Fun Summer Library Activities
Back in the day, my mother used to take her nine kids to the public library in the summer. Why? Because it was air-conditioned when few places were! Oh, and to get free books (free was important when you had nine kids)!
You may want to check out your public library over the summer (get it…check out?) to see what kinds of activities they have. Even your school library might have sent home a packet, or at least they probably manage the summer reading program.
Read more about that:
This Summer Reading Comprehension deck in Google Slides and PowerPoint provides passages about summer activities, such as going to the beach or camp or comparing seasons in the Northern vs. Southern Hemispheres.
It asks questions requiring prior knowledge or inferencing, such as:
- Why do dogs pant in summer?
- What does SPF on sunscreen mean?
- Why do more people get struck by lightning in the summer?
- How much ice cream do Americans eat each year?
And to define words such as: sweltering, frigid, lackadaisical.
Building a Sandcastle
Maybe you just want to concentrate on one ELA skill such as making an inference. Try this deck:
In this Summer Sandcastle Making an Inference game, students will read a brief description of a summer scenario. They have to make an inference (an educated guess) about what is happening and choose one of the multiple choice answers. If they guess correctly, a sandcastle will start to build.
Making an inference is an important skill in reading comprehension.
For example,
- The water is kind of rough. How might Evie be feeling?
- Oreo is scampering after Jason, sniffing everything. Who is Oreo?
- Alyssa and Margo pack the sand into buckets and dump it. What are they doing?
- Eli is glad he is not walking on the scorching sand. It’s more comfortable walking on wooden planks. Where is he?
Homophone Helper
How about a game that reinforces the skill of choosing the correct homophone? Distinguishing between homophones is a key component of language and reading development.
This fun Hamburger Theme Homophones Google Slides™ game suitable mostly for First Grade, Second Grade, and Third Grade, possibly Fourth Grade, supports the ELA skill of reading a sentence and choosing the correct word to fill in the blank. The words are homophones, such as “flour/flower”; “meat/meet”; “knot/not”; “see/sea.” After each correct answer, part of a hamburger is built.
Summer Sorting Fun
For younger children, you might want them to try a simple sorting activity:
Using these cute digital task cards (BOOM Cards), students in Pre-K, Kindergarten and First Grade look at a selection of summer themed items and sort them into two sand castles.
Among the items to be sorted:
shells; sunglasses; mermaids; floaties; hot dogs & hamburgers; beach balls; flip flops
Have you tried BOOM Cards™? They are online digital task cards! No prep! No printing, cutting, or laminating!
Read more about them:
Getting Started with BOOM Cards
Do your youngest students in Pre-K, Kindergarten and First Grade sometimes struggle to identify 2-D shapes? Looking for a fun summer game that teaches shapes, which is a basic math skill? How about a cool lemonade theme? Students match the lemon shapes with the shape on the lemonade pitcher.
Hope your students or at-home kiddos enjoy some “cool” activities during the hot summer! I would still go to the library, though and soak up the air-conditioning.
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