Grades 3–5 Summer Reading Activities: The Great Outdoors

Caregiver Corner

Download our letter to you with tips and suggestions for extending this week’s activities with your family. Have a great week!

Welcome to the Great Outdoors! We’ll provide five days of reading and learning activities designed to engage your child in an exploration of nature all around us.

Reading Monday

It’s Monday, so let’s read about national parks!

A Nation of Parks

Read all about the National Park Service and the parks under its care. Find out how many national parks there are, where they are, and what makes each of them special. Then, you can plan which one you want to visit first!

Download A Nation of Parks

Discuss the book: What is the National Park Service? Name some of the different ecosystems you can find in national parks. Which national park is closest to where you live?

Media Tuesday

It’s Tuesday, so let’s watch a video!

Saving the Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle

Watch the video Saving the Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle to learn about how the recovery project at the Padre Island National Seashore has protected the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle from extinction.

Discuss the video: How many years did it take before the researchers saw one of the first relocated turtles return to Padre Island National Seashore? How do the researchers identify the turtles? Who is Ridley, and how does he help the researchers?

Writing Wednesday

It’s Wednesday, so let’s write!

Write an Opinion Paragraph

Write an opinion paragraph about why it is important to protect our national parks. Give reasons for your opinion. Use details from A Nation of Parks to support your reasons.

Research Thursday

It’s Thursday, so let’s research natural wonders!

Natural Wonders

Choose one of the natural wonders you read about in the texts this week. You might choose a canyon, geyser, volcano, crater, mountain, or cave.
Learn about the landform you chose. What are its features and parts? What makes it a natural wonder? Where are some interesting examples of it located?
Draw a map or diagram to show what you learned.

Project Friday

It’s Friday, so let’s create!

Make a National Park Brochure

Choose a national park you read about this week. Use information from the texts and other sources to make a travel brochure about the park.
Include information about its location, size, history, and special features.
Include maps, illustrations or photos, and fun facts!

Talk about what you learned about the Great Outdoors this week with your friends and family!