Summer reading is such a touchy topic. It’s hard to get buy-in for all parties [parents and students] and consistency in a busy summer.

If you know me, you know I’m a quota and timer hater when it comes to reading. Anything that can create resentment or cause students to find reading to be a chore or dislike reading is a No-Go in my book.

Today, I have ideas to help you and your students not only read this summer but love it too.

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As teachers, we often struggle with what to do about getting our students to actually read during the summer.

Sending home work packets, requiring reading logs, and most other traditional methods simply don't work. The only way to ensure your students will read over the summer is if our students have acquired a love of reading during the school year. I hope your students have made the leap from knowing how to read to being committed readers. But if they haven't made that firm commitment yet, in this episode...

Summer reading is a requirement at many schools around the country. While I'm not a fan of checklists and reading logs, I am fan of reading.

So many students have wonderful teachers who've matched them with books and made reading purposeful and exciting. Their students have learned to search for good books and to love books. You've have caught their hearts, and they will be readers for life. 

 Let’s see if we can catch some more hearts this summer.

Here's a few ideas for making summer reading purposeful for students and have it flow right into lessons for the first weeks of school. 

 Entering Kindergarten

Order caterpillars for September. Perhaps the summer read for incoming kindergarteners is the Very Hungry Caterpillar and as many Eric Carle books as they can get their hands on over the summer (parents can read to them aloud). Then, you can start September with these and an author study on Eric Carle. Read a bunch of his books, talk about him, find a video online, write a class ...