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summer reading assignments and resources for the 2011-2012 school year

Stay Sharp This Summer! - Resources for Students

During the summer break, students benefit from reviewing and practicing concepts and skills introduced, investigated, and learned during the school year. We are providing ideas and websites as recommended resources to keep skills sharp over the summer.

Reading, Writing, and Spelling
The best way to continue the students’ progress in reading and writing is to engage in those activities on a regular basis. Summer vacation provides many opportunities to write and read.

  • View our recommened reading list for Early Childhood and Lower School Students for book suggestions.
  • Everyday experiences provide small moments to record, illustrate, and even expand upon into fictional territory.
  • Observations of nature, people, or places can be transformed into a journal filled with interesting notes and sketches.
  • Families can think together to create a story and share in illustrating it.
  • Sending postcards or notes to friends provides an opportunity to practice letter writing skills.
  • Having a quiet time each day is a great way to relax and gives everyone a chance to enjoy a good book.
  • Read-aloud is a favorite of students and is a chance to share time with the family. Talking about books is one of the best ways to develop comprehension skills.
  • Visiting the book store or library is also a great way to spend a hot day or a rainy afternoon.
  • Seeing family members enjoying reading and writing is a great model for children.
  • Helpful Websites
    • Starfall: This site is jammed pack with read alouds and reading activities.
    • Between the Lions is a large site full of reading games, songs, read alouds and short clips from the show.
    • Amazing Adventures has short films for children that will help them to understand the elements of storytelling. The site also has read alouds as well. Look for the audio icon to get the full effect.
    • Storyline Online is sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild. Here you will find famous actors reading books to children.
    • For upper grades, try Winged Sandals. This site is has short animated stories about Greek Mythology.
    • For great story telling try this site by Pixar. Although not a read aloud site, this is story telling at its best!
    • Get Ready to Read is a good site for reluctant readers.
    • From jolly ole England comes this fantastic site, BBC Schools, for literacy. Here you will find word games, animated stories for read alouds, and much, much more. There is even a spot that has a Spanish Component. This site is a favorite, but take your time because this site is HUGE!
    • Classic Fairy Tales: This is everything you would ever want in a website for reading. It is magical, animated, colorful and fun! Each story has follow-up activities. If you love folk and fairytales, this one’s for you.
    • DogEared - An online book club: DogEared is a blog ALL about books.Good books, funny books, adventure books. Books about animals, friendship, pirates, faraway places... Books about, almost EVERYTHING.
    • Genna's World is a creative writing website for kids that was created and is maintained by a kid. Kids can submit and post original stories, book reviews, comments on other kids' writing, and suggestions for a collaborative story.
    • MidLink is the virtual space where any student aged 8-18 can be a published author. They prefer classroom projects, sponsored by a teacher, but you can always invite a teacher to sponsor you.
    • Richard Gentry’s homepage. Understand the science of spelling.
    • Practice pages to download for free.
    • Spell check and a wordfind resource…especially for the Junior Scrabble players in your life.

Mathematics

  • Skills and concepts taught in math also need review and continual practice. Students were sent home with a Summer Review and Resource Book with a set of practice pages from the books we used during the year. Please use these in a manner that works best for you. They are provided to help the student to continue the progress made this year.
  • Summer practice works best in short, but regular sessions. We have provided enough practice pages to complete two to four each week.
  • While these are not a required set of activities, we do ask that you return the booklet in the fall. In this way, your child’s upcoming teacher will have immediate, helpful feedback on each learner that helps us further tailor instruction.
  • Remember, students will use a variety of approaches to solve the problems ranging from the use of manipulatives to the standard algorithm. If your child gets stuck on a concept or confused, move on. It is not helpful to struggle over a topic in the summer months. You may write a note like “this was a tough one!” and your child’s teacher will then have that feedback.
  • Helpful Websites:

Research Workshop and Science

At St. Anne’s School, we see each child as a capable researcher and thinker. It is a gift for us in the fall to listen to summer adventures. Whether students are turning over rocks to find salamanders, visiting an antebellum plantation, or going to a launch at Cape Canaveral, learning is all around them, and they soak it in—as you know—like sponges! Here are some tips for summer fun

  • Keep a journal of your trips. This will help your child find topics about which he or she is passionate. Have your child write and sketch about the natural world.
  • Dig Deep: Find out the one thing that your child is passionate about and encourage your child to dig deep and ask questions! Go to the library and check out resources to find your answers.
  • Field research: We know you will explore so much this summer. From your back yard to Annapolis to the world all around, enjoy getting “out there” with your child and encouraging your child to keep a record of what she or he finds to share with us when school begins in August.
  • Helpful Websites:
    • Cool Science: Includes five interactive activities for kids. From the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
    • Brainpop is a really cool and unique site full of animated health and science movies, and fun
      quizzes.
    • National Science Foundation
    • PBS Kids - Zoom
    • The Fun Works
    • National Geographic Kids
    • Science Monster
    • Color Matters: Budding artists and anyone interested in color will want to see how color affects our mind and body, its use in design and art, plus lots more. Explains additive and subtractive color systems, how the eye sees colors, and how other cultures view and use colors
    • Strange Science: Ever wonder how people figured out there used to be such things as dinosaurs? Curious about how scientists learned to reconstruct fossil skeletons? The knowledge we take for granted today was slow in coming, and along the way, scientists and scholars had some weird ideas.
    • Your Weight on Other Worlds: Fun site!
    • Time for Kids: Great e-magazine.
       

Most important, enjoy the summer and use your creativity to find fun and authentic ways to keep your child’s progress moving forward!