“... America doesn’t have a school problem. It has a summer-vacation problem.”
—Malcolm Gladwell, from his bestselling book Outliers (2009)
Press Releases
- Summer Reading Heats Up as Governors’ Spouses Become “Reading Ambassadors” to Donate Books to Children
- Thirty-Nine U.S. Gubernatorial Spouses Become "Reading Ambassadors" to Encourage Kids to Read Four or More Books This Summer
- Summer Reading Kicks Off at Scholastic: Are You Ready for the Challenge?
- MEDIA ALERT: Kids Compete in the Ultimate Reading Game Show
Click Here for more information on the 2009 Reading Ambassadors
Highlights
What is the Scholastic Summer Challenge?
- The Scholastic Summer Challenge is a web-based literacy campaign designed to help kids find great books to read and to champion the important role parents, educators and librarians play in stemming the summer slide.
- Together with Save the Children and the National Center for Summer Learning, Scholastic’s goal is to motivate all children (with a particular focus on kids ages 8 and up) to read four or more books so they will maintain and improve their academic skills.
What can kids do on the Summer Challenge web site?
- Kids, ages 8 and up can join this “virtual reading camp” and earn points for their teams all summer by recording their minutes spent reading, answering polls, and playing games. Kids can also connect with other readers and enter sweepstakes to win great prizes!
- Younger kids can earn seeds to plant and grow in their own virtual garden by reading books and logging them online, plus they can send e-cards to Clifford™, and learn a new word from WordGirl™ every day.
What about adults?
- Parents and caregivers can explore multi-media content about kids and summer reading (in English and Spanish), get advice from education experts, and browse summer book picks for their kids.
- Teachers and librarians have access to free teaching resources, including lesson plans, reproducibles, engaging book activities and teaching tips specifically for summer.
What can you win by taking the challenge?
- At the end of the summer, Scholastic will make a financial contribution to Save the Children’s U.S. Programs on behalf of all the participating readers— and the winning Summer Challenge team will get to decide which important issue receives an extra donation!
- Kids can also apply their reading minutes to the Scholastic Book Fairs’ “Read for the World Record!” and see if their school breaks the record.
- Every week, kids can enter for a chance to win sweepstakes for books from Scholastic, membership to Kidzui, the Internet for kids, and free bonus points from SmartyCard, redeemable for real rewards.
- Kids win by getting to choose the books they want to read, connecting with other readers in a safe online community, and helping other children in need.
- Families win by sharing and nurturing a love of reading all summer long! It’s the perfect, free activity to help keep students’ learning skills strong.
What is Save the Children?
Save the Children is the charity partner for the Summer Challenge campaign this year. Throughout the Challenge, long kids will be learning about critical issues kids face in the areas of early childhood development, literacy, physical activity, nutrition and emergency preparedness and response, which are at the core of Save the Children’s work in the U.S. For information on Save the Children and their work domestically and internationally, go to savethechildren.org.
What is the National Center for Summer Learning?
Based at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education, the National Center for Summer Learning engages in research, develops policy, and delivers professional development. Through its nation-wide network of providers and partners, the Center is focusing national attention on how high-quality summer learning programs help close the achievement gap, lead to higher graduation rates, and promote healthy development. To learn more about the National Center for Summer Learning, visit summerlearning.org.
Downloads
- The Scholastic Summer Challenge logo (JPG)
- “Summer is 4 Reading” Bumper Sticker (PDF)
- Age-appropriate book lists (PDF)
- Top 10 Tips to Get Kids Excited About Reading (PDF)
Video
View highlights from the Summer Challenge Live webcast, from Better TV