Summer Learning Resources
10 Options to Share With Your Students' Parents
The last instructional newsletter discussed the importance of parent involvement in preventing the summer reading slide. This newsletter provides 10 reading and math resources for parents to explore. As you plan your end-of-the-year conversations with parents, consider sharing these resources as options from which they may choose in preventing the summer slide.
READING RESOURCES
- The American Library Association: ala.org - The American Library Association provides a comprehensive reading list, reading games, and notable recordings and videos. It also posts a reading list for reluctant readers.
- Reading Rockets: readingrockets.org - Reading Rockets is a free multimedia site for parents (and educators). It offers lots of strategies, activities, and guides to help build students' fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills!
- Book Adventure: bookadventure.com - Book Adventure is a free interactive reading motivation program that provides age-appropriate reading lists, reading quizzes, and a points program for students to earn small prizes for their reading success. Parents can approve their kids' prize selections and help them find their next book to read!
- Local Libraries - fairfaxcounty.gov/library/ - Many libraries have summer reading programs. Some of them even reward students for the number of books they read!
- Apps: Storia, The Reading Rainbow, & Tales2Go - These 3 apps may be of parent interest as well in building students' literacy skills over the summer! Check them out!
MATH RESOURCES
- Bedtime Math: bedtimemath.org - Each day, Bedtime Math posts a cool fun fact, followed by math questions at 3 different levels: wee ones, little ones, and big ones. Requiring just 5 minutes a night, parents and kids can have fun answering the questions together! There is an app for Bedtime Math as well!
- Prongo: prongo.com - Prongo offers fun and innovative math games for kids ages 3-12 to enjoy over the summer.
- PBS Kids Lab: pbskids.org/lab - PBS Kids Lab has more than 50 cross-platform games to support students in lower elementary grades in developing their math skills. Also, PBS has designed its first app for parents, PBS Parents Play & Learn, that offers dozens of games for parents to play with their kids. There is a bilingual (English/Spanish) parent app, too!
- Cool Math: coolmath-games.com - Cool Math offers "cool" online math activities that are free and fun!
READING, MATH, & MORE SUMMER RESOURCES!
- Virginia Department of Education (VDOE): http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/summer/index.shtml - VDOE provides a wealth of summer learning resources in reading, math, science, and history! Parents will be greeted with the following when they enter the summer learning page: Virginia is for Lovers of Summer Learning!
A TIP FOR PARENT/TEACHER END-OF-THE-YEAR TALK
As you share these or any other resources with parents, think about who your students are as individual learners, how they are ready to grow, AND what they will do to apply their learning.
Created by:
Veronica Blunt
Instructional Coach