Five Summer Projects to Keep Students Learning

With school ending soon, teachers might be debating on what to give students as summer-type work. Many teachers send home packets with math pages, reading comprehension sheets, etc. While this might be a good idea to make sure that students don’t forget curriculum information during the long summer, there are some other ways you can make sure that the learning doesn’t stop. While it is up to parents which projects they want to take on, you can provide a few ideas that will be fun for everyone.

Make a Family Trip a Learning Experience

You can provide students with a framework to make each summer trip a learning experience. Give your students a list of activities they can participate in while on a trip.

• Do Internet research before their trip identifying important historical sights and other places they would like to see. Students can make a list of why each place would be important to visit.
• Students can keep a daily journal describing where they went, what they saw, and what they did.
• Keep track of the numbers of miles traveled. Students can calculate the miles per gallon, estimate how far they can travel each hour, etc. They can even convert miles into kilometers.

Become a World Traveler

Another way to get students learning in a fun way is to have them do reports on countries or states of their choice.

• You can give students a list of things they should find out about their state or country, including geography, symbols, climate, economy, etc. They can compile pictures about their chosen place as well.
• Students can draw pictures to describe its unique features.
• Finally, students can write a news report talking about their state or country

Conduct a Science Experiment

Since the lazy days of summer provide the extra time you need, let students use the time wisely. Ask students to think about something they would like to find out about, and have them conduct a science experiment.

• Give students a handout explaining the scientific process.
• Students can determine what they would like to study, such as the differing effect environmentally-friendly, and other types of dishwashing soap, has on plants.
• They can then identify their hypothesis, describe their experiment, show the data they collected, draw diagrams, and write their conclusion.
• The beauty with this assignment is that students can perform a variety of experiments about whatever they are interested in.

Students Can Use Video Cameras to Document Their Summer Experience

As a way to get students using computer programs and experimenting with photography, you could ask students to videotape part of their summer activities. While you won’t be their teacher next year, you can tell your students that they can show you their videos to you during recess or lunch.

• Even if you haven’t done a lot of photography, show students a video and discuss lighting, subject matter, plot, etc.
• Give students a list of things that should be in their video, such as dialogue, action, and some sort of story.
• Tell student the idea is to be creative.

Build a Dream House

A fun way to get students to practice math skills is to have them create a dream house. Students can use any materials they find around the house, including cardboard, tin cans, etc.

• Give students a description of the things their dream house should have, such as lighting, several floors, etc. Tell them that they should measure each aspect of the house and write down the dimensions.
• Tell students that they should be creative. If their dream house is designed to look like a spaceship, so be it.

If possible, provide parents with a list of resources they can use during the summer to supplement learning, including websites, a summer reading list, or books to practice math skills. But the important thing to remember is that summer learning can be fun.