For veteran third-grade teacher Alycia Zimmerman, summer reading is a logical extension to the reading culture teachers create throughout the school year. “We read because we love it, and we read even more during the summer because our relaxed schedules allow more time for reading,” Zimmerman says. 

You can keep your students reading all summer! Here are Zimmerman’s top tips for keeping students engaged with books. 

Tip 1: One Last Read-Aloud 'Just for Fun!'

Thrill your students with one final classroom read aloud! Throughout the school year, Zimmerman reads out loud to model strategies for being a proficient reader. But in the last few weeks of school, she selects a “juicy” chapter book with a new focus for her modeling: the total, unfettered pleasure of reading!

“I get lost in the book with my students—I share my excitement, my daydreams about the characters, and my intrinsic commitment to reading,” she says. “I read a bit longer each day, building a sense of urgency and celebrating my students' reading and listening stamina. I also spur my students to read for longer periods of time each day, as we get ready for the luxury of limitless reading time during summer vacation.”

TIP: While they bask in the pleasures of reading, have your students fill out a “reading wish list” to plan for their summer of reading.

Zimmerman’s favorite end-of-year read aloud is Roald Dahl’s The Witches!

Tip 2: A Special Parting Gift

Send your students home for the summer with a parting gift that will make them feel connected to their reading community.

Zimmerman likes to make each of her students a commemorative bookmark by using free word cloud websites. She types in all of her students’ names and other words relevant to the past school year and customizes the design colors and fonts for each student. She prints the rectangular bookmarks on cardstock, laminates them, and threads a ribbon through a hole in the top. For the finishing touch, she writes a personal message on the back of each bookmark.

Tip #3: Explore the Library

Introduce your students to the wonderful mecca of books available all summer: the public library! (If it's possible and safe to in your county or state right now.) 

A few weeks before the end of school, Zimmerman plans a visit to the local branch of the public library. She recommends coordinating with the children’s librarian ahead of time to pick up library card applications. If you send the applications home with your students and return the completed applications to the library before your visit, the librarian has time to prepare the new cards in advance. 

On the day of the library field trip, your students will be thrilled to find their new library cards waiting for them! Students with a signed permission slip can even borrow a book from the library. Send home this letter with any students who check out a book so their families know to return it on time.

Tip 4: Join Scholastic’s Summer Reading Program!

Sign up your students for the Scholastic Summer Reading program—a free, safe, and exciting summer reading experience!

Readers enrolled in Scholastic Summer Reading can track their reading with Reading Streaks™ in the Scholastic Home Base digital destination, earn virtual rewards for their achievements, and engage with their favorite authors in special virtual events. Readers can even help unlock a donation of 100,000 print books for kids with limited or no access to books.

Register your class for the Scholastic Summer Reading Program. 

Tip 5: Connect With Your Summer Reading Community                    

Stay connected with your students over the summer.

If you can, organize an optional meet-up at the public library once or twice during the summer. Invite your students and their families to meet you in the children’s room at the library where they can catch up with their friends, share book recommendations, and read with buddies. Alternatively, a virtual meet-up works, too!

Connecting over the summer gives you an opportunity to check in with your students’ reading progress and help them pick out new books to read. It’s also a chance for another teacher-led read aloud as a nostalgic reminder of your reading adventures the previous year.

TIP: When you connect, encourage your students to share their recommendations—and even write reviews!—of the books they read over the summer. 

Put books in students’ hands this summer with the great titles below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store.