Summer Learning Week of July 13: Reading, Language and Storytelling (Grades 3-5)

We hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer break! Each Monday through August 17, we’ll share a Weekly Learning Menu with simple, mostly screen-free activities to help keep learning going all summer long. Choose one or two activities that fit your family’s schedule and enjoy learning together!

Weekly Learning Menu

Daily Reading

Sign up for the Arlington Public Library Summer Reading Challenge and encourage your student to read, or be read to, for at least 30 minutes each day. After reading, ask your student to:

• Retell the story in their own words.
• Identify the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the story.
• Share what they liked most and explain why.

• What was interesting about the story?
• Explain that retelling means repeating the events of the story in your own words.

Arlington Central Library is open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Friday-Sunday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Students can also access digital books through APS Library Resources in Canvas.

Reading, Language and Storytelling

Encourage your student to write a few sentences each day about something they experienced, learned, or noticed. They might write about a family outing, a favorite book, or something that made them laugh. Visit the APS literacy resources webpage for additional reading and writing activities.

Math and Problem Solving

Choose one of these activities:

• Daily Data Tracker: Track and chart something each day, like the weather, minutes spent reading, steps walked). Create a bar graph or pictograph using paper and pencil.
• Estimate & Measure: Estimate how many steps it takes to walk across a room. Then walk and count your actual steps and compare the results.  Was your estimate close to your actual?
• Roll & Race (Mental Math Game): Roll two dice. Add, subtract, or multiply the numbers. Keep score to see who wins each round.

Science and Nature

Explore Evaporation:  This activity helps students understand how evaporation works under different conditions.Fill three cups halfway with water.

• Place one uncovered cup in the sun.
• Place one uncovered cup in the shade.
• Cover the third cup with plastic wrap and leave it indoors.

Check the cups each day and observe how the water levels change. Ask your student why they think some cups lost more water than others and discuss how evaporation works.which one loses the most water.

Community and Social Studies

Invite your student to interview an older family member about what daily life was like when they were growing up.  Some questions to ask:

• What technology did you use?
• What music was popular?
• What major events do you remember?
• What was school like?

Health and Physical Education

Work together to create a weekly family exercise plan. Include activities everyone can enjoy, such as walking, biking, stretching, dancing, or playing outside.

Creative Expression and Arts

Create a Cardboard Sculpture using cereal boxes, paper towel tubes, and other recycled materials. Build an animal, robot, building, or anything else you can imagine.

You can also explore artwork together through the National Gallery of Art Virtual Tours.

We hope these activities help create meaningful moments of learning and connection for your family.