What Can Summer Learning Look Like?

Facilitator: Dr. Bruce Ellis (@DrBruceEllis) | https://bit.ly/LnLSummerLearning

Summer learning doesn't have to be in the form of summer school, camps, and YMCA clubs. We'll share a variety of resources that you can encourage your students to investigate that will help them develop curiosity and ingenuity to keep their brains engaged during the summer.

resourceful websites

Funbrain - https://www.funbrain.com/

Students in grades K thru 8 can explore fun learning activities, play games, read books online (and download them to print out with activity pages), and more. Begin by choosing the grade level to explore what Funbrain has to offer!

National Geographic Kids - https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

Tons of interesting information and activities to keep your students busy for the whole summer...and then some!

Art Projects for Kids - https://artprojectsforkids.org/

If you have students that have artistic talents (or just interest) then they'll want to explore Kathy Barbro's step-by-step handouts that students can easily follow on their own. Her daily blog has different coloring pages and activities.

PBS Kids Science Games - https://pbskids.org/games/science

You'll find lots of fun with PBS Kids. Thought this website is for science, here are all the game topics to find other great ones to explore.

CELLS alive - https://www.cellsalive.com/

This site will encourage the scientist in all of us as we explore the interactive cell models, cell puzzles and games, and videos.

Toporopa - https://www.toporopa.eu/en/index.html

If you have students that enjoy geography, this may be the site they fall in love with.

Number Gossip - http://numbergossip.com/

Students that are numerophiles will enjoy this website as they find out all the facts about different numbers.

Virtual tours

Explore these many interesting places virtually! Some are VR tours created with a 360° camera while others are self-paced virtual tours that are similar to Google Maps.

Create Your Own Virtual Tours

Live cams

youtube channels for students

Veritasium (11.7M subscribers) An element of truth - videos about science, education, and anything else I find interesting.

Be Smart (4.5M subscribers) Be Smart is created and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D. and gives you deep answers to simple questions about science and the rest of the universe.

CGP Grey (5.3 subscribers) Short explanatory videos on subjects including politics, geography, economics, history, and culture.

TED-Ed (16.7M subscribers) Carefully curated educational videos many of which represent collaborations between talented educators and animators nominated through the TED-Ed website.

The Art Assignment ( subscribers) The Art Assignment is a weekly PBS Digital Studios production hosted by curator Sarah Urist Green. They explore art and art history through the lens of things happening today.

PragerU (2.9M subscribers) PragerU is an educational media platform dedicated to promoting pro-American values.

Kurzgesagt (18.3M subscribers) Kurzgesagt is a team of illustrators, animators, number crunchers and one dog who aim to spark curiosity about science and the world we live in. Nothing is boring if you tell a good story.

Coin Bureau (2M subscribers) The Coin Bureau is your go-to informational portal to the Cryptocurrency galaxy. Guy, the Crypto guy is the captain of this crypto ship and he takes you on this epic journey into the cryptoverse.

StorylineOnline (548K subscribers) Enjoy imaginatively produced videos featuring celebrated actors including Viola Davis, Allison Janney, Chris Pine, Wanda Sykes, Justin Theroux, and Betty White reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations, helping to inspire a love of reading in children.

Mr. DeMaio (315K subscribers) Mr. DeMaio creates educational content that is funny to like 19 people.

online courses & Lessons

Resources from districts

If you are looking to put together a PDF, website or other type of resource for parents to refer to during the summer, then check out these resources for ideas.

Websites for Summer Learning Fun from Spotsylvania, VA

Summer Learning Challenges from Lorena ISD, TX

Summer Websites for Students from Northbridge Public Schools, MA

Fun and Free Summer Learning Resources from ESC10 in Dallas, TX

Summer Learning Ideas at Home from Rockwall ISD, TX

Free ebook

Download our free ebook that contains all the resources on this page. As with any resource that you are sharing with your students, be sure to preview and confirm that the information is age and content appropriate for your students. To access the free ebook, go to https://bit.ly/22SummerLearning and download your copy.

If you would like to tweak the resource to make it tailored to your specific district needs, feel free to use the Summer Learning template. Just click on FILE-->Make a copy and save it to your Google Drive. The Google Slide deck is formatted so that it is letter size.

NOTE: Some items in the ebook are linked and do not show the actual URL in order to save space. Printing the ebook and sharing it as a hard copy will result in your audience not knowing the intended URL.