Summer Reading
Lower School
Shared Reading
We are continuing our tradition of a shared read for each grade level. These books have been thoughtfully selected by our teachers to serve as a jumping off point for discussions when school begins.
- Kindergarten: Please read as many books as possible from these "New and Old Favorites" (read with family)
- 1st: Read one or more books by Mo Willems
- 2nd: Please read one or more books by authors Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Kate DeCamillo
- 3rd: Explore learning about a character in a series: Ivy & Bean by Annie Burrows, The Year of Billy Miller (and the Miller Family series) by Kevin Henkes, or Judy Moody by Megan McDonald
- 4th: Wishtree by Katharine Applegate, The Wild Robot by Peter Brown and Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Building Reading Skills
Parent Resources |
Free Sites/Apps |
Subscription based Sites/Apps |
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Foundational Skills |
Activities |
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Phonological Awareness We learn to read words by deeply understanding how each SOUND connects to specific SYMBOLS (i.e., "sh" or "k" or "ay"). Phonological Awareness is the ability to hear differences in the way words sound. Children with phonological awareness can do things like identify initial sounds in words, count syllables in words, and identify words that rhyme. There is no print involved in phonological awareness; it is all about hearing the sounds. NOTE: It is a good idea to take the time and listen to a recording of the sounds that letters make so that you are saying the sounds correctly without a schwa (UH) sound at the end. Phonemic Awareness - the ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds in words. Hint: * Think about the sound, not the spelling, as you work with your child. |
Read nursery rhymes or Dr. Seuss books. When you hear two words that rhyme, point them out, and ask what other words might rhyme. Ask, what rhymes with cat? Do cow and how rhyme?
How many words can you find that rhyme with __________? Remind your child that rhyming is similar word endings. Identify words with the same ending sound (Do fish and dish have the same ending sound? Do fish and cat?) Hat ends with the /t/ sound. Listen, haT.” “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” game for segmenting (separating) words. Use a word with up to four phonemes (single sounds). The child stands and touches head, shoulder, knees, and toes, saying each sound in the word (Jump - /j/u/m/p/). “Snail Talk” - Cut out pictures of objects your child will recognize. Tell your child you are going to talk like a snail (very slowly). He/she will look at the pictures and figure out which word you are saying. PPP LLLLAAANNN (plane- remember the “e” is silent). Your child repeats the word, stretched out, then says the word in a regular way. Eventually, remove the pictures. Play games with your child where he/she can practice segmenting, blending, and manipulating sounds in words. |
Importance of Phonemic Awareness and Activity Ideas A list of rhyming books you might check out in your library is found at this website. Phonemic Awareness App: What’s Changed? |
Phonics Phonics is the ability to match a unit of sound (phoneme) to the letter or letters that make the sound (grapheme). |
Use a blending board (virtual or with phoneme grapheme cards) to practice manipulating and blending learned sounds together to make real or make-believe words. Decodable text is a type of text used in beginning reading instruction. Decodable texts are carefully sequenced to progressively incorporate words that are consistent with the letter–sound relationships that have been taught to the new reader. Research shows that decodability is a “critical characteristic of early reading text as it increases the likelihood that students will use a decoding strategy and results in immediate benefits, particularly in regard to accuracy.” Research also highlights the need for students to apply phonics skills in connected text and found that decodable text positively impacts early reading progress. |
Here's the Ultimate Guide to Teaching Blending Sounds in Words! Blending board practice options: |
Fluency Good readers read effortlessly and with expression. They can make connections among the ideas in the text and their background knowledge. In other words, fluent readers recognize words and comprehend at the same time. |
“Echo Read”- Read a sentence and have your child read the same sentence after you. This gives them practice hearing how a sentence should be read with the right emphasis on words, stopping at the right place, and using the right intonation (the way your voice rises and falls when you speak). “Repeated Readings” - Encourage your child to reread favorite books. Repeated reading improves children’s fluency and comprehension. Talk about the book and practice reading with expression. Give the wolf a scary growl or use a squeaky voice for a mouse. “Audio-Assisted Reading” - Have your child do the following:
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RazKids, Epic, and Audible all contain audiobooks. Check your local library. They often have audiobooks that can be checked out.
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Sight Words Recognizing words by sight helps kids become faster, more fluent readers. |
Many parts of sight words are tricky to read and spell — some parts aren’t spelled the way they sound, and so we have to recognize and learn those parts by heart.
Students can practice learning their sight words through the bingo board multisensory activities! Students can secure the patterns by practicing the spelling of sight words using Fundations lined paper, play-dough, sand, or letter tiles. |
Bingo Board (one activity per day!)
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Comprehension/ vocabulary Strong reading achievement and reasoning skills are built upon a base of LOTS of knowledge of the world. Children can learn vast amounts of vocabulary words, concepts, and information via a read-aloud. |
There are many options for reading aloud:
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Take a few nights a week to spend on rereading family favorites and/or discovering new read-alouds (Ms. Sarconi listed books of the week in every edition of “This Week in Lower School” throughout the year. |
Connected writing Writing allows students to organize their thoughts and provides a means by which students can form and extend their thinking, and in turn deepen their understanding. Writing can be a meaning-making process. |
Students practice writing for a variety of purposes (free writing, narrative writing, response writing), and then re-read what they wrote in order to match the words written on the page to what he/she is reading out loud to an adult. Journaling can help students to write, color, breathe, visualize, and reflect on their own physical, mental, and emotional wellness. |
Select the Reading Response prompt to complete after reading or listening to a story. |
Leveled Reading
Research shows that the best way to become a better reader is to read! Additionally, matching students to books at their independent reading level will ensure that they are maximizing their vocabulary acquisition and comprehension skills by reading in their zone of proximal development. Because Woodland teachers assess students' reading levels throughout the year, we can better match summer reading books to an individual’s reading level (as opposed to grade level).
Independent reading levels are determined based on three primary metrics: Accuracy, Comprehension, and Fluency. Accuracy refers to the number of errors made, including missed or skipped words, word substitutions, etc. Fluency refers to the student’s ability to read with expression, intonation, attention to punctuation, and at a rate appropriate to the genre. Comprehension is a measure of how well the student understands the deeper meaning of the text, including both literal meaning and inferred meaning. All three metrics are crucial as students transition from learning to read to reading to learn. This is why we ask students to linger at a reading level that sometimes parents find a bit low. We are waiting until fluency is high and comprehension is deep before moving into the next level, to ensure that our readers have every advantage.
If your child expresses an interest in reading more challenging books, read together. Shared reading is a great way to support fluency and comprehension. Or have them listen along with an audiobook, accessible through their Raz-Kids accounts (still active over the summer), through your public libraries, or through www.overdrive.com.
In the Resources below, we have shared several items that may be of use. You will find multiple book lists, some leveled and some by genre. If you want to determine what level a book of interest is, use the 'Book Wizard'. Students are encouraged to keep track of their reading by printing the reading log.
Woodland summer reading lists by level
Please note: if you are accessing these lists from a mobile device, all the links below will open to the 'kindergarten' tab. From there, scroll through the tabs to find your level.
- Incoming Kindergarteners
- Level A - Kindergarten
- Level B - Kindergarten
- Level C - Kindergarten
- Level D - Kindergarten
- Level E - Grade 1
- Level F - Grade 1
- Level G - Grade 1
- Level H - Grade 1
- Level I - Grade 1
- Level J - Grade 1
- Level K - Grade 2
- Level L - Grade 2
- Level M - Grade 2
- Level N - Grade 3
- Level O - Grade 3
- Level P - Grade 3
- Level Q - Grade 4
- Level R - Grade 4
- Levels R-Z - R,S - Grade 4 | T,U,V - Grade 5 | W,X,Y - Grade 6 | Z - Grade 7 and 8
Other resources
- Summer reading log
- Scholastic Book Wizard
- 2025 ALSC Summer Reading Lists
- Lee and Low's Diverse Summer Reading List
- Audiobooks: Student Raz-Kids accounts will still be accessible all summer and have audiobooks available at every reading level.
- Further audio and ebooks are available via the public libraries, as well as through www.overdrive.com.
Middle School
All Middle School Students
Middle School students are asked to read ONE selection from the grade lists below. We will hold “book clubs” at the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year, and students will write reviews of the book they selected as a part of their Humanities course. We strongly recommend making notes as they read!
Rising 5th Grade Students
- Join the Club, Maggie Diaz, by Nina Moreno
- Scary Stories for Young Foxes, by Christian McKay Heidicker and Junyi Wu
- The Lemonade War, by Jacqueline Davies
- The Serpent's Secret (Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond Book #1), by Sayantani DasGupta
- Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhhà Lai
- Alone, by Megan E. Freeman
Rising 6th Grade Students
- Amina’s Voice, by Hena Khan
- When My Name Was Keoko, by Linda Sue Park
- Black Brother, Black Brother, by Jewell Parker Rhodes
- An Occasionally Happy Family, by Cliff Burke
- Brainwashed: Crime Travelers Spy School, by Paul Aertker
Rising 7th Grade Students
- The 57 Bus, by Dashka Slater
- A Good Kind of Trouble, by Lisa Moore Ramee
- Lights, Camera, Disaster, by Erin Dionne
- A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcie Little Badger
- The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
- Journey for Justice, by Dawn Mabalon and Gayle Romasanta
Rising 8th Grade Students
- Runaway Children of Chennai by Caroline Boxall
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Written in the Sky by Matthew Kaopio
- You are Here: Connecting Flights editor Ellen Oh
- The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Additional Reading Lists:
2025 ALSC Summer Reading Lists
Lee and Low's Diverse Summer Reading List
Kid Lit Summer Reading List
Audiobooks: Student Raz-Kids accounts will still be accessible all summer and have audiobooks available at every reading level.
Further audio and ebooks are available via the public libraries, as well as through www.overdrive.com