Free Summer Reading Programs for 2015!

Here are some great nationwide summer reading programs to help your students continue their learning throughout the summer!

Scholastic Summer Challenge 

Students can help to break a world record and earn digital rewards by logging on and recording their reading minutes. Teachers can preregister your students and compete with classes from around the world!

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program

Get a free book after filling out a reading journal available on the Barnes and Noble website.

Half Price Books Feed Your Brain

Students of all ages can earn Bookworm Bucks for Half Price Books for logging their summer reading program this year. Students only have to read a minimum of about 15 minutes a day with a minimum of 300 minutes total to earn this reward and students up to age 14 are included in this easy program. High school students can earn Bookworm Bucks by reading two books and leaving a short review of each.

Sylvan's Book Adventure

Students read and take comprehension quizzes to participate in this summer program. Points are earned based on the books read and students can select their prizes accordingly.

TD Bank's Summer Reading Program 

TD Bank will deposit $10 into a young saver's account after they have read 10 books this summer. Students simply read 10 books, record those books onto TD Bank's sheet and bring it into any local branch. This could be a great way to encourage reading and help students learn how to save money. This program is for kids in grades K-5.

Chuck E Cheese Reward Your Kids

Students record their daily reading on a printable calendar and turn in into their local Chuck E Cheese. Two weeks of daily reading results in 10 free tokens. There is a catch: food must be purchased for free token redemption.

Your Local Library 

Almost all local libraries have summer reading programs for kids. My local library even has a summer reading program for adults! It's always worth it to participate.



 

Fabulous Freebies: World Cup Educational Freebies!

To celebrate the World Cup games, here are some educational freebies you might want to use!

Financial Soccer

Play this fun game as an individual or against another player and get points for answering financial related questions. You can choose the question difficulty and questions are aimed towards the age you select. The game is free to play and no registration is required. (Age groups are 11-14, 14-18, or 18+)

Activity Village World Cup for Kids


Scroll down to the grey box to get the free World Cup activities ranging from puzzles, coloring pages, worksheets and more. Pages are geared towards elementary level students.


International Primary Curriculum 2014 World Cup

The IPC has a HUGE list of resources divided into many different categories including the mascots of the World Cup, cities, songs and more. Each category is explained and has a link to a PDF or word file with ready to print information, worksheets and more. I was impressed with this large collection of material!

TIME Slideshow

Time has a great slideshow about the history of the World Cup. It's easy to see an overview and learn more about how this competition started.

 Football Teaching Ideas

A site from the UK, hence the term football, has a great list of suggestions for using soccer to teach. The World Cup project book is a huge, free download on the list and might give you a great start.


Have fun watching the World Cup and rooting for your favorite team!

Fabulous Freebies: Free Summer Reading Programs for 2014

Here are some great nationwide summer reading programs to help your students continue their learning throughout the summer!

Pottery Barn Kids Summer Reading Program

Read the books on one of the Pottery Barn's recommended reading lists to earn a free book and be entered into a contest for fun prizes. Download the summer reading lists and log sheets at the Pottery Barn website.

Scholastic Summer Challenge 

Students can help to break a world record and earn digital rewards by logging on and recording their reading minutes. Teachers can preregister your students and compete with classes from around the world!

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program

Get a free book and summer reading kit by participating in Barnes and Noble's summer reading program.

Half Price Books Feed Your Brain

Students can earn Bookworm Bucks for Half Price Books for logging their summer reading program this year. Students only have to read a minimum of about 15 minutes a day with a minimum of 300 minutes total to earn this reward and students up to age 14 are included in this easy program.

Sylvan's Book Adventure

Students read and take comprehension quizzes to participate in this summer program. Points are earned based on the books read and students can select their prizes accordingly.

TD Bank's Summer Reading Program 

TD Bank will deposit $10 into a new young saver's account after they have read 10 books this summer. Students simply read 10 books, record those books onto TD Bank's sheet and bring it into any local branch. This could be a great way to encourage reading and help students learn how to save money.

Chuck E Cheese Reward Your Kids

Students record their daily reading on a printable calendar and turn in into their local Chuck E Cheese. Two weeks of daily reading results in 10 free tokens. There is a catch: food must be purchased for free token redemption.

Your Local Library 

Almost all local libraries have summer reading programs for kids. My local library even has a summer reading program for adults! It's always worth it to participate.

15 Spring Writing Prompts

Since we had a few nice days of weather before our next predicted storm, it reminded me that spring will (eventually) show up. Here are some spring themed writing prompt ideas to get you and your students in the mood for warmer weather!

1. During spring, trees grow leaves again on their branches. Imagine what this would be like and write a story from the perspective of the tree about what spring feels like.

2. If you could be any flower, what flower would you be and why?

3. Earth Day is in the spring. Describe what you do to help take care of the earth.

4. May is National Pet Month. If you could have one unusual pet, what would you have and why?

5. Write a list of interview questions you would like to ask the Easter Bunny.

6. In April there is Read a Road Map Week. Describe where you would like to go on a road trip and what you would see.

7. Plan a celebration for National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day.

8.  During the spring you can wear different clothes than during the winter. How are your outfits changing and what are you looking forward to wearing?

9. List ten things you would like to grow in a garden in the spring.

10. Many baby animals are born in the spring. Write a story about a baby bird coming out of an egg and living in a nest with his or her bird parents.

11. Many people do spring cleaning. Think of an invention that could help you do all of your spring cleaning. Write an ad to help sell your spring cleaning invention to others.

12. What would you like to do over spring break? Write a persuasive essay to your family to try to convince them to follow along with your ideas.

13. Imagine a farmer would plant a magical seed in his garden in the spring. Write a story about what would happen and what would grow from the seed.

14. The sun stays out for longer and longer in the spring. What do you like to do with all of this extra daylight?

15. Teacher Appreciation Week is in the spring. Write a list of ways you could show your teacher you appreciate him or her.

For more spring activities, check out my Spring Math, Literacy and Art Packet!

Free Summer Reading Programs for 2013

As schools get ready for summer break, get your students ready for some summer learning with these summer reading programs!

Scholastic Summer Challenge 

Students can help to break a world record and earn digital rewards by logging on and recording their reading minutes. Teachers can preregister your students and compete with classes from around the world!

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program

Get a free book and summer reading kit by participating in Barnes and Noble's summer reading program.

Half Price Books Feed Your Brain

Students can earn a gift certificate to Half Price Books for logging their summer reading program this year. Students only have to read a minimum of about 15 minutes a day to earn this reward and students up to age 14 are included in this easy program.

Sylvan's Book Adventure

Students read and take comprehension quizzes to participate in this summer program. Points are earned based on the books read and students can select their prizes accordingly.

TD Bank's Summer Reading Program 

TD Bank will deposit $10 into a new young saver's account after they have read 10 books this summer. Students simply read 10 books, record those books onto TD Bank's sheet and bring it into any local branch. This could be a great way to encourage reading and help students learn how to save money.

Chuck E Cheese Reward Your Kids

Students record their daily reading on a printable calendar and turn in into their local Chuck E Cheese. Two weeks of daily reading results in 10 free tokens. There is a catch: food must be purchased for free token redemption.

Books a Million Summer Reading Program

Get a free Dr. Seuss insulated lunch bag by participating in BAM's summer reading program. The program starts May 19th.

Your Local Library 

Almost all local libraries have summer reading programs for kids. My local library even has a summer reading program for adults! It's always worth it to participate.

Fabulous Friday Freebies: Summer Olympic Educational Freebies

Since the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics is tonight, I thought it was only fitting to post free lessons and educational tools with a summer Olympics theme. Here is a list of some great Olympic freebies.

I am offering a freebie with a summer Olympics theme. Included in this packet are five puzzles and five creative drawing fast finisher pages with a summer Olympics theme. It is perfect for fast or early finishers. Check out my free packet here!

I have posted before about this free summer Olympics memory game but wanted to remind you that it is still available. The graphics are so adorable and well-done!

Tinyme.com is offering some free Olympic games and activities including an opening night ceremony bingo game among others. The flag activities on the website would also be perfect for a social studies lesson.

Cooperative Learning 365 is offering a free Olympic games activity pack. It includes some history about the Olympics and has some activities to help students become familiar with the countries participating in the games. Six total activities are included. Activities are recommended for grades 3-8.

Education World has some great summer Olympic lessons ideas for a variety of subject and grade levels. Check out all of their interesting lesson ideas! I especially love the idea of creating a summer Olympics game in your classroom.

CurrClick is offering 12 free country studies lessons from countries that are participating in the summer Olympics. Check out this post to see where you can find all of them.

Lastly, PreKandSharing has a nice collection of free Montessori inspired Olympic math activities. Students will really get into the spirit of the games with these activities!

Do you have a free summer Olympics activity? Let me know below!

Some Summer Reading Suggestions

The school year is so busy, that it is difficult to find time to get to all those back-burner items on your to-do list.  You know what I'm talking about....all those things you tell yourself you'll get to next week and never do.  One of those for me is getting through my teacher reading list.  If you have one, great.  If  you'd like to create one, but don't know where to start, here are my top five suggestions for authors to read that address some of today's most pressing educational challenges...

1. Ralph Fletcher has written a number of books on how to run writer's workshops, engage your male writers and how to make writing matter to students.

2. Alfred Tatum has written extensively about how to teach so African American males are successful in classes that teach literacy.

3. Jawanza Kunjufu has written over 30 books on the education of African Americans.

4. Jeffrey Wilhelm has researched and written extensively about how to educate struggling readers.

5. Richard Allington has looked at Response to Intervention and writes about what he believes must really be done to help close achievement gaps.

Vacation With Your Students in Mind

Vacation with my students in mind?  Isn't the whole point of a vacation to get away from work?  Yes.  It is.  But, do not forget that teaching is about more than just dusting off the text books at the end of the summer and cracking them open day one to get  down to preparing for the test.  Good teaching requires creativity, drive, purpose and so much more.  So, here are five of my top tips for what to do while on vacation so that you have some great materials when you sit down later to plan an amazing lesson that exposes your young minds to new places, people and experiences.

#1: Take lots of pictures.  

Pictures of plants and animals can be used in biology lessons, pictures of murals and architecture can be used in art classes, etc.  You know your content, so snap photos of any and everything that relates to what you teach.  You will end up with a wealth of free visual aids to use in the fall.

#2: Pick up free brochures at visitor centers.  

You can use these in the fall as professional models when you have them make brochures as a fun, yet educational project. You could also use brochures for students to read and find information.

#3: Pick up postcards.  

You can then use them to send notes home at the beginning of the year.  Make it fun.  Send out a note to your class week one and see if they can work together to figure out where you went and what you did there using the postcard clues!

#4: Get some stuff that you can't find at home.  

You don't need to spend a ton.  Pick flowers, collect rocks and sand, buy foods, etc.  When you get back and are spending time building community and transitioning from the summer break to the school year you can tell them about your trip.  Use the objects you collected to give them more of an experiential lesson.  Pass the objects around so that they can touch a piece of the place you visited, in addition to hearing you talk and looking at pictures.

#5: Pick up maps.  

They can be used later to teach geography, math, etc. You can also use your maps as models and have students make their own maps with a key.

Fabulous Friday Freebies: Summer School or Summer Fun Activities

This week's Fabulous Friday Freebies is dedicated to those of you putting in some extra hours at summer school or in some other summer learning activity. I also teach summer school each year and so I know summer can be a hard time to get students motivated and interested in school. Here are some fabulous and free activities that look very motivating and wonderfully put together.

This summer Olympics themed memory game has very adorable graphics and is very easy to use in your classroom. I was impressed by the wide array of sports incorporated into this and it has a worksheet that you can also use with the memory game. It doesn't hurt that this game is free!

This summer themed poetry bookmark set also impressed me. Instead of just plain bookmarks with pretty pictures, the bookmarks ask different literary questions which can help students review terms they learned over the year. There are some blank bookmarks that are also included so you could always add your own questions. My favorite kind of freebies are the ones you can customize yourself.

This summer vacation planning unit is a very thorough freebie. It contains a project for students to plan, research and present a vacation that they would like to take. This is similar to a project I did when I was in school and I always looked back fondly on it. I like this project since it contains many parts and also has an already made example which makes this lesson easy to teach.

Lastly I enjoyed this secret agent summer school activity kit. I have always thought that different, special activities are perfect to do over the summer when you most likely have a smaller class and need something extra special to get your students' attention. This packet contains a variety of fun activities that are easy to use and well described.

Tips for Teaching Summer School

Like some of you out there, I am gearing up to teach summer school this year. My school encourages students to attend during the summer and the entire staff attends summer school for the six week program. While in many ways summer school is just like during the school year, I think there are ways to change it up and make it a little different and a change of pace from what normally happens during the school here. This can make it feel a little more like a vacation from the school both of you are used to. Here are some tips I have learned after teaching summer school for a few years.

1. Get away from school.

Field trips are usually easier to do in the summer. Most of the time there are less crowds or groups since school is out and there are more openings available for scheduling. Yet, most places offer the same discounts for school groups the entire year, including the summer. It also gives your students (and you) a break from the usual routine and gives summer school a more special feeling. I always enjoy scheduling a summer school field trip for my students and love knowing they enjoy it.

2. Use technology more often.

 

Summer school is a great time to try out new technology. Since classes tend to be smaller than regular classes, it makes it easier if you have a limited amount of technology available at your school. One thing I have tried successfully during summer school is incorporating digital photography into my lesson.  I did bring in my own camera and had students take photos relating to our theme (issues in the community) and then they were able to edit their photos using free online photo editing with no registration required. It was a lot of fun and they were enthusiastic about the photo editing. This is a lesson you could easily incorporate into a wide variety of subjects.

3. Do something unusual.

 

Unusual, unique lesson plans are the perfect thing for summer school. Classes are smaller so it is easier to do something with less students. Also, if you have been dying to try a lesson that requires a large number of new supplies for a class, this would be easier to do with a smaller number of students as well. Also, since classes tend to be for a shorter amount of time and summer school has a much shorter length, it is easy to try something out and if it doesn't go as planned, you can file that information away for next time.

4. Help others.

 

Community service is very easy to incorporate into a summer lesson plan in just about any subject. Students feel proud to help others and a community service unit is a feel good for everyone involved. For language arts you could write letters to send to the troops. Starting a recycling program or creating a garden could be a fun science project. Students could raise funds and calculate donations for a math project. Interviewing senior citizens at a local nursing home about the past could be a lesson incorporated into social studies. For art I have had students create cards to send to the troops and create a photo collage to raise awareness about a community issue.

Fabulous Friday Freebies: Free Summer Learning Printables!

This week's Fabulous Friday Freebies edition contains freebies students can use over the summer or when traveling. If you're like me and are teaching summer school and will have students in and out for vacations, this could be a perfect way for them to learn while on the go. Or, let me know how else you can use these fabulous freebies!

I just learned and am impressed that the people at the Crayola website have printable coloring pages for every state and it looked like also every country. This would be a great way for students to learn about places they are traveling to. Bookmarking these and using them for supplementation during social studies later in the school year might also be helpful. I plan to go back to these and use them as we study the art of various countries around the world.

The Activity Village website also has printable travel and holiday planning and journaling pages. Students might not realize that they are actually learning and practicing writing when using these pages and they'll have great things to help them remember the fun.

Plucky Momo has an enormous free printable summer activity kit that includes more than 70 activities! This huge printable can definitely help keep kids busy for hours.

Lastly, Free-Puzzles.net has a collection of free travel games that can be easily printed and used. It looked like there were many that would not necessarily have to be used while traveling, either. Some just looked like good fun pages to have on hand.

Feel free to share your favorite free summer printables!



Summer Reading Programs

Most teachers have either heard about or experienced the summer slide first hand as students' knowledge drops after only a few short months. One way to prevent or help this is to encourage your students to join a summer reading program. Let your students' parents know about summer reading programs as well so they can encourage their children when you are not around.

Here is a list I have gathered of some great summer reading programs:

1. Scholastic Summer Challenge - Scholastic has a summer reading program where students log their minutes of reading and can win prizes. Teachers can also register their students before the school year is up which I think is a great feature and parents can log on also to check how many minutes their children have read.

2. Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program - Barnes and Noble will let students get a new book for free after reading 8 books. All they have to do is simply record their books on Barnes and Noble's PDF sheet and turn it in when they are done. Check out the link to see the selection of free books children can select from.

3. TD Bank's Summer Reading Program - TD Bank will deposit $10 into a new young saver's account after they have read 10 books this summer. Students simply read 10 books, record those books onto TD Bank's sheet and bring it into any local branch. This could be a great way to encourage reading and help students learn how to save money.

4. Book Adventure by Sylvan - Students read books and then take a simple comprehension quiz over the material to make sure they have understood it. Students earn points on these quizzes and can cash in their points for prizes! Any students K-8 can participate in this program.

5. Chuck E Cheese Reading Rewards - Students record their daily reading on a printable calendar and turn in into their local Chuck E Cheese. Two weeks of daily reading results in 10 free tokens. There is a catch: food must be purchased for free token redemption.

 6. Pottery Barn's Summer Reading Challenge - Pottery Barn Kids is offering a free book to children who complete the reading of one of their summer reading lists. Simply select a book list to follow and upon completion receive one free book at your local Pottery Barn Kids store. You can also register to win prizes.

7. Half Price Books Feed Your Brain - Students can earn a $5 gift certificate to Half Price Books by participating in their summer reading program. Simply read and log at least 15 minutes each day. When children reach 300 minutes, they will earn their gift certificate. Top readers in each age group can also win larger amounts.

8. Your local library - Almost all local libraries have summer reading programs for kids. My local library even has a summer reading program for adults! It's always worth it to participate.

Please let me know if I missed any great summer reading programs.

Summer Enrichment

Our minds are working every day, all the time.  We are constantly learning, growing and changing.  Our interactions with the world around us are forming our realities of how the world operates.  New books and people bring us new vocabulary and perspectives.  This is especially true of children.  They don't stop learning because they are on summer vacation.  So, why not encourage parents to use that time to enrich the academic side of summer learning?

Here are a few ideas....

#1-Check out this Scholastics article on ways to keep kids busy while learning.

#2-Send kids home with a summer reading log.

#3-Give them a project to do about the summer Olympics.  They can learn about the Ancient Olympics.  They can learn about unusual olympic sports.  Or, check out the London 2012 Olympics teaching resource page.  

A Final Message to the Parents...

Whenever my brother tells me he is concerned that his son is not being challenged enough in school, I respond by telling him his son's education is up to him.  While I do believe a child's experiences in school are very important to their social, emotional and physical growth, the most important teachers they will ever have are their parents.  This is something I learned from my mother.  If you were to pass along one final message to your students' parents, perhaps it should be how important they are.  If you'd like to add in some practical tips, here are my top ten "What My Mother Did to Support My Education"....

#1: She talked to us every day about school.

She always asked what we had done, how our tests had gone, and if we were doing our homework.  One word answers were not sufficient.  Through this she conveyed to us that our education was important to her.

#2: She was involved.  

She always found a way to get involved in the school from kindergarten through my high school graduation.  Through this she conveyed to our teachers that our education was important to her.

#3: She created a literature rich home.

 She took us to the library to check out books and purchased every age appropriate novel she could find at thrift stores for 50 cents or less.  Through this she taught us that books were a valuable and readily available resource.

#4: She believed in us.

Like her uncle (who tried to teach my brother calculus in third grade) she always pushed us to perform at a higher level.  Unlike my uncle (who told my parents to have my brother tested for learning disabilities) she never made her opinion of us contingent upon our success.  Through it, though, she communicated to us that she believed in us, often more than we believed in ourselves.

#5: She was always helping us to set goals and create plans.  

If the summer was coming, we had to plan out what we were going to do to stay busy.  We had to learn to swim, but beyond that the one rule was that we stay busy.  When it came to schooling, she started talking to us about college early.  She instilled in us a belief that education was one of the few things in life that was not an option.  Today all of her children have a college degree and two thirds have a graduate degree.

#6: She made sure education was not all about the common core standards. 

 She encouraged us to play sports, play instruments, appreciate the arts, and do "things that matter."  Through this learning became fun and important.

#7: She took us on vacations to see new places, people and things.  

One of her rules was that we always had to try something new.  Her love to travel broadened our horizons.  We weren't world travelers.  We drove everywhere we ever went together, but if we learned to fly, it is because of my mother.

#8: She always invested in us.  

She was always there giving time and savings.  Parents who prioritize their children over their careers are often disrespected, but in my opinion, she always had her priorities straight.

#9: She didn't test us or put our successes on display.  

She was always proud of our successes, but I don't ever remember her going around bragging or comparing her kids to other people's kids.  Through this she taught us that she cared how we did, but not because we needed to impress anyone.

#10: She taught us to be our own person.  

She taught us to talk to our teachers about problems ourself.  When it came time for graduation, she insisted we learn to stand on our own two feet and walk away from home base.


I say all this to make a point: parents are important.  Take the time to say this.  If you think it would help to throw in some practical tips for how parents can support their kids, the above list has my ten best ones.