Fun Reading & ELA Activities for Students This Summer

Summer break is the perfect time for students to dive into stories, explore new ideas, and engage with language in meaningful ways. Turns out, Language Arts isn’t just about reading books - it’s about asking questions, making connections, and discovering how words shape the world.

To help keep literacy skills sharp (and curiosity alive), we’ve gathered a list of ELA activities students can explore over summer break, organized by grade band. These activities invite students to observe, investigate, and interact with language and storytelling in everyday life.

Summer ELA Activities for Grades K-3

Story Walk Adventures

Story sequencing and setting exploration

Encourage families to take a “story walk” - read a favorite picture book, then head outside and imagine what it would be like if the story took place in their own neighborhood or park. What would change? Who would the characters meet? Kids can draw or dictate their new version of the story setting.

Alphabet Photo Hunt

Letter recognition and vocabulary building

Challenge students to find objects around their house, yard, or neighborhood that start with each letter of the alphabet. Can they find something for every letter? Which letters were the hardest? This turns vocabulary and phonics practice into an interactive scavenger hunt.

Summer ELA Activities for Grades 4-5

Character Diary Entries

Character analysis and creative writing

After reading a chapter book or short story, students can write a diary entry from the perspective of a character. What are they thinking after a big event in the story? What would they do next? This helps students dive deeper into character motivations and points of view.

Newspaper Headline Challenge

Summarizing and identifying main ideas

Have students write a newspaper-style headline for different stories they read or movies they watch. What’s the big event? How can they sum it up in 8 words or less? This fun challenge sharpens summarizing skills and encourages students to identify key story elements.

Summer ELA Activities for Grades 6-8

Found Poetry

Word choice, tone, and theme

Students can create poems by collecting words and phrases from magazines, menus, or signs around town. Have them arrange the words into free verse poems based on a theme of their choice - like summer, adventure, or friendship. Then ask: How does word choice affect tone? What story does their poem tell?

Summer Soundtrack Storytelling

Narrative structure and theme

Challenge students to create a playlist of 5–10 songs that would make up the soundtrack to their summer. Then, have them write a short story or reflection explaining how each song connects to a moment, memory, or theme from their summer adventures. It’s a creative way to connect personal narrative with theme and mood.

Summer ELA Activities for High School

Book vs. Movie Investigation

Textual analysis, comparison, and argument writing

Have students choose a book that’s been made into a movie. After watching both, they can compare the storytelling choices. What was left out? What was changed? Which version told the story better - and why? Students can turn their findings into a written argument or video review.

Local Legend Research Project

Research, informational writing, and oral storytelling

Invite students to research a local legend, urban myth, or historical mystery from their hometown or region. What’s the story? Are there different versions? Who still tells it today? Students can present their findings as a short research paper, video documentary, or oral retelling, connecting folklore to place and culture.

Keep the Stories Coming

Whether it’s through poetry made from pizza menus or character diaries written under a shady tree, inquiry-based ELA activities give students new ways to connect with language and storytelling. These activities foster creativity, reflection, and critical thinking - all while making reading and writing part of their summer adventures.

Encourage students to stay curious, ask questions, and keep a notebook handy. Because every summer day holds a story waiting to be told.

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