Looking for another way to get them reading? Josie Has a Secret is a full- length Web-based novel published by Jitterbug Fantasia, a web magazine intended for children aged fifteen and over. It is was written by Kristen Brennan and illustrated by Kris Dresen and contains thirteen chapters.
Rainbow Magic Summer
http://www.rainbow-magic.com/holidays/summer/index.html Here's an elementary-level site that offers puzzles, games, stories, recipes, music and links all around the theme of summer. Children can learn how to make lemonade while reading "The Lemonade Stand" and planning their daily boredom busters!
This ThinkQuest Junior entry presents safety tips for hiking and swimming as well as fire safety. There's a school beach hiking game, coloring activities, and a collection of safety friends. Perfect for younger students!
Summer Reading Is Sweet
This Reading Is Fundamental site invites children to take the Sweet Summer Reading Challenge for the chance to win prizes! It also has summer activity sheets, games, and e-cards. http://www.rif.org/summer/
Find a summer reading activities kit with creative ideas for fun summer reading you and your children can do together while on vacation, at home, or on the road. http://www.justreadfamilies.org/greatideas/
If you don’t have computer access…
You can make up your own reading program and encourage your children to reach a reading goal each week and reward them immediately with a small prize or a fun field trip.
Turn your local shopping trips into a refresher course for reading and mathematics!
Have your kids read the grocery list and find items such as tomatoes, paper towels, cereal, detergent, etc. Help them read the aisle headings (such as Dairy, Automotive, Produce, etc.) and ask them what items they would expect to find there. You can also have them compare pricing: is 3 for a $1.00 a better deal than 2 for 75¢? Ask them to pick out items that begin with a specific letter - such as L for limes, licorice, lollipops, lettuce, etc. As a reward, you could let them pick out their favorite L item!
Reading Activities Grades K-3 Sorting and Stacking--Teach classification skills with dinnerware. Ask your child to match and stack dishes of similar sizes and shapes. Also have your child sort flatware--forks with forks, spoons with spoons. This is like recognizing the shapes of letters and numbers.
Telephonitis --Give your child practice in reading numbers left to right by dialing a telephone. Make a list of telephone numbers your child can read--for relatives, friends, the weather bureau--and have your child make a call or two.
Let 'Em Eat Shapes--Cut bread into different shapes--rectangles, triangles, squares, circles. Make at least two of each shape. Ask your youngster to choose a pair of similar shapes, then to put jam on the first piece, and to place the second piece on top to make a sandwich. This is a snack plus a game to match shapes.
Dress Me--Increase your child's vocabulary. Teach the name of each item of clothing your child wears--shirt, blouse, sweater, sock, shoe--when your child is dressing or undressing. Also teach the body parts--head, arm, knee, foot. Then print the words on paper and ask your child to attach these papers to the clothes in the closet or drawers. Make a pattern of your child lying on a large sheet of paper. Tack it up. Ask your child to attach the words for the body parts to the right locations.
Hidden Letters--Build reading observation skills with this activity. Ask your child to look for letters of the alphabet on boxes and cans of food and household supplies. For example, find five A's or three C's, or any number of letters or combinations on cereal boxes, soup cans, bars of soap. Start with easy-to-find letters and build up to harder-to-find ones. Then have your children write the letters on paper or point out the letters on the boxes and cans.
Reading Activities - Grades 4-5 A Lifetime of Reading--Encourage lifelong reading. Read with your youngsters by taking roles in stories and acting out dramatic poems. Whenever possible, tape record these sessions. Then listen to and enjoy these performances together.
Street Smarts--Put reading skills to practical use. Gather bus and subway route maps and schedules to a special place in your area--the zoo, a museum, a football stadium. Let your child plan a trip for friends or family. Figure out the travel time required, the cost, and the best time to make the trip.
TV and the World--Connect current events to TV viewing. Post a world map next to the TV set. Watch the TV news with your children and have them locate world news spots. Keep reference books such as dictionaries and the world almanac close by. In this way, children find answers to questions when their curiosity is high.
Reading Activities Grades 6-8 Read All About It--Introduce your child to the many kinds of information in the daily newspaper. Ask your child to find the pages containing news about government leaders, editor's opinions, weather reports, car sales, house and apartment rentals, and want ads. Discuss how to use this information.
Follow the News--As a family, choose an important news event to follow for a day or two. Ask each person to find as much information on the topic as possible--read newspapers, listen to the radio, watch TV news. Then talk about what everyone learned.
Pro and Con: What Do You Think?--Make a family game of discussing a special issue--for example, "Teenagers should be allowed to vote," or "There should never be any homework." Ask your youngsters to think of all the reasons they can to support their views. Then, ask them to think of reasons against their views. Which views are most convincing? For variety, assign family members to
teams and have teams prepare their arguments pro and con
