Preventing Summer Slump

Active, Engaged Minds!

By: Joanna Shelley and Rachel Murray

Summer is the time for

fun and play.

two months of reading

achievement each summer, by sixth grade, that
student will be two years
behind his or her classmates.

Summer is also the best

time to review, build, or
strengthen academic
habits. Keeping the mind
engaged during the sum- Stop the slump!
mer is critical.
Summer is indeed time
for fun but with very litDid you know that one of tle effort and very little
time, you have the power
the biggest dangers of
summer (aside from sun- to stop the slump and
burn) is summer slide. help your child not just
maintain all he has
According to the research by International worked so hard to learn
Reading Association past this year but potentially
even gain a month of
president, Richard Allearning!!
lington, students can
lose up to 3 months of
academic gain over the
summer. Summer learning loss occurs naturally
in all students as they
experience a break in
education.
Yikes!
If a student loses just

One solutionREAD!
Use this summer to offer
your child the gift of literacy. Read as a family,
offer your child books
(print or digitally), allow
your child to read indoors, outdoors, or even
under the stars. Make it

a habit this summer to

read every day.

Commonwealth
Connections Academy
Volume 5, Issue 1
May/June 2015

To help excite you and

your student to stay engaged this summer, here
is a list of 10 weekly activities to help you think,
read, and problem solve.
It is with good intentions that I write this
newsletter offering you
- families, learning
coaches, and students
some fun, quick things
you can do at home to
prevent the summer
slump.
Have a terrific summer!

Special points of interest:

What is summer slump?
Ideas for summer math
Websites of interest
A message from your
teacher
Rules to earn screen
time this summer.
Summer reading log

Inside this issue:

Quick/Easy Ideas

Sneaking in Math

Writing habits

Reading Bucket List

From your Teacher

Summer reading contests

Websites of Interest

Summer reading log

Writing Tools and Ideas

7-9

Quick Easy Ideas to Keep Reading, Writing, Thinking, and Speaking

1.

CCA Summer Reading Challenge!!

June 1July 24. Grades K-5.
Under the student I icon look
for CCA Summer Reading Challenge.

6.

7.

2. Playing games (Clue, Uno,

Memory, Life, Phase 10, etc.)
develops critical thinking and
problem solving skills.
3.

4.

5.

Read at red lights and stop

signs. Keep books in the car for
short bursts of reading.
Combine reading with activities.
Are you oing to the park or
lake? Are you planning a picnic
or Fourth of July party? Have
your child read about the location or event before you attend.
Turn on the close captioning for
your television.

8.

Remove all technology for one day

and head outside. Active bodies
lead to active minds.

write words and messages outside.

11. Look at maps and brochures to

Read aloud to your students.
plan travel routes and visits.
Pause to ask questions about
what just happened or what will
12. Use these phrases with your
happen next. Together, keep
child: Tell me about ____ or
track of the actions and attiShow me how you did _____.
tudes of the character . How similar or how different is the char- 13. Be a newshound. Look through
acter to your child?
the newspaper or online for a
news event from another city or
Write each food group on a piece
state. Find out as much inforof paper. Search the refrigeramation as you can. Share what
tor and pantry sorting all foods in
you learned with a family memthe house into the food groups.
ber.

9. Plan a family dinnerhave your

14. Read Just Right books, magastudent look for and read recizines, game rules, or cereal boxpes. Students can then design
es. Any reading counts as readand write a menu as well as assist
ing. The key it to make sure
in food preparation.
your child can read most words
on the page successfully!
10. Use paintbrushes and water to

Sneaking Math Activities Into Your Day:

1.

Help your student make a lemonade stand. Younger kids can help
measure and mix and older kids
can practice counting money and
making change!

2.

Sort the laundry (by owner, by

color, by size, by item type).
Who in your family had the most
socks in this load?

3.

While watching baseball, have

your child play umpire. They can

Page 2

tally balls and strikes and make a

graph. They can also keep track
of how many innings remain.
4.

Driving time is great learning

time. Students can sneak in math
by calculating time and mileage.
You can play a math license plate
game by having kids add or subtract the numbers they see.

5.

When you buy school supplies

(pencils, etc...) keep track of the

amount you spend. Total up the

cost.
6. Go on a 3-D scavenger hunt. How
many cylinders, pyramids, cubes,
rectangular prisms, and cones can
you
find ?
Continued on
page 4

Preventing Summer Slump

Summer Writing (continued on pages 7-9)

When the school years done,
kids have fun.
Skateboarding around the block,
These three months are going to
rock.
In the pool you take a dip
or maybe even a family trip.
Three months of fun
in the sun.
Have a party all day long
or perhaps sing a famous song
All the things that can entertain you
the question is what to do.
-Jonathan Hicks

journal prompts to make you think

about different ideas. Choose from

Upper Elementary: Want to really

some of these Summer Writing

challenge yourself? Read through

Ideas for Kids (p.7) or http://

some of these Summer Journal Ideas

www.scholastic.com/teachers/story

(p. 9). There are a mix of summer

-starters/

writing prompts and story starter ideas.

Lower Elementary: Continue the

fun each month with these writing
prompts: June-Ice cream sundae,
July-watermelon, and Augustbeachball (p.8).

Just because the school year is done, doesnt

mean you should stop your mind from exploring creative writing! Get some special colored writing pens or pencils and decorate a
journal to keep for the summer of 2015!
Maybe you want to plan this with a friend
and at the end of the summer you could
trade books and read each others stories.
Or maybe, you want to have special time with
family members and read one of your journal
entries each night to them. Parents, I bet
your child would absolutely love for you to
write comments after his/her entry and
hear from you! Do these all need to be hand
written in a journal, you may ask? No, have
even more fun and use sidewalk chalk, bathtub crayons, window markers or crayons, or
paint! The more excitement you show as an
adult, the more excited your child will be to
share ideas with you.
You may choose to write about an event that
took place that day or you may want a few

Volume 5, Issue 1

Page 3

Avoid hearing Im bored! this summer with this suggested routine:

MondayMake Something Monday

(create, craft, recipe, build)

TuesdayTake a Trip Tuesday (movie, museum, hike, park)

WednesdayWet and Wild Wednesday (swim, splash, soak)
ThursdayThinking Thursday (library, online play, research, science, write)
FridayFresh and Fun Friday (free play, fun time!)

HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER!!!

Sneaking Math
Activities Into
Your Day
(continued):

temperature. Make a bar

graph of the actual temperature over these 7
days.
9. Practice telling time.
7. At the playground,
Have students countdown
time 5 children running
to fun activities like playacross the field (or time ing outside or going swim1 friend 5 times). Make a ming. Have them tell you
line graph of their finish- when its time to leave.
ing times.
8. Over the next week,
record the actual high
Page 4

cream flavors, 2 types of

sauce, and two kinds of
sprinkles?

11. Use coupons. Talk

about sale discounts. Determine how much money
you saved.

10. Figure out how many

different combinations
you can create with: 3 ice
Preventing Summer Slump

Websites of Interest:
http://www.funbrain.com/

www.scholastic.com

Math and reading game site.

Book recommendations, games, and

summer reading

www.abcya.com

Grades K-5 educational games for

reading and math.
www.starfall.com

An early reading and phonics site for

K-2 students.
http://www.magickeys.com/books/

Free online storybooks for all aged

readers.
http://www.storylineonline.net/

www.textproject.org/students/
summerreads

Grades 3-5 resource. Contains downloadable files of books and activities

http://www.aaamath.com/

http://www.rif.org/documents/us/
summer_reading.pdf

Math practice website on everything

from addition to algebra.4

An 8 week summer reading guide that

goes beyond just trips to the library.

http://mixinginmath.terc.edu/

Math resource site for students and

parents learning at home.
www.gregtangmath.com

Math fact fluency games, math literature, printable materials.

Screen Actors Guild members read

books aloud for students.

Please always use discretion in previewing a website and monitoring

the options your child has to click
or the advertisements they may

Summer Rules for

Summer Reading

Screen Time

Programs and Contests

Commonwealth Connections
Academy:
Summer Reading Challenge
Dataview (under the i-icon).
Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/summerreading/379003570/

Chuck E Cheese Reading Rewards!

http://www.chuckecheese.com/_content_as
sets/files/images/calendars/2015/Reading
Rewards_RC_1214.pdf

Be sure to check your local library for summer reading activities.

Page 5

Preventing Summer Slump

Sample Summer Reading Log

Keep track of all the great books you read this summer.

Page 6

Preventing Summer Slump

Summer Writing (Continued)

Summer Writing Ideas for Kids
1. Whats the most important thing you would like to do this summer?
2. Summertime great for the outdoors. Go for a walk. Write a sentence about the walk you went on.
3. What is your favorite thing to do when you play outdoors in the summer?

4. What is your favorite thing to do when you play inside? Why do you play inside in the summertime?
5. If you could go on a summer vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?
6. Make a list of groceries that you think mom or dad should buy for you from the store.
7. Tell about an animal you would like to have for a pet.
8. What would you do if there was a dragon stuck under your bed?
9. What is the funniest thing that you have ever seen?
10. What is something you would like to learn more about?
11. What kind of pet do you think a teacher should get for their classroom?
12. What is the best movie you have ever seen?
13. Tell about your most favorite book.
14. Tell about your favorite holiday. Explain why it is your favorite.
15. Tell about your favorite restaurant. Why is it your favorite?
16. Write a poem about what you think next school year will be like.
Source:
17. What is something you love about yourself and why?
http://journalbuddies.com/
18. If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be and why?
jour19. Make a list of the things you are most thankful for in your life.
nal_prompts__journal_topics/
20. Which season do you like the most?? Why??
summer-writing-for-kids-37fabulous-ideas-to-write-about/

21. Which season do you like the least, why????

22. You just won $1,000,000. What are you going to do first?
23. Tell about a time when you were kind to someone.
24. Tell about your favorite song.
25. Write a story about the mysterious zizzybaloobuh that you just found in your bathtub.
26. What is something that makes you ANGRY!!!!! and why?
27. Tell about your favorite sport.
28. Tell about the last time you cried.
29. What are you scared of and why?
30. You found a magic wand! What would you do with it?
31. Tell about your favorite food and why it is so good.

Page 7

Preventing Summer Slump

Summer Writing (Continued)

Page 8

Preventing Summer Slump

Summer Writing (Continued)

Page 9

Preventing Summer Slump