Summer Reading Ideas for Kids: Free Activities & Book List

Summer break brings a welcome change of pace—and summer reading programs! Britannica Education’s 2026 Can You Dig It? digital kit of dinosaur- and paleontology-themed book suggestions and activities enhances the real learning of summer reading programs. 

The kit is loaded with printable activities and a curated book list of 60 titles for school-age readers, recommended by educators and librarians from across the United States. (Plus, 18 titles are dinosaur related!) 

Whether families are participating in your summer programming from home or in person, feel free to use the Can You Dig It? kit and the ideas below to spark curiosity, encourage participation, and make summer reading feel like an adventure kids don’t want to miss. 

🦖 Set a Purpose for Screen Time

Let’s face it—screens are part of everyday life, especially during summer break. The key is making that time count. For Britannica School and Britannica Library subscribers, this kit’s book list includes age-appropriate article links relevant to each book, helping transform summer screen time into something intentional and enriching. Instead of passive scrolling or gaming, readers can explore stories, learn new concepts, and engage with a book’s themes. Devices become tools for discovery and imagination, after all!

📚 Host a Bingo Book Club

Turn reading into a shared adventure by starting a mini book club and having readers try to win a summer reading bingo using the card included in the kit. Gather a small group at the library or encourage siblings, cousins, or neighborhood friends to participate at home. Set a relaxed reading schedule, and then bring the group together to talk about favorite plotlines, surprising facts, and even the coolest dinosaurs. Who gets bingo first? It’s a great way to build social skills and excitement for reading.

🔡 Build a Dino Vocabulary Wall

Dinosaurs come with some seriously cool vocabulary! Start with the kit’s leveled vocab lists and word search activity, and then encourage kids to collect interesting paleontology words as they read. Create a “Dino Vocabulary Wall” at the library or at home using sticky notes, a poster board, or even a digital document. Adding to the list over the summer not only builds language skills but also gives kids a sense of accomplishment.

👨‍👩‍👧 Celebrate a Family Read-Aloud Night

Bring the community together for a themed family night centered around reading. Pick a book from the list and make the evening an event—think dino-shaped snacks, fun dinosaur facts, table activities and coloring sheets, and a cozy storytime. Encourage families to bring dino stuffies and wear their PJs! After reading the story, talk about its themes or ask kids what they learned. At the end of the night, award all attendees the title of Certified Chomp-ions using printouts of the certificate in the kit. These moments turn reading into a shared experience and create lasting summer memories.

📸 Share Your Dino Summer

Enhance the experience by connecting online. Encourage families to share photos of how their kids are using the digital kit—reading, assembling their dino puzzles, and showing off their vocabulary wall. Create or use a branded hashtag to collect and celebrate these moments online. It builds a sense of community, inspires other families, and adds extra excitement for readers who love seeing their work shared.

🦕 Explore Teach Britannica’s Lesson Minis

Visit Teach Britannica for even more fossil-tastic ideas! This resource hub built by Britannica’s education experts contains a plethora of open-access resources, including these three themed lesson minis, as well as even more printable worksheets and helpful differentiation tips:

Discovering Dinosaurs and Paleontology

Grades K–2

Explore dinosaur traits and how paleontologists study fossils to compare species and infer how dinosaurs looked, lived, and ate millions of years ago.

Explore

Dinosaur Exploration and Classification

Grades 3-5

Investigate and classify dinosaur species and use readings and collaborative tasks to compare dinosaurs and explain how their features and behaviors shaped how they lived.

Investigate

Patterns in the Past: Fossils and Evolution

Grades 6-8

Explore fossils, dinosaur traits, and dinosaurs’ similarities to birds to understand evolution using collaborative activities to develop evidence-based explanations about natural selection and extinction.

Dig Deeper