Sign up to be part of the Olathe Public Library's 2024 Summer Reading Program! There will be challenges, programs, and prizes for all ages. The Library link below provides details on all the events, and reading recommendations for kids, teens, and adults! Get the activities on your summer calendar so you don't miss out, and sign up now!

2024 Featured Events:

• • Summer Reading Kickoff May 28, Johnson County Square
  • Sticker and Bookmark Contest May 20 - June 28
  • Teen Beach Party at Lake Olathe June 13
  • Sunken Treasure Scavenger Hunts (at various city pools) June 18, July 18, August 1
  • Get a discount at the pool this summer with your Library Card!

Click here to visit the Olathe Public Library website and sign up

• Increase Your Volume: Experts practice. A lot. Pro-athletes, musicians, artists…the list goes on. It’s one of the main ways they get good at what they do. The same goes for reading. You can improve if you practice.
  • Choose books on topics you love.
  • Set a book goal for yourself. How many books would you like to finish this summer?
  • Set aside time each day to read.
  • Listen to audiobooks while doing chores, going for a run, or enjoying the weather. Students can access books for free by signing into SORA.  Click here to access books through SORA.
• Retelling: Retelling what you have just read is a great exercise to improve comprehension. It works your memory skills, keep you focused as you read, and allows you to realize when you didn’t understand something. Start with small chunks of text to stop and retell and build into longer chunks. Retell verbally or by jotting the retelling down on Post-its or in a notebook. This is a great study technique as well.
• Ask Questions: Asking questions as you read keeps you engaged, strengthens your understanding of the text, and develops critical thinking skills. Click here for resources on asking good questions as you read.

• Increase your Volume: Experts practice. A lot. Pro-athletes, musicians, artists…the list goes on. It’s one of the main ways they get good at what they do. The same goes for writing. You can improve if you practice.
  • Choose topics that matter to you.
  • Start a journal or writer’s notebook. This can be digital, handwritten, or even drawn.
  • Set aside time each day to write.
  • Write letters to family members and friends.
• Generate Ideas: Spend time simply making lists of things you love, things you don’t love, hobbies, family, memories. Sit outside and observe the world around you.
• Rehearse: Writing is putting what we say onto paper. Rehearsing our ideas aloud can get the writing flowing. Consider recording yourself and playing it back while you write it down.
• Flash Draft: Take an idea from the ideas you generated and write on it for ten minutes (or longer!). Writing fast allows the idea to be expanded without too much worry about how good it is. You can revise later.
• Use mentor texts: Look for essays, poems, or even portions of the book you are reading and study what the author has done. Did the poet use a rhyming pattern? Try it out in yours. Did the author use dialogue? Give it a try. Did the essayist open with a quote? What quote would help make your point?
• Revise: Reread your work aloud. This can help catch places needing work. Consider rearranging what you’ve said for a more powerful flow. (Mentor texts can help with this.)

Why build vocabulary?

Understanding the words on the page is critical to unlocking the meaning of the text. Our vocabularies grow in a multitude of ways: listening, reading, and studying are just a few. If we build our vocabulary, our reading comprehension will strengthen. Our written work will also benefit, allowing us to communicate our thoughts more effectively with others.

• Click here to visit freerice.com. The site may ask you to enter your age. You may have to refresh the page after doing this. Test your word knowledge with the activities there. Click the pancake menu button, upper left, to see more options.
• Build your vocabulary by playing fun online games! Select your grade level and choose your game. Click here to visit the Building Vocabulary website.
• Studying word parts: Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes can rapidly grow your vocabulary and help you to decode and define unknown words. Click here to download a word list and get started.
• Play word games: Scrabble, Bananagrams, Scattergories, Catch Phrase, Taboo and many more!

What is fluency?

The most common understanding of fluency is tied to how many words are read correctly in one minute. However, fluency is more than speed.  It is about accuracy and reading with expression (prosody). Reading fluently aids in the comprehension of text. When we read fluently, we read at a comfortable pace, accurately pronouncing the words, and with expression that reveals our understanding of the text.

• Phrase Practice: Try practicing reading common phrases from this list. As you practice, you will build memory of these phrases that will allow for quicker, more automatic recognition of entire phrases in your reading. Click here to download Fry’s Instant Phrases
• Expression (prosody) activities: Click here to download ways to improve your expression while reading.
• Read to a younger sibling.
• Listen to fluent readers through audio books. Click here to access books through SORA.