Enrichment Resources

Summer Reading Lists

Overview

As you move into summer, we hope you and your children will engage in lots of enjoyable reading experiences. These may include your children reading with someone, reading independently, or listening to audio books. We want your children to love learning, and one way to spark this love is voracious reading.

To optimize love of reading, we encourage your children to reread some of their favorite stories from years past, as well as to read high-interest books that are within their reach (not too hard, not too easy).

Near the end of the school year, teachers will email parents of students in rising Grades 2-6 indicating the suggested Level ranges for each student (as measured by the Fountas and Pinnell Reading Assessment). Please see below for the Leveled Reading Lists, an optional Summer Reading Challenge and Book Log. We ask that each student read at least five books of their choosing this summer and record the titles on the Book Log.

As you support your children in reading, please keep in mind that in addition to the reading level of a book, other factors such as background knowledge, interest, and whether a book is fiction or non-fiction, will also influence how well your child reads and comprehends. A good rule of thumb is to have your child read a page aloud. If there are more than 4 words per page that your child can’t identify or understand, try a different book.

Should your child be interested in reading books that are above their current level, we recommend that you support them by either reading with them or accessing the audio version of the book. Please keep in mind that books in the Level U and above range (as measured by the Fountas and Pinnell scale) tend to be in the “teen” experience and for younger readers, it may be hard to make meaning at this level. A good rule of thumb is if the main character of a story is significantly older than your child, it may not be the best fit. Your local library and the following websites are also great resources for finding good fit books for your youngsters.

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/bookwizard/

https://www.booksource.com/

www.commonsensemedia.org

Have a Wonderful Summer and Happy Reading!

Questions? Contact Susanne Rusan, Upper Division Director, Laura Krentel, 3rd - 6th Grade Reading Specialist, or LeeAnn Foreman, 2nd Grade Reading Specialist.

Rising 6th Grade Required Reading

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 Dos 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

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