Level A
Enrichment Resources
Summer Reading Resources
Overview
Dear Families,
As you move into summer, we hope you and your children will enjoy many wonderful reading experiences. These may include reading together, reading independently, or listening to audiobooks. We aim to inspire a love of learning in your children, and one of the best ways to do this is through voracious reading. To foster this love of reading, we encourage your children to revisit some of their favorite stories from the past or choose high-interest books that are just right for them (neither too difficult nor too easy).
This summer, we encourage each student to read at least five books of their choice. Using the book log is optional but can be a helpful resource.
As you support your children in reading, please remember that besides the reading level of a book, factors such as background knowledge, interest, and genre also affect how well your child reads and comprehends. A useful measure is to listen to your child read a chapter or a few pages aloud. If they struggle with four or more words per page, consider choosing a different book or reading it together.
If your child is interested in reading books above their current level, we recommend supporting them by reading together or accessing the audio version of the book. Additionally, be mindful that books that are often categorized as higher levels often reflect “teen” experiences, which can be challenging for younger readers to understand. If the main character is significantly older than your child, the book might not be the best fit. Your local library and the following websites are excellent resources for finding books that are a good fit for your child.
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bookwizard/
https://diversebooks.org/
https://www.booksource.com/
www.commonsensemedia.org
Have a wonderful summer and happy reading!
Questions? Contact Jack Devlin, Upper Division Director, Laura Krentel, 3rd - 6th Grade Reading Specialist, or LeeAnn Foreman, Lower Division Reading Specialist.
Suggested Books by Level
Reading Record & Challenge Chart
Summer Math Resources
Overview
As you spend time with your children this summer, we hope that you will also encourage them in fun math opportunities to continue their learning. Listed below are several options of ways students can practice and hone their math skills.
- Continue to use IXL. If you log into IXL through the web, just remember you will need to include "@npsdc" to your child's user name or you can use this link: https://www.ixl.com/signin/npsdc
- Tangy Tuesday Puzzles Created by Greg Tang. On his website, www.GregTangMath.com you can find a summer math challenge. There is a game board for each grade level which lists games and activities, all available on his website for free.
- Summer Math Skills Sharpener Book. Parents should order the book that corresponds to the grade your child has just completed: https://www.summerskills.com/products
Math Do's and Don'ts
All Ages
Do: Ask “How did you get that?” “Can you show me another way to do that?” “Remember how you did ________, see if you can use that same strategy to solve this problem.”
Don’t: Try to tell or show your child how to figure something out. He or she will learn much more by figuring it out for him or herself. You can always say “Show me how you figured that out?” Then wait and listen and say, “Here’s how I figured it out.”
Rising 1st Grade
Do
- Help foster a positive attitude about math.
- Play games and talk about math in the real world. Go grocery shopping together, count change, bake and cook, or do any of the daily activities we all do that involve mathematical reasoning and reinforce number sense.
Don’t: Teach your child to do any standard algorithms. Research has shown that if children memorize a way of solving a problem before they develop the understanding of why those algorithms work, it actually make learning the concepts more difficult.
Rising 2nd Grade:
Do:
- Play games and talk about math in the real world.
- Reinforce addition and subtraction facts. The expectation at NPS is that students entering Grade 2 have mastered their addition and related subtraction facts to ten. The MOST effective way to do this is through games, not flash cards or workbooks.
Don’t:
- Do not introduce the “carrying” algorithm for addition. When children learn this algorithm too soon, they lose all sense of our base ten system and have a hard time telling if their answer is reasonable.
- Please, do not introduce the “borrowing” subtraction algorithm. Children who are introduced to this algorithm too soon have a much harder time understanding other subtraction strategies and the mathematics that underpins this work.
Rising 3rd Grade:
Do:
- Play games and talk about math in the real world.
- Reinforce addition and subtraction facts for the numbers 1 through 20. The expectation at NPS is that students have mastered the addition and related subtraction facts through 9 + 9. The MOST effective way to do this is through games, not flash cards or workbooks.
Don’t:
- Please don’t encourage your child to do computation a certain way. It makes it harder for them to develop a solid conceptual understanding of the relationships between operations if asked to do computation a way that doesn’t yet make sense to them.
Rising 4th Grade:
Do:
- Play games and talk about math in the real world.
- If necessary, reinforce basic addition and subtraction facts. The MOST effective way to do this is through games, not flash cards or workbooks. The games work best when kids and grown-ups are playing together.
- Reinforce the basic multiplication facts. The expectation is that students entering Grade 4 have mastered their multiplication facts through 10 X 10.
Don’t:
- Please do not teach your child the standard algorithm for multiplication or long division. They will learn these after much work with understanding these operations and various strategies to solve problems.
Rising 5th Grade:
Do:
- Play games and talk about math in the real world.
- Help your child integrate math and language by discussing math!
- Help your child understand all the ways economists, businessmen, physicians, and scientists and many other professionals depend on their math expertise every day and why math is important for developing their thinking skills.
Don’t:
- Please, don’t try to teach your child the standard algorithm for long division, algebra or other more advanced mathematics.
Rising 6th Grade:
Do:
- Play games and talk about math in the real world.
- Make sure your child has memorized their basic facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Practice the four operations making sure your child is comfortable with a variety of strategies and looks to the numbers before deciding an appropriate and efficient strategy.
- Help your child integrate math and language by discussing math!
Don’t:
- Please, don’t try to teach your child the standard algorithm for long division, algebra or other more advanced mathematics.
Math Games
Board games, logic puzzles, and card games are great ways to review math and help develop planning and strategic thinking. Try to play a math related game together every week.
These games can all be found on Amazon.
Rising Kindergarten and Up
- Tenzi
- Mancala
- Blokus
Rising Kindergarten and 1st Grade
- Ten Frame playing cards
- Tiny Polka Dot
- SET: The Family Game of Visual Perception
- Shut the Box
- Board games with tracks like Candyland or Chutes and Ladders
Rising 2nd Grade
- Adsumudi
- Patchwork Board Game
- The Genius Star
Rising 3rd Grade and Up
- Reef Family Game
- Original Sequence Game with Folding Board
Rising 3rd and 4th Grades
- Beast Academy Puzzle Books (Level 2 for Rising 3rd Grade, Level 3 for Rising 4th Grade)
Rising 3rd and 4th Grades and Up
- Azul
- Prime Climb
- Proof! Math Game
- Chinese Checkers
- https://mathigon.org/factris
