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.) and 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/ or here https://justrightreader.com/pages/decodables-e-library or here: https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/learners-resources/. Scroll down for books that get longer and more complex.
• Visit the Norwich Public Library and borrow some of the great decodable books that they’ve recently added to their collection.
• Participate in the engaging programs at the public library. You can find info about events here: https://www.norwichlibrary.org/
• 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. You can use the Fundations chart on the back of this page as a reference tool.
• Sign up for free mini reading lessons that you can do with your child at home. The organization Read Not Guess will email you the directions and materials you need for each short lesson https://www.readnotguess.com/free-programs
• 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 on the Libby app (free from the public library) or through Sora (free through MCS).
• 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).

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.)
• Have your child read aloud to you! Try reading in lots of different places together (under a tree, in a fort, 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. Use the Fundations keywords charts on the back of this page as a tool.
• 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.
• If your child is working on strengthening their accuracy, decoding, and/or fluency 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 or here: https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/learners-resources/ or here: https://halfpintkids.com/online-materials/ (scroll down on all websites for books that are longer and more challenging)
• Visit the Norwich Public Library and borrow some of the great decodable books that they’ve recently added to their collection.
• Participate in the engaging programs at the public library. You can find info about events here: https://www.norwichlibrary.org/
• Sign up for free mini reading lessons that you can do with your child at home. The organization Read Not Guess will email you all the directions and materials you need for each short lesson: https://www.readnotguess.com/free-programs (Levels 2 or 3 will be most appropriate for rising 2nd graders).
• Listen to an audiobook on the Libby app (free from the public library) or through Sora (free through MCS).
• Play free literacy games online with the Starfall app, Khan Academy kids app or the PBS Kids app/website

Ideas for Summer Literacy Practice for Rising 3rd Graders

• Read aloud to your child! Try reading lots of different types of books (fiction, non-fiction, fairy tales, silly stories etc.)
• Have your child read aloud to you! Try reading in lots of different places together (under a tree, in a fort, etc.)
• Write and illustrate letters to family or friends. Use the Fundations keywords chart on the back of this page as a tool for spelling.
• Participate in the engaging programs at the Norwich public library. You can find info about events here: https://www.norwichlibrary.org/
• Listen to an audiobook on the Libby app (free from the public library) or through Sora (free through MCS).
• Encourage your child to do a phonics workbook to strengthen their writing 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.
• If your child is working on strengthening their accuracy, decoding, and/or fluency skills, have them practice reading phonetically decodable books aloud. You can find a variety of high interest options for free here that will review skills taught in 2nd grade: https://justrightreader.com/pages/decodables-e-library (books are sorted by grade level) or here: https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/learners-resources/ (“Reading Series 2” corresponds to 2nd grade)
• You can also borrow some of the great decodable books that the Norwich Public Library has recently added to their collection.

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/