We recently chatted with kindergarten teacher Anna Scott and fourth grade teacher Kato Nims from Charlotte Country Day about the importance of summer reading. They offered some GREAT tips on how to keep kids reading all summer long. This 15-minute podcast, powered by Shrink Tank, is a must-listen-to this summer. We promise it will inspire you to encourage your kids to open a book before school starts back up! Check out all of our Smarty podcasts here.
Additional Resources
Below are additional resources. Many are mentioned in the podcast:
Who Can Read? Book Reader by Pioneer Valley Education – great app that offers a small selection of quality leveled books for younger readers in K-2nd grade. Children may have the book read aloud to them or read the book themselves.
Kids A-Z – this app requires a Raz Kids subscription which is around $100 for a YEAR, but it is a wonderful resource with a large selection of leveled books at ALL levels. This makes it great for a family with multiple children in different grades/reading levels such as a kindergartener, a 3rd grader and a 5th grader. Each child in your family will have an account and when they login to the app, they will chose from a large selection of “just-right” books. The app also offers quizzes and comprehension checks to help children progress to the next reading level. Setup your subscription and account online first, and then download the app.
Epic is essentially an amazing online library. Children have access to 25,000 books, audio books, and videos. Right now they are running a promotional for summer reading where parents can subscribe for 3 months for $1 using the code SUMMER17 (it is usually $4.99 a month). Setup account/subscribe online first, and then download the app.
Scholastic Book Wizard – this app is such a handy tool that allows you to figure out the reading level of any book. It is important that children, especially young readers in K-2, read books at their instructional reading levels for them to make the most gains. The books need to be challenging, but not frustrating. You can use this app to scan a barcode on a book or manually enter a book title into the search field to discover a book’s reading level. It is useful in determining if a book will be appropriate and beneficial for your child.
Penderwicks Book (5 books in series)
Sisters Grimm (9 books in series)
Stop Motion App (many options): Stop Motion Studio by CATEATER, LLC
DogoNews – A GREAT online nonfiction reading place for kids. They have current fun news articles that older kids love reading, although there a articles for younger kids too. There is also a place where books are reviewed, great resource for parents and kids.
The voices behind the podcast: L-R – Smarty Cheryl, Anna Scott, and Kato Nims
Charlotte Country Day School
1440 Carmel Road
Charlotte, NC 28226
704-943-4500
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Charlotte Smarty Pants podcasts are powered by Shrink Tank, bringing you videos, podcast, and articles that showcase psychology and mental health found in popular culture. Find out more at www.shrinktank.com
2 comments
The Summer Reading CPS podcast with Smarty Cheryl, Anna Crampton and Kato Nims was excellent! What wonderful ideas for engaging your children of all ages to continue reading each day of the summer! How exciting it is to have enthusiastic, excited teachers like Anna and Kato share their tips for making reading “like brushing your teeth. Something we want to do everyday! Happy Summer reading!
Thank you,
Martha Crampton
Thanks for listening, Martha!! We had so much fun chatting – Anna and Kato are AMAZING teachers! Their students are so lucky!!