Set Students Up for Reading Success this Summer and Beyond

Teachers: follow this checklist before school ends so students are ready for a summer reading bonanza

Great readers are made, not born. For students with disabilities, the path to reading greatness may require tools and support. We know the final weeks of the school year are hectic, so here’s a handy checklist to help you get your students ready for delightful summer reading and the upcoming school year.

According to Reading Rockets, studies show that most students experience a loss of reading skills over the summer months, but children who continue to read will gain skills. Help students avoid the dreaded “summer slide” by completing these steps before the final school bell rings.

If your students are already set up to access Bookshare independently, jump ahead to learn about our special Summer Reading Lists.

End-of-Year Checklist for Teachers

• Get students access to Bookshare with a Student Login or Individual Membership
  1. With a Student Login, they can log into Bookshare with their own username and password and read books assigned by teachers (video/PDF)
  2. With an Individual Membership, they can log in, find, and read books on their own (video/PDF)

• Get books to students
  1. Check out the special Summer Reading Lists below
  2. Assign Reading Lists to students (PDF)

• Get students reading tools
  1. Check out the list of member preferred reading tools
  2. Read books with Bookshare Web Reader, Voice Dream Reader, Capti Narrator, and many more
• Get a head start on the 2017-2018 school year
  1. Set up next year’s curriculum with books, like the Fountas & Pinnell leveled readers (A to J), as well as other books in our vast collection
  2. Sign up for online courses through Perkins eLearning: Get Started Quickly and Easily with Bookshare and Bookshare Train-the-Trainer

Summer Reading Students Will Love

Now that your students are set to use Bookshare this summer, it’s time to find some books. Our librarians have handpicked wonderful titles and organized them into Summer Reading Lists for enthusiastic readers of all ages and interests. Here are just a few titles to pique your students’ interest:

• The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade by Max Brallier
• Dory Fantasmagory: Dory Dory Black Sheep by Abby Hanlon
• The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd
• Forest of Wonders by Jim Madsen and Linda Sue Park
• Summerlost by Ally Condie
• Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
• Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth

We encourage you to take these steps now to enable students to read independently during the summer and be ready for a successful start in the fall. Time to dive into a good book!