Summer Reading Challenge 2021

Summer 2021 is one we have all been greatly looking forward to for months! It has been a challenging school year for students, teachers, and parents. But summer vacation does not mean learning and growing needs to end. Any teacher will tell you that it is important that students do read while they are out of school. To help get summer reading happening in your home, The Nora Project put together a summer reading challenge. It will not only help students continue reading, but also thinking about all they have learned through The Nora Project this year. 

We have two challenges to choose from. Our first challenge has more categories and our recommended books are all picture books. This challenge would be a good option for elementary students. Our second challenge has fewer categories and the recommended books are all novels. This challenge would be a good option for any young adults looking to complete one of the challenges. Choose which one will suit your child. Or better yet, choose one and complete all the reading as a family. All of the books would be great companions for our table topic discussion questions. 

Parents, if getting your child to read independently is challenging, check out some of the ideas below to spice up reading over summer vacation. After all, it is summer! 

• Flashlight reading

  • Take your book and a flashlight into a darker place to read. Shine the flashlight on your book to enjoy the story reading the story. 

• Read in the forest

  • Head to a forest preserve with a book or stack of books. Enjoy reading in the peace and quiet of nature. 

• Build a reading fort

  • Build a fort with the purpose of reading in it. You could even build the fort outside on a nice sunny day. Then curl up with some pillows and do some reading. 

• Have a neighborhood book exchange

  • Get a group of neighborhood kids together to complete the challenge. Have students get together once a week and exchange the books they read the previous week. Better yet, have them talk about their favorite book they read for the challenge. 

• Popcorn read

  • Read a book aloud with a partner. When one person is reading, they say “popcorn” and the other person picks up where they stopped. 

• Go for a storydrive

  • Choose an audiobook to listen to in the car. Take a drive to a special place or just go for a drive to get out of the house on a rainy day. Treats for the ride make this an even more fun family activity! 

The Nora Project would love to hear about your summer reading! If you complete one of the challenges, take a picture and share it with us on social media. For more ideas about how to engage your kids in learning over the summer, check out our Parent Resources!