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SummerReads™

Free Downloads:
SummerReads™ Getting Reading for Grade 3™ (all 7 titles) (14 MB)
SummerReads™ Getting Reading for Grade 4™ (all 7 titles) (12 MB)
SummerReads™ Getting Reading for Grade 5™ (all 7 titles) (12 MB)

Each ZIP file contains all seven PDF titles in the grade-level series

Accessible and engaging texts for summer reading

Students who don’t read much over the summer show a decline in reading performance from the end of one grade to the start of the next. Research done at Harvard University by James Kim shows that even reading 4 or 5 books over the summer helps to prevent the summer slump.

Having books at home explains how much students read over the summer. Unfortunately, the very students who are most at-risk are the ones who often don’t have enough books. SummerReads changes this situation by providing accessible, engaging texts for at-risk readers… for FREE! And it provides enough text for an entire summer of reading.

Research also shows that the texts that at-risk readers will spend time on in out-of-school settings need to be accessible and engaging. SummerReads texts are both:

Accessible: The difficulty of the texts is based on the TExT model developed by Elfrieda (Freddy) Hiebert. The TExT model of reading is the same one that was used to develop QuickReads® and ZipZoom™. This model uses research to identify the words and phonics knowledge that students need to succeed at particular grade levels. These critical words are repeated often in SummerReads.

Engaging: Topics of SummerReads deal with information about summer activities and themes—the games that children play in the summer, places that they might visit in their communities, weather that usually happens only in summer, and so on.

Here’s what you get… for FREE

Leveled Texts There are three levels in the SummerReads program, each aimed at “getting students ready” for a particular grade level in the fall—third, fourth and fifth.

An Abundance of Texts Each of the 7 books at a level has 3 chapters. 7 books x 3 chapters = 21 unique selections, one for each week of summer vacation. These are texts that students won’t have seen during the school year in that they are brand-new and summer-specific!

SummerReads topics	Getting Ready for Grade 3	Getting Ready for Grade 4	Getting Ready for Grade 5
Places to Visit in Summer	Parks	Lakes	Mountains
Nature in Summer	Moths	Birds	Extreme Trees
Summer Weather	Heat Wave	Thunderstorms	Hurricanes
Summer Sports	Bats & Balls	Swimming	Bikes & Boards
Summer Fashion	T-Shirts & Shorts	Hats & Caps	Flip-Flops & Fins
Summer Fruits	Berries	Melons	Fruit Trees
Summer Holidays	July 4th	Labor Day	Memorial Day

Resources The SummerReads program includes resources for teachers, students and parents:

Each book starts with guidelines on how to use the book.
There are comprehension questions at the end of each book.
There is a place where students can keep records of their reading of chapters within books.
If students have access to computers (e.g., the library), a recording of each text will be made available. This recording allows students to monitor and check their reading.