Summer Literacy Opportunities for SIS Elementary Students

Dear Parents,
Summer vacation is almost here, and you may be wondering how you can
help your child maintain his/her English literacy skills that he/she has
achieved during this past school year.
It is important to remember that your child needs a chance to rest and enjoy
the summer so that she/he comes back to school ready to learn. Research
shows that we learn best when we are rested, relaxed, motivated, engaged
and having fun. Thus, participation in fun activities will help your child to
maintain-- or even increase!-- his/her English literacy skills over the summer.
Here is a list of suggested activities. Please see page 3 as well for a resource
list of book recommendations, web-based games and apps.
SPEAKING AND LISTENING

Spend some quality time with your child. Make this time screen
free time, so there are no interruptions and distractions. Talk, ask
questions and listen well. Build memories together.
Take trips around the community and talk with your child about
these experiences. Whether you stay in China or go abroad,
museums, historical sites, parks, markets, fairs, zoos, farms, airports,
and train stations all offer wonderful opportunities to enhance your
childs understanding of how the world works, build their vocabulary
and enhance their background knowledge. Discussing and naming
what he or she sees (animals, fruits, transport, etc) and talking about
these things will help your child to transfer these experiences to their
learning when they return to school.
Arrange play dates and fun activities with English-speaking friends
to maintain your childs speaking and listening skills. Even Skype calls
to far-away friends can be a great way to connect across the distances
and maintain friendships.
Sign your child up for summer day camps. If you will spend your
summer in an English-speaking country, then consider taking
advantage of the many sports, wildlife and arts and craft camps that
are available there.
If you are staying in Shekou, then the SIS Summer Camp is a great
choice since it offers a variety of activities:
http://share.sis.org.cn/summercamp2015/
Contact Ms. Lily Lin for registration: llin@sis.org.cn

READING AND WRITING

Set a family reading time everyday for children and adults. Read
daily by scheduling it first thing in the morning or during an afternoon
break time. Read with or to your child, or set a good example by
reading your own book while your child reads his or hers. Reading for
20 minutes is a good start and should be done everyday. This will help
reading for pleasure to become a life-long habit.

Read in both English and the native language. Have your child
alternate days, reading in one language one day and reading in the
other language the next day.
Discuss what happened in a story with your child. Feel free to do this
in your native language even if the book is in English. Talk about
important words/ideas in both languages.
Get a library card and visit the library. Public libraries in Englishspeaking countries are a great source of free childrens English books,
DVDs, CDs, and magazines (Highlights for Children and Jr.
Scholastic magazines are a good start). Many even offer classes,
programs/activities and even free passes to parks, museums, etc.
Visit local bookstores or go online to find great English language
materials (see websites and apps below).
Give your child a choice about what he/she reads. Its important
that children have a sense of ownership about what they read.
Help your child choose a just right book. You can get your childs
correct reading level from his/her homeroom teacher. Have the
librarian help you to choose books that are at a correct level based on
this information. Forcing a child to read at too difficult of a level will not
only frustrate him/her, but it will be a waste of time in terms of language
acquisition.
Help your child write and send emails/letters/texts to relatives and
friends.
Write a family history based on family photos and family stories.

Above all, have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable summer. We look forward to
seeing your child next fall!
The ES EAL Team
Shekou International School

RESOURCES
1. SIS Library Blog: http://share.sis.org.cn/elemlibrary/

Tumble Book Library: http://asp.tumblebooks.com/ : an online collection of animated, talking

picture books or e-books". Once you log-in you can choose TumbleBookCloud Library or
TBCjr which is for older children (TumbleBookCloudjr).
o Students need to log in and use a password once they get to the site
log-in: shekouis
password: books
TumbleBooks Jr: students need to find the link at the bottom of the site.
Encyclopedia Britannica: This offers non-fiction reading opportunities and will read the text
aloud. The login and password information is on the parent portal.

2. Starfall: www.starfall.com (also available as an app for iPad) - for younger

readers
3. Newsela: www.newsela.com (news articles, by reading level) - for older
readers
4. We Give Books: http://www.wegivebooks.org/books
The books on the site are free to read and in e-book format. You can also donate to this organization
and give books to children in need!

5. American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/alsc/2015-summerreading-list

American Library Association) has some summer reading lists. Parents could use this to help their
children decide on books. However, it is important that parents do not see this as a prescribed list of
books that must be read. They are suggestions.

6. Apps for iPad and iPhone

Parents and students may wish to consult the following site: https://www.commonsensemedia.org when
they are considering which apps to purchase or movies to watch. There are recommendations and
reviews based on a variety of criteria including educational content, age levels, and engagement.

SIGHT WORDS
Play Sight Words 2, Gr. 1 & 2 (eFlashApps, LLC)
Sight Words List - Learn to Read Flash Cards & Games (Innovative Mobile
Apps)

Sight Words by Photo Touch (Innovative Investments Limited)

Sight Words Ninja - The Endless Slicing Game to Learn to Read

(Innovative Investments Limited)

Word BINGO (ABCya.com)-

this has sight words by grade level

SPELLING
SpellingCity (SpellingCity)
Spelling Kit (TapToLearn Software) - this is a bundle of 4 fun spelling apps
READING / Free e-BOOKS
Epic! Unlimited Free Books for Kids (Epic! Creations Inc)
News-O-Matic (Press4Kids) - Kid friendly news articles, by level
National Geographic Kids (National Geographic Kids)

WRITING / STORYTELLING
Toontastic (Launchpad Toys) - create stories with a plot, can add
characters and make them move, record yourself talking
GRAMMAR FUN
Mad Libs (Penguin Group, USA)
Comparative Adjectives (Innovative Investments Limited)
6. English language games online:
www.eslgamesworld.com
www.learningchocolate.com
www.englishclub.com
www.manythings.org
www.a4esl.org
7. Computer software: http://www.worldofreading.com/cat-esl-software--preschool-to-elementary-school.cfm

recommended for younger or beginning ESOL Students