Activities & Lessons

Grades 1–2 Summer Reading Activities: The Great Outdoors

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G1 2 The Great Outdoors hero

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 trees!


Save Stan’s Tree

Stan really loves his tree and gets worried when it loses its leaves. Will Stan’s tree be okay?



Discuss the book: Who lives next door to Stan? Why does Stan get worried about his tree? How does Stan’s neighbor help?

Media Tuesday

It’s Tuesday, so let’s watch a video!


Water in the Desert

Watch the video Water in the Desert to learn more about life cycles and desert habitats.

Discuss the video: What is a cycle? What are amphibians? What surprised you about how the spadefoot toads grow?

Writing Wednesday

It’s Wednesday, so let’s write!


Write about a Move or Change

Think about a time when you had to move or make a big change in your life. Using descriptive words, write to complete these sentences:

The hardest part of moving/changing was that I had to _____.

I am glad I did, though, because now I _____.



More to Read!

For more reading about outdoor fun, download My Rafting Trip.

Research Thursday

It’s Thursday, so let’s research trees!


Read about Evergreens

  • Look up information about evergreen trees. What are they? How are they the same as and different from the tree in Save Stan’s Tree?
  • Write to complete this sentence: Some trees stay the same color all year round and are called _____.
  • Share what you learned about this type of tree.

Project Friday

It’s Friday, so let’s create!


Make a Poster

Arbor Day is a special holiday to celebrate trees and nature. Use books and websites to learn more about Arbor Day. Then create a poster telling about it. Use markers and crayons to make it colorful.



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

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