Best easy summer-learning ideas

Instructor, May-June, 2007 by Samantha Cleaver

There's no getting around it: Over the summer months, our students can lose up to 60% of the math and reading skills that they learned during the year. From special ways to say goodbye to fun activities to share with parents, here are over 50 ideas to keep the learning going.

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last-day activities that bring it home

These activities will help your students reminisce, celebrate fond memories, and bring conclusion to your class. They can be adjusted for any grade level.

* Sign it: Create an autograph book for each student. On the last day of school, pass around the books for each student to sign.

* Record-keeping: Create a class book of records. Help the class come up with categories and assign the records (most pairs of shoes, most freckles, most creative, etc.). Every student should have one.

* Play school: Create a class board game that takes the students through the school year; include obstacles like testing (You're too busy and focused to move: Skip one turn) and field trips (You're on the roller coaster at Six Flags: Move ahead three spaces).

* Raffle it: Clean out your classroom and give students mementos by raffling off items in the classroom. Start with smaller items (such as pencils) and work your way up (class art projects, etc.).

* Dear next year: Have students write a letter to next year's class. Ask them to tell the incoming class what they liked and give the incoming students advice.

* Class time line: Create a time line of the year together. Post butcher paper around the room and mark off months and important dates. Have the students walk around and fill in events that they remember well.

* Graph it: Calculate the amount of time you, as a class, have spent in reading, math, gym, library, lunch, recess, and other planned activities. Then create a graph of how you spent your school year.

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starting off right

Even though you're raring for summer vacation, students--especially young students and those with disabilities--may have a hard time moving from the structured school year to full-time vacation. "It's important for teachers to recognize that many children with disabilities have difficulty transitioning," says Dr. George Giuliani, president of the National Association of Parents in Special Education and director of the Graduate Program in Special Education at Hofstra University. The best thing teachers can do is sit down with parents to discuss summer. "Have a plan," says Giuliani. "Discuss the options. What will the child de--take time off? Go to summer school? Go to camp?"

In the classroom, don't have one plan for all students. "Every child is different," says Giuliani. "Mid-May through June, teachers should have sessions to discuss recreation. Talk about what the students want to do during summer vacation and how they're going to do it. Have them set goals."

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Summer math activities

Help students maintain their math skills and keep them thinking in numbers all summer long.

For Grades K-3:

* Shopaholic: What can you buy for $5 at the corner store? From the ice cream truck? In a hardware store? At the beach?

* Change it up: Start collecting change in a jar on the first day of summer. On the last day, estimate your change, count it, and plan a special purchase.

* Summer patterns: Create patterns using summer items (popsicle sticks, shells, flowers). Or, draw patterns in the sand or dirt using a stick or your hands. See how long you can carry out your pattern--along the length of the sandbox, or across the grass.

* Napkin fractions: Fold paper towels or napkins into large and small fractions, from one-half to 1/16. Use markers to label and decorate the different fractions.

* Design hunt: Keep an eye out for shapes, patterns, and designs when you're out and about. You never know what you'll find in the architecture at the airport, the shopping mall, or even the grocery store.

* 100% delicious: Use ice cream to make fraction sundaes. Can you make an ice cream sundae that is one-half vanilla and one-half chocolate? What about one-third chocolate, one-third vanilla, and one-third strawberry? Can you cover a scoop of ice cream with one-quarter each nuts, sprinkles, cookie crumbs, and gummy bears? Or can you eat a bite of ice cream that is one-half chocolate, one-half vanilla? For older children, calculate the percentage of each ice cream flavor in the sundae.

For Grades 4-8:

* Record-breakers: Use a stopwatch to time yourself running, roller blading, swimming, or biking. Then try to beat your time. Be sure to keep the distance you're moving the same for each trial. Graph the results. (You may need a partner for this.)

* Where will you be? Using a map, calculate where you will you be if you travel 20, 50, 100, or 1,000 miles from home.

* How many ways? As you're exploring your neighborhood during the summer, how many routes can you take to the school, the grocery store, the mall, or your friend's house? What's the catch: No backtracking and you must take a new route each time.