How to turn the “summer slide” into a “summer climb” with fun, creative literacy activities!
To understand summer slide prevention, we first need to talk about what teachers mean by summer slide. Summer slide is the term we use to explain dips in student learning. The slide often occurs when skills, like reading and math, are not practiced over long breaks from school.
Let’s use a fictional fourth-grade student as an example. Based on end of the year testing, Sally can read and comprehend independently on an end of fourth-grade level. When Sally returns in August, beginning of fifth-grade year testing shows her reading on a beginning of fourth-grade level. In two months, she has dropped back to where she started in fourth-grade.
What happened to Sally?
Most likely, Sally spent her two months of summer vacation not looking at a pencil or book. In school, she was reading every day, practicing reading strategies with her teachers and collaborating on assignments with peers. School had simple routines that kept literacy a daily activity.
Good news!
Summer slide prevention activities can be simple and fun! With these 10 creative literacy ideas, kids can continue practicing literacy skills at home without losing their sense of summer vacation. Let’s get Sally back where she needs to be!
10 Ideas for Summer Slide
Prevention Activities
1- Family Reading Time– There is something so special about reading to your children. I love reading to my toddler as she turns the pages, points to pictures and laughs at my funny voices. Family reading time can include you reading to your child or sitting around as a family reading independently, together.
The point is to set aside time each day for everyone to spend reading. Try a quick 20 minutes after breakfast or 45 minutes to wind down for bed. Find a time that works for your family and stick to the schedule. When time is up, share favorites moments or quotes from the book. When you read as a family, you build and encourage reading habits.
2- Book Picnic- There is something about Summer that brings to my mind picnics in the park or by the pool. When I was a nanny, the kids and I would have picnics almost everyday. We would sit on a blanket in the backyard eating turkey sandwiches while I read their favorite book.
All you need for a book picnic is a place to sit, something to eat and a good book. You could amp up the fun by making a fort with blankets and pillows. Each person could pack their favorite food and favorite book, then share. You might bring along sidewalk chalk and draw your favorite scene or write your favorite quote from the book.
Stumped on what type of book to read? Use Story Coins to help you choose a topic, theme, genre, plot and more. Pull 2 or 3 coins from the bag. Then, decide how they are connected or what topic/theme/genre they could represent. Find a picture book that fits your description. Repeat the process to create a selection of books to read.
Looking for summer slide prevention in MATH? Visit Primarily Kate!
3- Family Book Club– As soon as I hear “club” my mind thinks elite and special. I imagine passwords and dress codes for entry. Books clubs may not be posh, but they are filled with opportunities to read and discuss books.
Make a list of book options for your family club. Include picture books, novels, fiction and non-fiction. Then, depending on the length of the books, decide how often you want to vote on the family’s new read. Schedule a “meeting” time to read and talk about the book together. To keep the conversation going, have a set list of 5-8 questions you can discuss.
Keep track of personal or family reading goals with a fun book tracker!
4- Book Exchange– Have you ever read a book that was so good you just had to share it? Or, a book that you did like but know someone who might? A book exchange is the perfect way to share and trade books you are not currently reading.
There are several ways to operate the exchange, but my personal favorites are a borrowing exchange and a trading card exchange. With the borrowing exchange, you trade books knowing that you will trade again when you’re finished. This is a good option if you’re sharing a book you love. A trading card exchange, however, is a full trade where you keep the books. This is a perfect choice if you have a book that wasn’t a good fit.
Want more writing ideas for summer slide prevention activities?
Try this article: Writing Challenge to Prevent the Summer Slide
5- Movie vs. Book– I think 90% of the time, the book is better than the movie. I remember devouring Angels and Demons, rushing to the theatre at 10pm to catch the movie and being disappointed because the book was 10 times better. When we read the book first, we can use our imaginations to develop the characters and plot. We feel invested and connected to the story. Once we see the movie, our imagination doesn’t need to work as hard and we lose the sparkle while reading the book.
What book do you love more than the movie? Read the book together and then watch the movie. Discuss what was the same and what changes were made. Talk about what you would have done if you were the film creator. Check out this list of children’s books made into movies.
6- Story Rewrites- One of my favorites memories from childhood is writing stories for my grandmother. My Gran-Jan was also a teacher and very keen on not spending time watching TV. When I would stay with her during the summer, we would take nature walks, create art and practice writing.
Often, kids struggle to write from their imagination. If this is your child, encourage them to rewrite a story. They could tell the events from another character’s perspective or change the events entirely. You could write a prologue or epilogue to the story or give a supporting character their own spin-off. To make it extra special, have them use a notebook designated to story writing.
7- Family Writing Challenge– Ready! Set! Write! During the school year, I give my students a quick write challenge almost everyday. Often, the quite write prompt is something funny like “would you rather live underwater for a day or on the moon for a day?”. I tell them they have 3-5 minutes (the time increase over the year) to write everything they can think of about the topic. The only rule is they cannot stop writing. Then I count down and they take off.
You can easily try this challenge at home with the whole family. For children’t who can’t quite write, have them draw pictures to explain their thinking. Choose a writing prompt, set a timer and write. When the timer goes off, each person can share their thoughts. This is a great activity to activate fun dinner conversations!
Not sure what to write about? Story Coins to the rescue! Story Coins is a writing game designed to spark creativity, build vocabulary, develop writing stamina and more all through a game. The Summer Edition is perfect for summer literacy, but there are several different themes to choose from. You can also check out my Instagram for fun quick writes to get you started.
Looking for more easy enrichment ideas?
You might like my choice board activities.
8- Family Book Tracker– Confession… as an adult, I haven’t been reading as much as would like. My goal back in January was to read 12 books this year. At the beginning of April, I had read none! So, to encourage myself to read I created a book tracker (free download below). Then, I signed up for a book subscription service to ensure I have one book to read each month.
There are lots of ways to track books as a family. You could start a book tournament with brackets and prizes. Or, each time someone finishes a book they add a marble to a jar or add a puzzle piece to a 25 piece puzzle. You could make reading an economical game by adding money (real or pretend) to individual piggy banks. The options are limitless!
9- Reading Museum– Visiting a museum is a whole body experience. There’s the noise of people, exhibits to look at and smells of the coffee shop. Imagine your favorite book. Now, what would be in a museum dedicated to that book? What would you see and hear? When I imagine the book If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, I smell the cookies and see cookie recipes on a wall.
At home, choose a book as a family. Talk about important parts of the book. Discuss any key themes (friendship, love, loss, etc.) that could be represented with artwork. Imagine what the main characters would eat or what music they would listen to. Then, create your own museum exhibit showcasing those details.
10- Book Making– A few summers ago I taught a week long creativity summer camp. We made instruments, explored watercolor painting and practiced sewing techniques. But my favorite project was book making. We played around with different techniques like paper bag books and accordion folded books. Then, we took a nature walk to find interesting things to glue inside our creations.
Book making is my favorite idea on this list because it can fit with many of the others. You could make your own notebook for tracking how many books read (idea #8) or writing all your story rewrites (idea #6). You could use the book to journal about summer adventures (idea #7) or take notes during family book club meetings (idea #3). No matter how you make your book or what you fill it with, the simple act of creating a book ignites a new love for books that will last a lifetime!
Looking for math focused ideas? Try these math center ideas at home!
Don’t forget your book tracker!
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