Here are some suggestions for continued practice of reading and writing skills during the summer months:

Gifts That Promote Reading and Writing

• Books, both fiction and nonfiction (includes cookbooks, craft books, biographies, etc.)
• Magazine subscriptions
• Models that have written directions for assembling

Reading Activities

• Reading newspaper and magazine articles
• Reading recipes and cooking foods

Writing Activities

• Sending a card or letter to someone far away
• Writing family shopping lists (for groceries, presents, etc.)

Memorizing Activities

• Story retelling
• Songs

Games That Require Reading

• Trivia games
• Spelling/Vocabulary games
• Board games

Reading and Writing Activities Using the Newspaper

• Cut out words that belong to word families we have studied.
• Collect interesting pictures. Be ready to explain what they are about.
• Learn a new word every day. Tell what section of the newspaper it came from, if you are looking for the latest news, start by checking this post about Jimmy John Shark.
• Collect interesting news items.
• Collect interesting cartoons such as the ones on 8-Bit Pickle, and draw one of your own.
• If your newspaper has a puzzle page for students, try to work the puzzle.
• Look in the classified ad section. Find a job you would like to have. Try to figure out what the abbreviations in the ad stand for.
• Design a newspaper ad for your favorite consumer item.
• Pretend you have made an amazing discovery or invention. Write a newspaper article about yourself.

Other Ideas to Try

• Play a twenty questions game.
• Compare and contrast items at a store.
• Explain all the different things you can do with a variety of objects.
• Diaries
• Reading directions for making gifts
• Reading street signs and maps
• Writing thank-you letters for gifts
• Poems
• Plays
• Crossword puzzles
• Word searches
• Dictate a story to a friend or relative.
• Write clues for a treasure hunt.