How To... Build a Summer Backpack
By Linda Lindroth

Personalize each student's summer learning pack with notebooks, novelty pencils, travel-size games and more

Whether you use an actual backpack or just an extra-large storage bag for each student, sending home a portable pack filled with the following ideas will keep kids learning throughout their summer travels.

Starter kit for learning
Pack the summer backpack with as many of these items as you can - and add the rest of the items to your parent newsletter for the end of school.

1. Start by packing each bag with a novelty pencil, a pad of paper, a small journal for writing and a paperback book. Add a summer reading book list, a supply list for next year and some vocabulary cards and math flash cards. Add a travel-size game (BATTLESHIP®, checkers) or make your own.
2. Download an activity sheet on U.S. license plates (and state quarters) from www.ncge.org. As students travel the highways this summer, they can be on the lookout for license plates from every state and record the picture or slogan for the state. Remember - many states have more than one design! Include a license plate-sized piece of heavy tagboard for students to design their own license plate.
   
   For more travel games, go to www.activitiesforkids.com or click on Teacher Help for printable pages to reinforce math facts, states and capitals, puzzles and more. K-3 students can also learn about the states from the state quarters. For more lessons and learning, visit Camp Coin at www.usmint.gov.
3. Include information for families to sign up for an online summer camp. They visit CampResource.com to get information on summer camp programs by camp type, camp specialty and regional location.
4. Students can send a postcard to their new teachers for next fall or send an e-card to a classmate. Use the school name and grade level on the address label if your school doesn't publish student class lists until the fall. For added fun, use a picture of the school to order special photo stamps for your postcards. Go to kids.yahoo.com for e-postcards with a Summer theme. Student can also discover America with a daily e-card full of fun facts about each of the 50 states at www.postcardsfrom.com.
5. Whether it's a trip to the next town, Walt Disney World® or across country, have students log their summer travels. Mapquest can be used to find the mileage. Chart travel miles for the summer (i.e., 10 trips to the pool x 14.7 miles round-trip = 147 frequent travel miles). For more mapping tools, visit Google Maps at www.maps.google.com.

More online resources

1. City Creator - Kids can make their own online city using blocks. Add buildings, roofs, people, vehicles and roads/walkways for three different city types. Students can even save their creations and come back later or e-mail their finished product.
2. Summer Reading Challenge - This year's Summer Challenge unites students and schools to read in an attempt to set a new world record for summer reading. Kids sign up for their school, choose books they want to read, then log their reading minutes at the Summer Challenge headquarters.
3. SchoolTime Games - This site has dozens of online games to support the content areas. Students can try the Geography - USA challenge or test their vocabulary prowess with Alphabet Soup. Both are favorites in our computer learning center.

For Reproducible click here. PDF 72KB

Linda K. Lindroth is Teaching K-8's technology editor and website coordinator, and a technology resource teacher at Russell Cave Elementary School in Lexington, KY.

Updated June 2010
May 2007, Vol.37, No.8