Summer Learning
Summer is the one stretch of the year where learning can happen without the pressure of a pacing guide. Whether your student needs to recover a credit, get ahead of a requirement, close a gap, or simply walk into the next grade feeling ready, we build a plan that fits the summer you actually have.
What Makes Sense at Each Grade Level
Find your student's grade to see what we typically recommend for the summer, and where to go next.
Kindergarten
Build the six WaKIDS readiness areas: social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and math. Learning stays playful, with an introduction to the rhythm of a school day.
1 - 5
Protect against summer slide. Establish a reading habit, keep math fluency sharp, and start low-pressure writing. SBA testing begins in 3rd grade, so this is also where we catch early gaps.
Transition
The first big jump in independence. We front-load organization, planning, and homework routines, and preview what middle school actually expects, so September is not a scramble.
6 - 8
Subject support and SBA or i-Ready catch-up work. Families targeting private schools use this window for entrance exam prep, and students aiming for advanced tracks get ahead on math.
Transition
The jump that affects the transcript. Grades now count toward graduation and college admissions, so we build study systems, preview the 9th grade course load, and get ahead in math.
9 - 10
Keep the GPA on track from the start and recover any credits early rather than late. Strong readers and writers built now pay off directly on the SAT and ACT later.
10 - 11
The highest-leverage summer. Prep for a fall SAT or ACT while the schedule is open, and begin admissions work: school lists, essay brainstorming, and scholarship research. Running Start planning also happens here.
11 - 12
Applications move to the front: essays, activity lists, recommendations, and financial aid. Alongside that, this is when practical adult skills matter, from resumes and interviews to managing money.
At any grade: if a student failed a class, credit recovery is available over the summer. And if your student has a learning difference, every pathway above can be adapted. See Learning Differences for how we adjust instruction, or Homeschooling if you are educating at home.
Summer Pathways
Students come to us in the summer for very different reasons. These are the most common.
Credit Recovery & Grade Replacement
If a student failed a class during the school year, many schools allow grade replacement or credit recovery. Accredited programs such as Brigham Young University's (BYU) Independent Study, local district online schools, and community college options can help students recover credits.
Summer is a strong time to do this: more flexible scheduling and smaller class environments make the learning far more individualized than a packed school-year classroom. We tutor alongside these programs so the coursework actually sticks the second time.
Taking Classes in Advance
Some private middle and high schools expect incoming students to have already completed specific coursework, or they place students by exam. Other families simply want a head start so their student can reach higher-level math or science sooner.
We help families figure out which prerequisite is actually required, then teach the course content over the summer so the student walks in placed where they want to be.
SBA & i-Ready Catch-Up
The Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) is Washington's state test in English language arts and math for grades 3 through 8 and high school. The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment many districts use to measure reading and math levels, and it correlates closely with SBA results.
If scores came back lower than expected, summer is the window to close those specific gaps so students are ready to be re-assessed once the school year begins.
Grade Transition Support
The jumps from 5th to 6th grade and 8th to 9th grade are the two that catch families off guard. Expectations around organization, homework independence, and time management change overnight.
We use the summer to build study skills and executive functioning ahead of the change, and to preview what the coming year actually looks like, so the first month is not a scramble.
Kindergarten & 1st Grade Readiness
Washington assesses incoming kindergarteners through WaKIDS, which looks at six areas of development: social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and math. Readiness across those areas is linked to stronger outcomes in kindergarten and beyond.
We work with our youngest students on early literacy, number sense, and the routines of a school day, at a pace that keeps learning playful.
Reading & Writing Program
A structured, systematic summer reading and writing program that helps students cultivate a genuine reading habit while sharpening grammar, sentence construction, and personal writing style.
Details on our reading list and writing plan are below.
Summer SAT & ACT Prep
Both the SAT and the ACT are usually taken in the spring of junior year. But there is a real advantage to preparing over the summer and sitting for the exam in the fall: students have open weeks to actually study, and a fall score becomes a benchmark they can build on rather than a single high-stakes attempt.
Who Benefits Most From a Fall Test
- Sophomores and juniors who want a benchmark score to improve on in the spring
- Seniors looking to raise a score before applications go out
- Students with packed school-year schedules, including athletes and student workers
- Students who struggle with test-taking or studying and need unhurried time to build those skills
What We Focus On Over the Summer
- Higher-level math: functions, probability, rates and proportions, averages
- Reading comprehension: purpose, theme and tone, perspective, text-based evidence
- Grammar conventions: sentence structure and punctuation
- Interpreting data from graphs, tables, and diagrams
- Timing and pacing strategies
- Full-length practice exams under real conditions
Not sure which test fits your student better? Our SAT / PSAT and ACT / PreACT pages break down each exam's format, registration process, and full-year test calendar, including suggested prep start dates.
Summer Reading List
Reading over the summer keeps comprehension, vocabulary, and stamina from sliding. We help students choose titles they will actually finish, then work through them together with structured discussion and comprehension checks. Here is a starting point for high school readers.
Science Fiction
- Frankenstein · Mary Shelley
- 1984 · George Orwell
- Brave New World · Aldous Huxley
- Fahrenheit 451 · Ray Bradbury
- Ender's Game · Orson Scott Card
- The Giver · Lois Lowry
Historical Fiction
- To Kill a Mockingbird · Harper Lee
- A Tale of Two Cities · Charles Dickens
- The Grapes of Wrath · John Steinbeck
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn · Mark Twain
- The Book Thief · Markus Zusak
- Catch-22 · Joseph Heller
Nonfiction
- Hidden Figures · Margot Lee Shetterly
- Persepolis · Marjane Satrapi
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings · Maya Angelou
- The Diary of a Young Girl · Anne Frank
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks · Rebecca Skloot
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass · Frederick Douglass
Plays
- A Streetcar Named Desire · Tennessee Williams
- The Crucible · Arthur Miller
- Macbeth · William Shakespeare
- A Raisin in the Sun · Lorraine Hansberry
- Romeo and Juliet · William Shakespeare
- Fences · August Wilson
Other Classics
- The Great Gatsby · F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Pride and Prejudice · Jane Austen
- The Odyssey · Homer
- Moby Dick · Herman Melville
- The Catcher in the Rye · J.D. Salinger
- Jane Eyre · Charlotte Bronte
Summer Writing Program
Why Writing Slips Through the Cracks
The school year moves fast. Teachers work from rigid pacing plans with many students to manage, and there is rarely enough time to identify every student's specific needs for improvement. The areas students most commonly struggle with are:
- Organizing ideas
- Topic sentences and conclusions
- Grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure
- Transition sentences
- Spelling and vocabulary
Writing for just 20 to 30 minutes a few times a week can add up to enormous growth over a single summer.
Summer Journal
A notebook where students jot 3 to 5 sentences about their day. It builds the habit of writing without academic pressure.
Story Starters
We write the first sentence, the student continues it. They can take it somewhere silly, adventurous, or dramatic, whatever gets them writing.
Freestyle Writing
Students write about anything they want: a video game, a sport, a favorite show, a pet, a dream. Creative freedom is what keeps them coming back to the page.
If a student has expressed disinterest in writing, we start by finding out where it breaks down. Asking "what part of writing feels hardest to you?" and "what do you think your strengths are?" usually reveals more than any diagnostic, and knowing what they like to write about is what makes the habit stick.
Older Students: Where to Go Next
Summer looks different once students are partway through high school. If your student is further along, these pages are the better starting point:
- 10th and 11th graders: summer is prime time to begin admissions work. See our College Counseling page for the full timeline, including scholarship and financial aid research.
- 11th and 12th graders: alongside applications, this is when practical adult skills matter most. See our Coaching page for career coaching and personal finance training.
- Test prep over the summer: our SAT / PSAT and ACT / PreACT pages include suggested prep start dates for each test administration.
Book a free consultation to build your student's summer plan
Call 425-429-7268 or leave us a message.