Friday, May 16, 2025
Many of us have fond memories of taking part in summer reading programs with a personal pan pizza at the end as reward for a certain number of books read and checked out from the public library.
As we approach the end of the 2024-25 school year and the weather is getting warm, now is a great time to begin discussing summer reading ideas and habits with your students, regardless of literacy level, grade, or even subject.
Part of what makes summer reading so special is the opportunity for students to make choices of material outside of any classroom constraints. Joy and interest is fundamental to building lifelong readers and learners. Planning for summer reading helps students build excitement and makes them and their families more likely to engage in one way or another with reading during out-of-school time.
Library Resources Galore
Most public libraries in the state still offer a summer reading program of their own, and now is a great time to get students excited about that! Here are some ways to spark their knowledge of library resources for their summer reading:
- Ask students if they have a library card. Provide parents with information to take home about applying for a library card if they don’t already have one
- Check out your local library’s web site. Print out information to send home about their summer reading program. This is a great time to also highlight the many services adults can receive at the library, including free access to computers and internet.
- Find a list of your students’ local library locations. Make it easy for students and parents to find their closest library. Challenge them to visit as many libraries over the summer as they can!
- Check out these tips from Badgerlink on creating a summer reading program for your library.
Help Students Choose Their Summer Book Experiences
- Encourage students to embrace different formats. Don't limit reading to traditional books. Include graphic novels, audiobooks, and even magazines.
- Connect reading to summer activities. Encourage students to read books about places they are visiting or want to visit, or read books that relate to their hobbies and interests.
- Browse for recommendations. The Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the School of Education at UW- Madison publishes recommendations and its best-of-year lists, which is a great resource for finding new authors or books.
Family and Friends Make Reading Social
We know that students (especially young ones) can experience FOMO when they're supposed to be reading, especially if others around them are doing other (sometimes easier, sometimes more "exciting" or loud) tasks. Aside from encouraging time in a quiet space or a preferred reading nook, many students may benefit from built-in social experiences around reading. Pass these tips along to caregivers and talk to your students about these fun social reading strategies:
- Reading buddies. Encourage students to have a reading “buddy”-- maybe a classmate, maybe a family member. Parents or caregivers can host kids’ book clubs, visit libraries together, and encourage discussions about books.
- Family reading time. Read aloud together, have everyone read independently, or even have family members take turns reading aloud. Listen to audiobooks in the car or while on public transportation. Lots of audiobooks are available for free through the Libby app and your local public library.
- Model Reading Behavior. Let your children see you reading and writing, whether it's a book, magazine, or newspaper.
- Share Reading Experiences. Talk about what you're reading, your favorite characters, and what you're learning from the book. Ask Questions! Encourage children to think critically about the book and to connect it to their own experiences.
- Host a Book Swap. Organize a book swap with neighbors or friends to get new books.
- Do a Little Free Library Book Crawl. People of almost any age can walk, ride their bikes, navigate with their mobility devices, or be pulled in wagons to check out what is on offer around their neighborhood. Families can build a little free library for their front yard. Thrift and secondhand stores often have books at very low prices, and students can curate books to go into their library, or just have fun exploring what’s already out there.
Summer can be a time of great adventure for students, but it can also be a time of great boredom. Many older students may be working in order to support themselves or their families. Encouraging students of all ages to engage in reading for pleasure over the summer can help keep their minds sharp and ease the transition back into school in the fall.
Tell us about your approach to summer reading. We'd love to hear about how you get students engaged and excited about books! Drop us an email here.