Literacy Events

American Library Association Annual Conference
June 27 – July 2, 2024 | San Diego, CA

International Dyslexia Association Annual Conference
October 24–26, 2024 | Dallas, TX

National Summer Learning Association Summit
November 11–13, 2024 | Washington, DC