I encourage students to always have two books in their backpacks - one challenging book and one "fun" book. These two may cross categories at any time. Reading for pleasure encourages a lifelong love of literacy. Reading challenging books broadens our world view, introduces new vocabulary, and increases contextual understanding of complex sentence structure.
It's somewhat crazy, but the only true way to improve as a writer is to write. Students need to dive in headfirst to the art of manipulating words and structure to create something meaningful and beautiful. Over the summer, journaling or blogging is the perfect venue for exploring a student's voice. My two oldest children (ages 9&7) are blogging this summer to improve their own writing skills. If students are unsure what to write about, I encourage them to dialogue about the books they are reading.
All students have interests and passions. The great thing, is that those passions all spill out into the language arts world. Interested in MMOs? Great! There are websites, forums, and blogs devoted to MMOs. Learn to communicate effectively by joining in the conversation. Follow you interests on the web and create a twitter handle or get on Google+ to find others who share your passion.
Summer is a time for your body and mind to breathe. It's during this pause that we regain our drive for lifelong learning. Don't neglect the time off from academia that is necessary to bring everything into focus. I want my students in September to be recharged, not burnt out. Play includes all things from recreational activities, to picnics, to daydreaming by the pond.
One of the best ways we learn is to teach others. I encourage teenagers to find someone they can help with their language arts skills. It may be a younger sibling, an exchange student, or an ESL adult at the local library. In the process of teaching others, students take ownership of their skills and grow leaps and bounds. The summer allows the student to have free time to explore these opportunities. And who knows... it may awake a love for teaching!
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