TeacherZone.com - June 28, 2001
Summer Tips for Students(and Parents too!)
Honest! I've found some of the best tips, from teachers, to make summer learning fun! (Guaranteed to please your Parents!) We've covered everything from journal writing to getting a cool summer job! Take a peek...
Create a Summer Journal- By simply writing on binder paper, older students can jot down all their summer adventures; including: dates, times and a brief description, of all the special events over the summer. Younger students just need paper and pencil, to jot down or draw, all the exciting moments they've encounter during their summer months at home. Student work can then be stapled together at the end of the summer, to create a wonderful diary of the summer of 2001. These journals will also serve as a treasured time-capsule of the "summer of 2001"!
PARENTS...This is a great way to review; spelling, writing, grammar and language.
For students who have computers at home, they may be able to jot down their
events on their desktop calendars. Many computers come equipped with this feature
or you can get this feature FREE from your e-mail service or service provider,
such as AOL.
Send postcards to friend and relatives- Suggest that students pick up postcards
on all their summer travels. Even if traveling just around town, many local
stores carry an array of postcard from all the local sites which students can
use to mail out to others.
*Extra Tip>>>On the last day of school, students can exchange addresses
with other students to make this tip a great "summer hit"! FREE postcards,
greeting cards, stationary and more to print out and send via e-mail
PARENTS...Again this is a great way to review; spelling, writing, grammar and
language. If students get ambitious, they can create a database with the mailing
addresses of all their friends and later, they can make labels to be printed
out from their home computer to attach to the postcards. This is a great way
to practice wordprocessing skills and learn about printing labels.
E-mail friends and family about the summer- Have your students (with their parents
permission) e-mail at least one person a week during their summer vacation.
If they use some of the FREE e-card services, they can really create some exciting
e-mails for: "Aunt Sue, Grandpa Bill, their best friend Joe" and even
you! (FREE e-mail service directory - find some great sites here!)
PARENTS...Kids love to use the computer! Here's yet another way to review spelling,
language and grammar, while having fun! For a listing of websites which offer
free e-cards, click here. Reminder: Parents be sure to monitor this project
for your child's safety.
Make a beach towel journal- Have your students depict their summer activities
on a special "summer of 2001" beach towel. All you need is a white
beach towel and some fabric markers or laundry pens and by recording all the
events of the summer on the towel; from family get-togethers to holiday, to
any memorable summer moment, students will have a treasured heirloom to last
a lifetime!
PARENTS...Depicting summer times not only records your family history, but
also reviews many classroom skills, such as writing, sequencing, art and more!
Trace your family history- This is a great project for the whole family! Have
your students create a family genealogy, which includes pictures of relatives.
They can rummage through family photos or make it a point to photograph relatives
that they have visited or seen over the summer. Students will be able to do
most of their family research over the internet with the help of some of the
sites below...
FamilySearch.Org, Cyndi's List.com and My Family.com offer important information
on how to create a family tree. Also, on MyFamily.com you can create your own
family website and it's FREE! You can post photos, create a calendar of events
and maintain a family address book as well! Also this article offers tips on
genealogy for students. "Family History- Summer fun for kids"
READ, READ, READ- All Teachers agree...this is one of THE most important skills
a student can practice during the summer months! Before the school year ends,
be sure to help your students by making sure that each one of them has a library
card from their local, county or city library.
Most librarians will make the effort to either give you library applications
for your students or will sometimes come to your school to have your students
fill out forms, while they are there. Also, be sure to ask for a student summer
reading list from your local librarian. Or visit any of these sites for grade
level reading lists, vocabulary lists and more... www.ala.org Reading listRecommended
books for students, Read with AMC theatres and get FREE pizes!
How about asking your students to research their favorite authors? Many authors
have their own websites and enjoy hearing from their young readers! Another
great "academic plus" for making reading fun!
Educational Programs on Television- Your local PBS stations offers a variety
of quality educational programming for students during the entire summer months.
You can obtain a list of upcoming programs by visiting the PBS website before
the end of the school year. Then... encourage students to view some of these
award winning documentaries and tell them to visit the PBS website to obtain
additional information on the program they just viewed!
The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, The Disney Channel and other great
educational channels are also available on most cable networks. Be sure to visit
their websites to pass this great tip along to your students!
Tourist Attractions- Are your students planning a trip to a major tourist attraction,
such as Disney World or Universal Studios? How about researching the site first!
Most vacation destinations offer great tips, special points of interest and
more, for their future visitors. Some sites even assist you in making your trip
unforgettable! Simply ask students to visit the website of the tourist attraction
they plan to visit or one they would like to visit! They will find that, valuable
information is just a click away!
PARENTS...Have students go on a virtual trip before they begin their actual
trip! Here are a list of sites that offer virtual vacations! The Best in the
World, Directory of the Museum of Unnatural Mystery, Roadside America-your online
guide to off beat tourist attractions.
Travel Maps- If you students are traveling around with their family this summer,
why not have them map out their travel destinations? Students can research how
long it will take to reach their final destination. How much gas it will take
to get there. Students can even find the area on a map and mark out the route
for their parents to drive! Yahoo and other sites offer FREE mapping information!
Also, be sure to check out Vicinity.com and mapquest.com. These two sites offer
tips and resources for mapping out a great summer trip! I can guarantee you,
you won't get lost!
Summer Plans- Haven't made any plans yet? Have your students check out all
kinds of travel information for their families! Many parents would love to know
about summer deals for families. Students can even break down the cost for air,
train or bus travel, so parents can see what options are available. (my favorite
site is Expedia.com)
Also, if you are planning to stay home this summer? How about learning a new
skill? Be sure to have your students check out, "Learn How To Do Just About
Anything!" Students will find information on sites that offer to teach
skills from, "how to cook" , "how to play cards", "how
to play piano", "how to make a portable radio" and much, much
more!
PARENTS and TEACHERS...there may be something for you too!
Money Making Ideas - this article titled, "Seven Best Summer Money Maker
Ideas for Kids" is just that. This is a great way for students to work
and learn!
Here are a few more sites that offer summer job ideas and tips for students. PARENTS...Be aware-lots of advertisement on some sites, but good tips!
Great guides to summer jobs for Teens...
http://www.ehow.com/eHow/eHow/0,1053,3731,00.html
http://www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw/summer-jobs.htm
http://mama.essortment.com/summerjobsidea_mxk.htm
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/sprite/www/kids_jobs.html
More Internet Learning... There are many sites on the Internet that offer to
help students with their academic skills. The following sites offer great resources
for FREE. In some cases students will need to become member to reap the benefits.
Be sure to have parents monitor this project for their child's safety. Homework
help
Camps and Other Great Ideas
Camps and how to pay for them- very good site!
http://www.kidscamps.com/
Summer idea for kids - great ides! http://www.homeschooling.about.com/library/blsummath.htm
Hawaii's Young Authors Camp - very cool!
http://www.gamekids.com/gk2001.html
Kid's Invent Toys - a one week summer camp. Find a location or start your own
chapter. They provide everything!
http://www.kidsinvent.org/dates.htm?date
Remember...the learning FUN is unlimited on the Internet! Hope you now have
some great ideas to pass along to your students! Enjoy!