Unique Ways to Squeeze in Summer Reading

Some students just don't love reading. The idea of sitting down to read for 5 or 10 minutes (let alone 30) can seem daunting to some students. How on earth can you motivate struggling and reluctant readers to read the necessary 20 minutes a day over the summer? Try these unique activities, tips, and games that will help you squeeze in summer reading without making your kiddos feel like they are sitting down to read a chapter book–don't worry, you'll work up to that!


Cereal Box
At breakfast, flip that cereal box over and find some fascinating and unique reading content. There's five minutes of reading while eating breakfast!

Listen, Remember, & Do Game
Play this game in pairs. One kiddo will read this passage <free download> out loud to you, a friend, or a sibling. As the reader reads, their partner will follow the instructions given to them to complete the worksheet. At the end, switch roles. The other person will read the instructions, and the previous reader will listen and follow instructions. Watch reading, listening, and following directions skills sore! Get more activities like this here.

Pen Pals
Set up a pen pal who will write to your student on a weekly or even daily basis over the summer. This person could be a former teacher or a grandparent–an adult who understands that part of the purpose is to encourage your student to read would be best. Tip: Encourage the pen pal to start the letters short and progress into longer letters. Every letter (or email) that comes in will be something personal and fun for your kiddo to read. Plus, your student will be working on their own writing skills with every reply that they send back.

Synopsis Challenge
Head out to your local library and peruse the books. Teach your student about the synopsis that is featured on the back of most books. Encourage your kiddo to read the synopsis to help them find a book they might like. Not only will they be reading, but their interest will be sparked in a book that they may enjoy. Challenge your kiddo to read the back of at least 6 books before choosing the book they want to checkout. Before you know it, your student has read 15 minutes before even getting a book.

Play a New Game
Sit down as a family and play an new game. Put your child in charge of reading the instructions out loud. Ask them questions. Encourage them to re-read any steps that are confusing. Or when there's a disagreement over how the game is supposed to be played, make it their job to look through the instructions to find the rule.

Magazine Word Search
Play this game with your student who is working on basic sight words or with your older child who is studying larger words. Compile a list of words appropriate to your student's level, supply your kiddo with a magazine or newspaper, and send them searching. Have student highlight the word when they find it and read the sentence the word is in out loud. They might even find an article that sparks their interest enough to read all of it.

Comics
Struggling and reluctant readers may be intimidated or even bored by chapter books. Have your child crack open the daily newspaper to the comics. The humor and graphics could be just what draws your student in. Check out this article about how a comic book store inspired struggling readers to love reading through comic books. Once you've grabbed your student's intrigue with comics, introduce them to classic literature with these comic book-style readers.

Make summer reading intriguing for them and easy for you with these unique #summer #reading tips!
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Chart Their Progress
Take your student to the dollar store to pick out some stickers or stamps and use them to chart every five minutes they read. For struggling and reluctant readers, five minute chunks are much more manageable than 20 minutes all at once. Use this daily chart <free download> to track your student's daily progress. Don't forget to celebrate milestones! For instance, seven days in a row of 20 minutes of reading each day seems like an excellent time to go out for an extra special ice cream treat.

Make summer reading intriguing for them and easy for you! We have high-interest, short stories and chapter books that will grab your student's attention and keep it. Check them out here.