1 Bridging the Summer Education Gap Renita DeGraff Deb Henderson

2 Bridging the Reading Gap  Read! Read! Read!  At least 30 minutes a day of reading keeps skills current  Ask your child’s teacher for their just right reading level (ask for grade level equivalence – usually that is what is listed on the back cover of a book)  It’s okay to read lower level books for practicing fluency and decoding skills  Just right level books are best for comprehension, both literal & inferential

3 How do I Get my Child to Read?  Read the same book and discuss over a “date”  Sit side by side and read with your child  If you have many reading levels, use audio books. Younger kids can listen, while older kids follow along.  Join a Reading Incentive Program  King County Library  Barnes & Noble Bookstore  Access on-line resources, such as scholatic or A to Z Learning

4 Real Life Reading  Read travel books or brochures  Read your city’s newspaper together  Check out magazines from the library  Decide on a summer topic and become an expert – research with books, zoo visits, museum visits, write to an expert

5 Bridging the Math Gap  Facts! Facts! Facts!  Play War with cards  Flashcards  10 in the car, 10 before a meal, 10 while brushing your teeth  Logic Problems  Riddles, while in the car

6 Real Life Math  In the car  Miles to your destination, miles per gallon, cost per journey  Plan a Vacation and price it out  Cost Comparisons – are cherries a better buy at the grocery store or at the farmer’s market?  Plan a home or yard project  What materials would you need?  How much would it cost?  Practice measuring – area, perimeter, square feet  How much time will it take? Plan it out on a calendar.  Practice time  If my swimming lesson starts at 9:20, lasts 50 minutes, when will I be done?  Have them pay!  Value of coins, making change  Practice days of week, months in a year, which months are in which season

7 Bridging the Writing Gap  Have a “pillow journal.” Your child writes to you and puts in under your pillow, you write back and put it under theirs.  Travel or Daily Journal  Writing, drawings with labels  Family Curiosity Journal  What are you curious about? Who in your family can help you find out more?  Write letters on real paper, address envelopes, take it to the post office and put a real stamp on it  or write the White House – they do respond!  Write your congressman or mayor about what they are doing well or an improvement you would like to see in your community  Write a book – it could be a combination of a story, nonfiction facts. Add photos and publish it!

8 Bridging the Science Gap  Science is being emphasized more in the Common Core State Standards – start early!  Kitchen Science Experiments – so many websites!  Practice the scientific process  Following the steps in a science experiment helps with content, sequencing, and observing

9 Real Life Science  Cook with a recipe  Sequencing, fractions, measurement  Nonfiction Reading and Vocabulary  Zoo and museum signs, reading charts & tables  Go Outside!  I Spy!  Science journal – write down details, draw what you see and include labels & captions  Use a magnifying glass and draw a part of something  Make Connections  Land - Plot of Land –Root – Trunk - Branch – Leaf – Flower – Bee – Apple I eat!  In a Car – Sand – Rocks – Lifting – Tide Pool – Small Sea Creatures  Water Detective – find out where the water is coming into the lake from?

10 Some Summer Resources  Parentmap.com  King County Library System  --Summer Reading Program(under Events tab)  Museum Quest Program (under Programs & Classes tab)   Great site for leveled books  Scholastic.com 