Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.

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Summer Learning Resources for Parents

By: Colorín Colorado (2010)

In this section:

School's over, but that doesn't mean that kids need to stop learning or reading! Summer is a great time for kids to read what they enjoy and to learn in new kinds of environments.

Learn more from Colorín Colorado's summer reading resources! This page is also available in Spanish.

Summer Reading

These articles offer great ideas for getting your child exciting about reading during the summer!

Summer Reading Tips (Also Spanish)
Take a Break, But Bring a Book! (Also in Spanish)
Make Reading Relevant! (Also in Spanish)
Make Reading Relevant!: Pre-K (Also in Spanish)
Dads and Reading (Also in Spanish)
Dads and Reading: Pre-K (Also in Spanish)
Parent Reading Tips (Also in Spanish)
Family Reading Guides (Also in Spanish)

Summer Learning

These articles offer ways to encourage learning throughout the summer with daily activities.

Summer Learning, Side-by-Side (Also in Spanish)
Use Summer Fun to Learn! (Also in Spanish)
The Night Before the Museum (Also in Spanish)
Five Easy Tips for Summer Learning (Also in Spanish)
Visit the Library (Also in Spanish)
Beach Bag of Summer Activities (Reading Rockets)
Summer Spells Success (National Summer Learning Association, also in Spanish)
Reading Activities (PBS Parents, also in Spanish)
Children and Media (Also in Spanish)

Booklists and Magazines

Booklists

Fun Magazines for Summer Reading

Magazines can be a wonderful way to motivate children to read. Libraries may carry your children's favorite magazines, or you can order a magazine subscription.

To see suggestions of some good English-language magazines for children, check out Reading Rockets' magazine list.

If you are interested in a Spanish-language magazine, try IGUANA Magazine.

Websites for Children and Families

If you're looking for some educational games online for your kids, try these websites!

English-Language Websites for Children

PBS Kids — Games, activities, coloring worksheets, and music from your kids' favorite shows on PBS.
National Geographic for Kids — Games, activities, photos, and information about animals, geography, and more.
Cool Math 4 Kids — Fun math puzzles, games, and exercises for kids.

Bilingual Websites For Children

PBS Kids: Maya and Miguel — Bilingual games and cultural activities from the popular PBS television show.
PBS Kids' Island — Bilingual educational games for kids
Cody's Cuentos — Audio versions of Spanish-language children's stories with accompanying text so that kids can read along.
Childtopia — Games and activities including arts and crafts, worksheets, and reading, listening, and writing practice in English and Spanish.

Bilingual Websites For Families

RIF — This bilingual interactive website has fun reading games and activities for children, as well as information for parents about motivating your children to read!
Scholastic — This bilingual site offers reading games and activities for children, as well as information for parents.
Sesame Street: Talk, Read, and Write! — The Parent Pages offer activities, information, and tips for making literacy a fun part of your everyday life together.

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ELL Topics A-Z > Parent Tips

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Major support for Colorín Colorado is provided by the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.

ELLs and Policy is made possible by a generous grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

I am a speech-language pathologist, and I work with many bilingual families. I see young children with delayed communication skill development, and your site enables me to share all the information with the families I meet, regardless of their primary language. Thank you. All the information on your site is family-friendly, and provides additional links for critical information about child development and developmental issues. Also the joy of reading is made easy and fun for all!
~ Susan H.

Reading Tip Sheets: Available in 11 languages!

Additional funding for Colorín Colorado comes from the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

Why the name "Colorín Colorado"?

Colorín Colorado is a free web-based, bilingual service that provides information, activities, and advice for educators and Spanish-speaking families of English language learners (ELLs, also known as students of English as a second language).

Colorín Colorado is produced by Reading Rockets — an educational service of WETA, the flagship public broadcasting station in the nation's capital. Original artwork by Caldecott Award-winning illustrator David Diaz is used with permission.

Visit WETA's educational websites:

Colorín Colorado receives major funding from the American Federation of Teachers. Additional funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.

¡Colorín Colorado! ® is a registered trademark of WETA.

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