In Focus: Summer Reading Three families, three different summer experiences — all rich in literacy activities and hands-on learning. In our newest Launching Young Readers program, you'll meet parents, teachers, and researchers in Washington, D.C., Detroit, and Boston who are discovering the best ways to keep kids engaged with learning during the long summer break — and avoid the 'summer slump.' Watch show > Reading Rockets has packed a "virtual beach bag" of activities and resources for teachers to help families get ready for summer and to launch students to fun, enriching summertime experiences. What's in the bag? Links to pen pal projects, kid blogs, cool "build it" activities, reading incentive programs, neighborhood book clubs, volunteering, great science-focused websites, and more. Go to "beach bag" >
Find many additional resources for teachers, librarians, and families in our Summer Reading section.
Books & Authors In Julie Andrews' family, a favorite gift is a home-grown poem. Listen in as Andrews and her daughter and co-author Emma talk about the strength and beauty of spoken word, songs, and poems. A special treat: a lively mother-daughter reading of their favorite family poem, "The King's Breakfast" by A.A. Milne. Watch interview > Summer is… a soft blanket in the grass, a cool drink, and a stack of delicious books waiting to be dipped into. Our children's literature expert, Maria Salvadore, has created an inspired list of new books — plus a few classics — to keep you and your child reading all summer long. Ready to print and take to your local library or bookstore. Browse summer booklist > A good book can open a child’s eyes to new places, new customs. In this carefully chosen collection of titles, you can visit with a young Chinese girl as she carefully dresses for the Lunar New Year celebration; join a child in India as she waits for the monsoon rains to begin; or take a journey with a young Tibetan boy and his yak in this retelling of the 'tortoise and the hare' fable. Go to booklist (from our sister site Colorín Colorado) >
For more APA Heritage Month resources, including information for ELL teachers, visit Colorín Colorado's APA Heritage Month resource section.
Ideas for Educators Help your students become more skilled and confident writers by using children's literature as models, or "mentor texts." Mentor texts are effective in teaching kids about idea development, story structure, word choice, voice, conventions, and other aspects of good writing. The Writing Fix, sponsored by the Northern Nevada Writing Project, is the definitive source for lesson plans and book suggestions that can help teachers choose quality mentor texts to support their writing lesson plans. Learn more > The ancient tradition of storytelling meets the digital age in this free digital storytelling resource from Microsoft. When students create a movie or interactive slideshow to tell their story, learning becomes personal and students are motivated to improve their writing and push their creative limits. Download the teacher's guidebook > The Three Bears retold, inventions, anecdotes, tall tale lunacy, cliff-hangers, and more. Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events) and Steven Kellogg (Pecos Bill) provide the inspiration for this month's writing prompts. Give your students a chance to flex their writing muscles — and win fabulous prizes! Go to writing contest page >
Ideas for Parents Most children are able to listen to simple stories, songs, and rhymes by the time they are one to two years old. However, every child is unique and has an individual rate of development. Learn more about the developmental milestones for hearing, understanding, and talking — and where to get help if you are concerned. Go to article > Find more resources in our Speech, Language, and Hearing section. PBS KIDS introduces The Great Word Quest, a series of online literacy games. Kids can join one of three teams — the Aquanauts, Trailblazers, or Skyscrapers — and advance through scavenger hunts to earn words that they can use to play games and create their own silly stories. The activities help strengthen critical reading skills, including phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension. Go to website > If it's May, it must be science fair season. Education.com has put together a great set of grade-leveled project ideas as well as down-to-earth tips on how to best support your child's scientific exploration, writing, and presentation skills. The perfect balance? Being hands-on and hands-off at the same time. Go to website >
Research & News New results from a four-year longitudinal study of 17 schools in the East Coast suggests that in-school literacy coaches can help boost student reading skills by as much as 32 percent in three years. Teacher expertise increased substantially, and the more coaching a teacher received the stronger the growth. Additional benefits: communication among teachers increased and the literacy coordinators became more involved in the critical conversations. Read summary > The debate between advocates of bilingual and English-only reading instruction has been going on for decades — which method is better? Recently published results from a 5-year randomized study indicate that Spanish-speaking children learn to read English equally well regardless of whether they are taught primarily in English or in both English and their native language. Read report >
"Take chances, make mistakes, get messy." — Miss Frizzle (from The Magic School Bus series by Joanna Cole)
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