Summer Activities for Students Entering 5th Grade
Are you concerned that over the summer your child will forget everything he or she learned in fourth grade?
The following are fun activities and skill-builders that will help prepare your child for the new school year. Each
activity has been selected to draw on prior knowledge and is a sneak peek of what he or she will learn in the
third grade. Enjoy these activities with your son or daughter during the summer months, and once it’s time to
go back to school, your child will feel well-rested and equipped for the upcoming school year.
Take two sheets of 8 1/2
inches by 11 inches of
paper. Roll one sheet
into a short cylinder and
the other into a tall
cylinder. Set them both
on a flat surface. Does
one hold more than the
other?
What letters, when
written in lowercase, can
be read the same upside
down as right side up?
Would you rather work
seven days at $20 per
day or be paid $2 for the
first day and have your
salary double every day
for a week?
Read a picture book.
Write a paragraph in
which you review the
illustrations. How were
they created? Are they
well done? Would you
nominate this artist for
an award?
Make a list of as many of
he 50 states you can
remember. Then use a
reference source such
as an atlas, the internet,
or the weather map on
the news to add the
missing states to your
list.
Make a list of 10 nouns.
Then choose adjectives
to describe your nouns.
Look around you. Make
a list of 10 questions that
can be answered by
doing a science fair
project.
In a well-written
paragraph describe the
U.S. flag. Use enough
details so that someone
that has never seen it
could picture what the
flag looks like. What do
you think the symbols on
the flag represent?
Write three word
problems that use
multiplication. Illustrate
and solve the problems
you created.
Read a picture book and
write a summary. Be
sure you include
characters, the setting,
and the main events in
the story.
Observe the clouds you
see outside. Draw a
picture of the different
types of clouds you see.
Write a caption for each
illustration describing the
size, shape, and texture
of the clouds.
A simile is a way to
compare two items using
the words like or as. For
example: “The shirt is
like a colorful rainbow.”
Write at least 5 of your
own similes.
Write down all the
physical activities you do
in a week.
Read a newspaper or
magazine article. Write a
summary of the article.
Remember to include
who, what, when, where,
and why.
Design a kite and write
the directions for
someone else to make
one just like yours. Does
it work? How would you
change the design to
make your kite work
better?
Watch a movie that is
based on a book you
have read. Write two
paragraphs in which you
compare and contrast
the book and the movie.
Record the height of
each person that lives in
your house. Find the
mean and median of this
data.
A metaphor is a way to
compare two items.
When using a metaphor,
we say one item IS
another. Example: Sara s
Estimate the weight of
an apple, orange, and a
cucumber. Use the
produce scale at the
grocery store to find the
weights of each of these
foods. How close were
you to your estimates?
Which is the heaviest/
lightest?
Look at a map of
Colorado. Make a list of
all the Spanish names
for towns, rivers, etc.
Why do you think all of
these places have
Spanish names?
Read a picture book that
contains at least two
characters. Create a
graphic organizer to
compare and contrast
the characters. Think
about their physical traits
as well as their
personality traits.
Illustrate the life
cycles of a plant
and an animal and
compare the
similarities and
differences of each.
Name the 7 continents.
Name 10 countries
bordering the Pacific
Ocean. Name 10
countries in Europe.
Personification is giving
human characteristics to
non-human objects. For
example: The leaves
whispered in the breeze.
Make a list of at least 5
examples of
personification.
Write in Roman
numerals up to 100.
Pour water into a glass
all the way to the top.
Put an index card on the
glass and holding your
hand over it quickly turn
the glass upside down.
Remove your hand.
Write what you think has
happened?
Draw the lines of
symmetry for the capital
alphabet.
Make a list of 10 action
verbs. Then add an
adverb to each of your
verbs.
List the 5 steps of
the scientific
process and explain
each one.
Name one career for
each letter of the
alphabet.
a fish when she gets into
the swimming pool. Make
a list of at least 5
metaphors.
Summer Reading Titles for Student Entering 5th Grade
Historical fiction by Elvira Woodruff
Dear Napoleon I know You’re Dead, But…
Dear Levi: Letters From the Overland Trail
Dear Austin: Letters From the Underground Railroad
The Orphan of Ellis Island
Al Capone Does My Shirts: By Gennifer Choldenko
George Selden’s books
The Cricket in Times Square
Chester Cricket’s New Home
Tucker’s Countryside
Harry Cat’s Pet Puppy
Richard Peck’s books
A Year Down Yonder
Along Way From Chicago
Wilson Rawl’s books
Summer of the Monkeys
Where the Red Fern Grows
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s books
Faith, Hope, and Ivy June
Shiloh
Shiloh Season
Saving Shiloh
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy: By Gary D. Schmidt
Ruby Holler: By Sharon Creech
Hoot: By Carl Hiaasen
Among the Hidden: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Number the Stars: By Lois Lowry