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Summer vacation is just around the corner and teachers and librarians are freaking out. It has nothing to do with lost books or late report cards. It has everything to do with reading. After spending months working to get students into the habit of reading, myself and many of my colleagues are concerned that much of that hard work (on both sides) will be undone by two months of (much needed) summer distractions. To help students keep reading in the summer, I've been showcasing several websites with my K-6 students to encourage to keep those reading skills sharp. Below is a list of five of the best websites to help kids keep up their reading this summer.

Great source for summer reading: Jokes, Silly Stories, Creature Creator, How to draw... etc: This program is a joint initiative between TD Bank Group, Toronto Public Library and Library and Archives Canada. Every year a theme is selected from suggestions made across the country. Supporting materials for the program are developed by a team of children's librarians from Toronto Public Library with the francophone component developed by librarians from Ottawa, Quebec City and Montreal.

Leveraging the Discourse of Common Core Standards to Spur Conversations for Student Learning and School Libraries by Buffy Hamilton June 2012

Resource! Talk about a terrific primary source! In the summer of 1865, a former slave by the name of Jourdan Anderson sent a letter to his former master. And 147 years later, the document reads as richly as it must have back then.

The goal of our project was to update the MEMO Guidelines for Standards in Information and Technology Literacy. The new standards reflect 21st century skills and provide a bridge between K-12 and higher education expectations for students. Beginning in June and continuing throughout the summer and fall, advisory and writing groups met, and determined the framework, standards and benchmarks. The groups included library media specialists and technology integration teachers as well as representatives from public libraries, higher education, and business.

This list began in 2009 and is updated every summer. Former "best sites" are available in the archives. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/bestlist/bestwebsitespast.cfm

"Publishers have spent a lot of time and money building their own company Web sites with fresh information on their books and authors. The trouble is, very few book buyers visit them. In search of an alternative, three major publishers said on Friday that they would create a new venture, called Bookish.com, which is expected to make its debut late this summer. The site intends to provide information for all things literary: suggestions on what books to buy, reviews of books, excerpts from books and news about authors. Visitors will also be able to buy books directly from the site or from other retailers and write recommendations and reviews for other readers." As of early August 16 2011, the site is not ready. However, you can enter your email address to be notified when it goes live. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/books/publishers-plan-a-joint-one-stop-book-site.html?_r=1&src=recg

The United States Department of Agriculture updated their dietary guidelines in 2010, and My Plate is the new graphical representation instead of the Food Pyramid. Are there books and other resources in your library with this new information? Note that the USDA's website is not fully updated yet. The sections for kids and preschoolers still reflect the former Food Pyramid information but should be updated by the end of summer 2011. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/specificaudiences.html