A Summer Bucket List and a Summer Reading List

One of the responsibilities of parents and teachers is to encourage students to continue to read over the summer to prevent the summer slide.  The following is a simple activity that could be done in class and shared out so that parents can see these lists and work on them with their kids.

Start by having students make a summer bucket list.  This could be written, on a blog, or in a video format.  Kids love thinking about all of the things they'd love to do over the summer.  Once they've completed that task, get them to create a summer reading list in the same format.  Some of those books could tie in with their bucket list goals.  For example, if one item on the bucket list is to go camping, maybe they could read a book about camping skills.

Have them think about what kind of books they would really enjoy reading over the summer.  Have they been dying to get their hands on the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book?  Do they want to read scary short stories while away at camp to spook the other campers?  How about a book about dogs since they are getting one over the summer?  Or a book about London since they will be going on vacation there in August?  Or a series that they have always wanted to read but never had the free time to do it.  The idea is to generate excitement around reading so it is a choice and not a chore and therefore more likely to get done.

Parents who have a copy of these lists can help support their children in meeting their goals.  Also, it is a good idea to mention that the JCC library and the Ottawa Public Library are great places to find all of these books while the OJCS library is closed.  Share out links to the Ottawa Public Library catalogue and show them how to run a simple search.

The countdown to summer is on...