Dear Parents:
Spring is here and your child’s countdown to the final school bell
has undoubtedly and understandably begun. As we look forward to
another busy and hopefully, relaxing summer, we are already
anticipating the challenges of the new school year. Reminded by
novelist Scott Corbett that reading provides “a chance to live an extra
life,” and by author William Safire that reading “will improve your writing or at
least tickle your thinking,” we hope that our students find an appreciation for
reading this summer. We encourage you to help your child maintain the progress he
or she has made this school year by continuing to read during the upcoming summer
break. Research has shown the powerful impact of continued reading. Children who
read during the summer months can sustain their reading gains and are better
prepared for learning when the school bell rings again in the fall. In order to
maintain a high level of student achievement, we are encouraging all students to
find readings that interest them, whether poetry, fiction, non-fiction, drama, or
another genre. Because reading is such an important part of our daily lives, North
Pointe has teamed up with Scholastic to keep track of our summer reading and
provide videos from some of our favorite authors. Rising third through fifth
graders will be provided with a username and password to unlock Scholastic’s
“Power Up and Read” program. Students will also be given a Summer Reading Log if
they would prefer to keep track of their minutes read on a reading log. We also
want to encourage you to have your child write and practice math skills this
summer. Every minute counts and practice helps us to get closer to perfect.
To promote a love for reading, North Pointe is offering a reward program for
students who read, write and practice math over the summer! Using the North
Pointe Elementary Summer Reading Log or the Scholastic “Power Up and Read”
website, students will keep track of what they read by listing the title of each book
they read and the minutes spent reading the book, then have a parent sign off on it.
If your student reads the required number of minutes, writes and/or completes the
math section for their fall 2015 grade level, they will be invited to a special
celebration at the beginning of next school year!! We wish you and yours a happy,
relaxing and productive summer.
Courtney Brunetti
Reading Coach
Super Summer Study Requirements
Reading Requirements:
Research has shown that students who spend 20 minutes per day reading
outside of the classroom will be exposed to 1.8 million words per year.
(http://phoenixacademyomaha.org/read-for-20-minutes-each-day/)
(http://www.k12reader.com/why-read-20-minutes-a-day/)
Students will be required to read an equivalent of 20 minutes per day (120
minutes per week) reading books that are on their just write level. I will
check the Scholastic Website or we will accept the attached reading log if
you are not able to have internet access. Please contact me at
courtneybrunetti@anderson5.net if you have any problem logging into the
scholastic website. The website’s link is on North Pointe’s library page or you
can access it at scholastic.com/summer.
Ideas for Writing and Math
Second through Fifth Grade
Writing Ideas:
Describe one time when you were brave.
If you could cook any meal for your family, what would you cook? Describe
the meal and tell how you would make it.
Imagine you woke up and saw a dinosaur in your backyard. Write a story
telling what you see and do.
Imagine you opened your own restaurant. Tell the name of your restaurant.
Explain what the restaurant looks like, who works there, and what you serve.
Describe your favorite character from a book, a movie, or television.
Write a story titled, "My Journey on a Pirate Ship." You and your friends can
star in the story.
If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be? Describe the pet.
How old were you four years ago? Describe some things you can do now that
you could not do then.
What is your favorite summer memory? How old were you when it happened?
For 10 minutes relive that memory through writing about it as if you were
right there recording it in real time.
Do you like the summer heat or do you spend most of your time in the cool,
air-conditioned indoors? How do you think people coped with the heat before
air conditioning and electric fans were invented?
Math Ideas:
Hop on your right foot and count how many hops you can do it! Hop on your
left foot. What foot could you do more hops on? Compare.
Ask your family which food they would like at a cookout. Which food did
people want the most? Which food did people want the least?
Count backwards how long it will take you to put on your shoes. For example,
20 seconds. 20, 19, 18…
Grab a handful of objects. (Pennies, beads, marbles…) Guess how many there
are. Count your objects. Were you close to your estimate?
Keep track of the weather for one week. How many sunny days? Rainy days?
How many more rainy days than sunny days?
Count the people that live in your house with you. How many toes do they
have altogether? How many fingers?
Walk around the house. How many steps does it take you to get around your
house? Then try giant steps. Which used more?
Estimate how long it will take you to do 100 jumping jacks. Did it take more
or less than 5 minutes? Record your time and compare with a friend.
Use a grocery store flyer to plan a breakfast. List all the items you need and
record the price of each item. How much will breakfast cost?
If you start playing a game at 8 a.m. and play for 1 and a half hours, what
time is it when you’re done? How do you know?
Find a simple recipe that you will enjoy. Make a shopping list. Go to the store
to “find” any ingredients that you might need with a parent. Read and follow
the recipe. Enjoy the food!
Practice your addition, subtraction and/or multiplication facts.
When visiting a restaurant add up the prices of the food and determine how
much the bill will be.
Visit the website www.multiplication.com Choose some activities to
have fun practicing multiplication. Record your choices.
Look at weather in the paper across the nation. Look at the
highest temperature and the lowest temperature, what is
the difference between them?
Find the area of your bedroom floor. What room in your house could have
twice the area of your bedroom? Half the area of your room? Check.
Write down the numbers you see on 2 license plates. Create 4 math problems
with these numbers.
Make a dollar with 50 coins. What coins did you use? How many of each?
DREAM BIG – READ!
Anderson School District Five Summer Reading 2015
Student Name:
Title
Author
Date
Minutes
Read
Parent/
Guardian
Signature
Total pages read on this sheet
Elementary School: Reading logs should be turned into the homeroom teacher by August 28, 2015.
Middle and High Schools: Reading logs should be turned into the ELA teacher by August 28, 2015.
Attach additional reading log pages or use the back of this sheet as needed.