Summer Reading Series - Week 1: Social Summer Reading

This is the first part of a one month series about summer reading!

In this post, I want to share a few summer reading ideas for schools and families! It is so important that students continue to read over the summer. According to the authors of a report from the National Summer Learning Association: "A conservative estimate of lost instructional time is approximately two months (roughly 22 percent) of the school year.” So let’s prevent the summer slide!

Here are some fun ideas to make summer reading more "social":

Emoticon Reading Response:

(be super careful. Apple’s emojis are copyrighted, so don’t use and distribute them illegally!) I've created a freebie perfect for student responses to summer reading! Download it here. 

#SummerReading2015:

Does your school keep in touch with families through social media? Create your own hashtag! For example: #Yourelementaryschoolsummerreading

and encourage parents to post pictures of their children reading over summer vacation. One of the elementary schools in my district did this over Spring break and it was a HUGE hit! The teachers even set up a slideshow of pictures to show students upon their return. We all know how connected everyone is to social media these days! This could be a way to keep students and parents motivated!

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge – Power Up and Read is
a free online program for students to log their reading minutes with the goal of setting a new world record! 

Stay tuned for part two of my Summer Reading Series: Must Read Books for Summer (Grades K-6)