Ideas for Summer Literacy Practice for Rising 1st Graders

• Read aloud to your child! Try reading lots of different types of books (fiction, non-fiction, fairy tales, rhyming stories etc.) or in lots of different places (under a tree, on a swing etc.)
• Have your child read decodable phonetic books to you. You can find more than 150 different beginning reader books for free online here: https://halfpintkids.com/online-materials/ and here: https://justrightreader.com/pages/decodables-e-library. Scroll down for books that get longer and more complex. If you prefer paper books, you can also purchase printed copies through the Half Pint Kids website.
• Write and illustrate letters to family or friends. Help your child spell by having them separate each word into sounds and then write the corresponding letters.
• Visit the public library to check out books and participate in fun programs, including the Norwich Summer Reading Challenge. You can find info about events here: https://www.norwichlibrary.org/
• Encourage your child to do a phonics workbook. MCS recommends the Primary Phonics and Explode the Code series. Most rising 1st graders should start with Book 1 in both series. Make it fun by putting a sticker on each completed page or letting your child earn a small reward.
• Listen to an audiobook using the Libby app (free through the public library)
• Read and discuss the MCS Community Read book. Look for your copy in your child’s backpack during the last week of school.
• Watch the show “Reading Buddies.” This show is both entertaining and aligned with research on how children learn to read. You can find it for free here: https://www.youtube.com/c/readingbuddiestrl
• Play free reading games online with the Starfall app, Khan Academy kids app, the PBS Kids app/website or Roomrecess.com (Sight Word Safari and Sight Word Smash are good for reviewing high frequency words).

Printable Version

Ideas for Summer Literacy Practice for Rising 2nd Graders

• Read aloud to your child! Try reading lots of different types of books (fiction, non-fiction, fairy tales, silly stories etc.) or in lots of different places (under a tree, on a swing etc.)
• Write and illustrate letters to family or friends. Help your child spell by having them segment each word into sounds and then write the corresponding letters.
• Visit the public library to check out books and participate in fun programs, including the Norwich Summer Reading Challenge. You can find info about events here: https://www.norwichlibrary.org/  
• Encourage your child to do a phonics workbook to strengthen their reading and spelling skills. MCS recommends the Primary Phonics and Explode the Code series. Make it fun by putting a sticker on each completed page or letting your child earn a small reward.
• Read and discuss the MCS Community Read book. Look for your copy in your child’s backpack during the last week of school.
• Listen to an audiobook using the Libby app (free through the public library). Use the “juvenile” audience filter to find appropriate options.
• Play free literacy games online with the Starfall app, Khan Academy kids app or the PBS Kids app/website
• If your child is working on strengthening their decoding skills, have them practice reading phonetically decodable books aloud. You can find a variety of high interest options for free here: https://justrightreader.com/pages/decodables-e-library (scroll down for books that are longer and more challenging)

Printable Version

Got an energetic kiddo? Literacy games don’t have to be quiet and calm. Below is a list of active games that will engage your child while helping strengthen their emergent literacy skills. Check out the example words at the end of this document to help you select words for each activity.

Sound Toss
Materials: ball, beanbag or object to toss
Directions: This is an oral game to practice separating words into individual sounds (phonemes). Say a word aloud (eg. “chop”) and have your child repeat it back. Take turns saying one sound at a time and tossing the ball back and forth. For example, player 1 says “ch” and then tosses the ball to player 2, who says “o” and then tosses it back to player 1, who says “p.”

Sound Bounce
Materials: bouncy ball
Directions: Similar to the above. Have your child say one sound at a time while bouncing the ball once for each sound. For example, “ch” - bounce - “o” - bounce -“p” - bounce.

Word Jump
Materials: index cards or post-its with words written on them.
Directions: Spread the word cards out on the floor. Call out a word and have your child find the corresponding card, read it aloud and then jump on it. Try different kinds of jumps - two legs, one legged stomps, frog jumps etc. Make this more challenging by selecting similar words (eg. ship / shop) so that your child has to pay close attention to each letter and sound.

Word Smash:
Materials: Clean(!) fly swatter, index cards or post-its with words written on them.
Directions: Similar to Word Jump. Instead of jumping on the word, have your child swat it with the flyswatter. If you have two players, they can compete to be the first one to swat it.

Lilypad Race
Materials: index cards or post-its with words on them.
Directions: Put the word cards in a line across a carpet or floor area that represents a “pond.” Have your child read one card (representing the “lilypad”), then frog jump on top of it. Repeat until your child reaches the other side of the “pond.” Time your child and have her try to beat her time in following rounds. Mix the order of the cards in each round.

Word Charades:
Materials: cards with word or short sentences, bag/hat/box to pick cards out of. Example cards: “duck” “mad” or “The dog is fast” Directions: The first player picks a card out of the bag. He should read it to himself silently and then act out the word or the sentence. The other players try to guess the prompt.

Bonus Basket Game
Materials: basket or bin, ball, word cards
Directions: Place a stack of word cards between two players. The first player draws a card. If she reads it correctly, her team gets a point. Then the player will try to throw the ball in the basket/bin. If the ball goes in, she scores an extra point for his team.

Scavenger Hunt
Materials: small objects, a list of the objects , a pencil or pen.
Directions: Place small objects around the room. Give your child a word list to read and a small basket or bag to collect the things on their list. See if she can find all the objects and check off the entire list.

Word Spritz:
Materials: Small spray bottle filled with water, chalk
Directions: Write words with chalk on a sidewalk or driveway. Call out one of the words. Have your child find it and spritz it away with water.

Word soccer:
Materials: small cones, word / sentence cards, ball, tape
Directions: Tape a card with a word or short sentence on it to a small cone. Place the cones in a line a short distance away from a starting point. Have your child dribble to a cone, read the word or sentence aloud, and then continue dribbling around the cone and return to the starting point. If you have two players, you can make it a race.

Word bowling:
Materials: small cones, word / sentence cards, ball, tape
Directions: Similar to Word Soccer, above. Instead of dribbling the ball to the cones, roll the ball at the cone and try to knock it down. Each cone knocked down earns the player one point.

Hop Scotch:
Materials: chalk
Directions: Draw a hopscotch frame on a sidewalk or driveway. Fill in the boxes with letters. Be sure to include common consonants and a few vowels. Call out a word and have your child jump from box to box to spell the word. For example, for the word stop, have your child jump to s - then t - then o - then p.

View the complete list

Reading Games:

Here you will find valuable information, games and activities to go along with Half-Pint Readers decodable books. The first eight activities listed prepare your child for reading and give specific instructions on how to teach and blend the sounds. These games and activities are great to review and practice skills.

View Half-Pint Kids recommendations 

Phonemic Awareness Games and Videos: 

https://heggerty.org/summer/