Give kids a chance to exercise different kinds of writing muscles this summer — from poetry to nature journals to persuasive writing. These engaging writing activities are perfect for at home or as a group activity in summer programs.
Science and math explorations give young learners a chance to strengthen observation and writing skills by keeping a special journal to fill with sketches, notes, and graphs. Try these ideas to get kids started. (In English and Spanish)
Find out why it’s a good idea for young aspiring writers to keep a journal, and get practical tips on journal writing from children’s author and writing coach Mary Amato. She says, don’t forget to bring a writing journal everywhere you go! Learn more about kids and writing in our video interview with Mary.
If your child struggles with writing, try some new ways to encourage writing practice this summer. Here are 7 creative strategies to try — including “convince me!” letters, journal jars, and family scrapbooks.
Find lots more summer writing ideas for kids on our companion site, Start with a Book .
Explore multicultural folktales, fairy tales, and myths through shared read alouds and independent reading. Then try some of the writing, oral storytelling, poetry, mapmaking, and other creative activities featured in our activity guide.
Related: Find more books and hands-on activities all about folktales, fairy tales, and myths at Start with a Book.
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)
Audiobooks are a wonderful way to expose children to complex language, expressive reading, and fantastic stories. Kids can use their own imaginations to visualize the people and places they’re hearing about. Here, you’ll find guidance on what to look for in choosing audiobooks as well as listening tips. (In English and Spanish)
Philip Bunting’s delightfully playful and thoughtful nonfiction picture book, The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants, encourages kids to think twice about the six-legged scuttlers we know as ants. In our Book Life blog post, Philip shares 5 things we hairy humans can learn from the humble ant.
Award-winning author and beekeeper Meghan P. Browne shares buzzworthy ideas and resources to help families to learn about insects! Her book The Bees of Notre-Dame takes you on a journey of resilience to Paris to learn about the bees who lived atop Notre-Dame and survived the fire that destroyed part of the cathedral in 2019.
For most parents, it’s a challenge to keep kids reading and writing all summer. Suddenly 10 weeks of summer can feel like a very long time! We’ve got 10 ideas to help make this summer full of fun, creativity and learning. (In English and Spanish)
Meet Wendy Bostic, a mother of two young children in suburban Washington, D.C., who knows that taking a vacation from school doesn’t have to be a vacation from learning. During the summer, she makes a conscious effort to keep her two young children engaged — with reading, regular trips to the library, and exploring the world around them through local field trips. (From our Launching Young Readers program, Adventures in Summer Learning)
Our themed reading adventure packs encourage hands-on fun, creativity, and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books. You’ll discover more than 30 themes to dive into — including animals, building, archaeology, robots, dinosaurs, and stars.
Turn travel time during a family trip into a great bonding and learning adventure with activities that build language for literacy and boost kids’ brain development. Here, you’ll find simple, fun ideas for singing, reading, and sharing family stories together. (In English and Spanish)
Choral reading gives students practice in reading texts aloud, but individual feedback is tough to provide. Integrate other fluency strategies — such as paired reading — that give you more opportunity to observe and respond to each student.
Teachers, are you looking for PD opportunities for the summer? Try our free learning module focusing on effective practices for teaching vocabulary. Dig into the 4 different types of vocabulary, direct vs. indirect instruction, word learning strategies, choosing words to teach, and more.
In this webinar, join Natalie Wexler (The Knowledge Gap), Doug Lemov (Teach Like a Champion), and Julia Cooper (SchoolKit) for a conversation on writing instruction as an unsung hero in reading success. (From the Knowledge Matters Campaign)
It helps the reality of a scene if foghorns are blowing or kites are in the sky on a windy afternoon or the day’s so hot wallpaper is peeling off the walls.
Reading Rockets is a national educational service of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital. The goal of the project is to provide information on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.
Send your questions, comments, or suggestions to info@readingrockets.org. Our mailing address is WETA/Reading Rockets, 2775 S. Quincy St., Arlington, VA 22206. We look forward to hearing from you!
