Summer Reading Starts with a Bucket List: A Fun Library Lesson for Elementary Students
Are you starting to talk about summer and summer reading with your students? Here’s a fun, simple lesson I shared in my elementary school library, and it was a huge hit!
The Perfect Read-Aloud to Kick Things Off
I launched the lesson with a read-aloud of A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee, a Caldecott Honor book that is pure joy from cover to cover. The story follows two best friends, James and Eamon, who spend a week of summer vacation at Eamon’s grandparents’ beach house in California. They’re supposed to be attending a nature camp, but what they actually do is eat waffles, watch TV, and have an absolutely magnificent time doing as little as possible.
What makes this book so special for a library read-aloud is the way the illustrations do most of the storytelling. Rather than reading straight through the text, plan to pause frequently and let students study the pictures and speech bubbles. There’s a lot of hilarious action happening outside the words on the page, and kids absolutely love being the ones to “read” those visual jokes aloud. It’s a great reminder that illustrations are part of the story — a perfect message to carry into summer reading, when kids are choosing books independently.
Brainstorming a Summer Bucket List
After we shared the story, the conversation naturally turned to summer plans. What do they want to do this summer? We talked about making a bucket list: a list of fun experiences and goals to look forward to before the school year starts again.
To get the ideas flowing, I recommend showing a short kid-friendly video (about four minutes) featuring two sisters sharing their summer bucket list ideas. It’s a wonderful conversation starter that gets even the quietest students eager to contribute.
Then we brainstormed as a whole group: go to the pool, catch fireflies, have a sleepover, make s’mores, visit a new park, try a new food. The ideas came fast and enthusiastically once students got started.
For the printable bucket list activity, I used to use the GoNoodle version, but as of 2026, that resource is no longer available. A great free substitute is this Summer Bucket List download from Teachers Pay Teachers, which includes both a coloring version and a writing version. Students can fill in their personal summer goals, then either color the page or flip it over to write a list of books they want to read over the summer.
Connecting the Activity to Summer Reading
That flip side of the paper is where the magic happens for summer reading. Encouraging students to make a personal summer reading list — books they chose, about topics they love — is one of the most powerful things a school librarian can do. Research consistently shows that voluntary reading over the summer helps prevent learning loss and builds a lasting reading habit.
You can easily extend this into two full library lessons. In the second session, students can search your online library catalog to find titles that match their interests and add them to their summer reading list. Teaching catalog skills alongside summer reading motivation is a natural fit, and students are far more engaged when they’re searching for books they actually want to read.
A Simple Lesson with Lasting Impact
We had the best time thinking about everything the summer holds — adventures, lazy days, and of course, great books. Summer reading doesn’t have to feel like homework. When kids are excited about what they’ll read and why, they carry that enthusiasm all the way to September. This bucket list lesson is a simple, joyful way to send them off with exactly that.
Happy reading, and happy summer! ☀️
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This is a great idea. I will have to keep this in mind for next year! Would have loved it for this week…. Thanks for sharing!