Twenty-first century learners are required to think critically about the world, collaborate and communicate with their peers, and solve complex problems, all while building literacy skills that will allow them to succeed inside and outside the classroom. Yet, they are constantly distracted by the overload of stimuli in their environments. With so many competing interests and so much to do all the time, how can we motivate our students to learn at home, especially during the summer, and engage them in meaningful but fun learning experiences?

The answer can be found with Catapult Learning’s Reading and Activity Bags, which can contribute significantly to students’ motivation and literacy skills. Each of our Learning Bags has been intentionally curated to promote effective athome literacy support with engaging, creative, and interactive texts and resources. With every page and every activity, students are provided an opportunity to stretch their reading abilities and experience the pleasure of fluent reading, as well as to engage in hands-on exploratory learning connected to the real world.

While the Reading Bags reflect a wide range of reading levels and interests, and support students in improving their literacy skills, the Activity Bags support inquiry-based learning and help students to learn by doing. Our Learning Bags also help families to better understand what their children are learning in school and how they can support those approaches, thereby enhancing the relationship between the family and school.

Catapult Learning’s Reading and Activity Bags also offer these added benefits:

• Establish a regular family reading routine and help families to set aside a few minutes of learning each day, whether after school or during the summer

• Allow all families, regardless of their culture, education level, or English language proficiency, to feel that they are directly involved in their child’s learning

• Provide parents with a structure and model for reading and playing with their children

• Engage children, young and old, in interactive reading and learning that ignites their enthusiasm and sparks their curiosity

• Build an awareness of the breadth of books and activities that exist across content areas and grade bands

• Show parents how to help their children connect what they read in books and what they learn in class to what is happening in the world around them

• Stimulate discussions between children and their families