A summer book tower is a fun way to encourage your kids to read during the summer and prevent the “summer slide”. Grab the free printable!
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Going into summer break, the number one request teachers make is to encourage your child to continue reading. Why? To avoid the all too common “summer slide”. According to Scholastic.com, the summer slide is “the loss of academic skills that occurs when school is not in session and which is attributed largely to the lack of reading.”
Reading during the summer has many measurable benefits, including (1) help children retain information learned over the previous year, (2) grow in knowledge and critical thinking skills for the upcoming year, and (3) gain proficiency (skill) in reading. (Source: Why is Summer Reading So Important for Kids’ Success, Study.com)
There are many ways to encourage your kids to read over the summer. I am sharing one that my own kids have enjoyed: the summer book tower.
What is a Summer Book Tower?
The summer book tower is a way to help kids get excited about reading. For kids who already love reading, the summer book tower is a fun way to keep track of what books they read. For kids who don’t love reading as much, it’s a visual way for them to see how many books they have read.
The summer book tower works for many ages and can be adapted depending on your child’s reading level. Younger children who aren’t able to read can count books that are read to them. Children who are able to read might only count books that are more than ____ pages (you choose together what that is). You know your child best which means you can change the “rules” for each child based on their skill level.
For example, if your child is at or above their grade’s reading level, you could make a rule that only books that fall into those levels will count. Or, you can color in one “book” for each 100 pages read.
Make It Fun
Set a goal at the beginning of the summer to read either a certain number of books or a certain number of pages. At the end of the summer, reward them for reaching their goal! If they didn’t reach their goal, you can still reward them for working towards their goal. The whole point of this book tower is to encourage kids to read. Any reading is better than no reading.
How to Get Your {FREE} Book Tower Printable
To access the Book Tower Printable, you simply need to enter your email below and it will be sent to you as an easy to print PDF file.
Looking for some book suggestions to get your kids excited for summer reading? Here are a few posts I’ve put together that I hope will be helpful:
9 Tips to Help Your Child Read Better
Best Dragon Books for Kids, Tweens and Teens (my kids especially love The Enchanted Forest Chronicles)
