Grades K-8
At-Home and Online
Summer Reading Program 2023 With Spelling and Phonics
This Summer
Help Your Kids Become Strong, Confident Readers
- Improve reading speed with our research-proven reading fluency training
- Learn effective reading comprehension strategies
- Read fun and engaging reading passages
- Learn how to easily take notes
- Learn to spell accurately and confidently with spelling patterns
- Improve planning and time-management skills
Scholar Within’s Co-founder Bonnie Terry, M.Ed., BCET has been featured on
Summer Reading Program
(Grades K-8)
45-60 Minutes a Day
6 Week, 8 Week, or 10 Week Summer Reading Program
Self-Paced, Online & Offline Curriculum
Video and Audio Lessons
Worksheets and Printables
Help and Support
What parents are saying
“My daughter has not only increased her words read per minute but also has improved her comprehension.”
– Mary M.
“The video spelling and phonics lessons are like having a private tutor in our home.”
– Wendy R.
“The games were really enjoyable! We even played them AFTER the lesson was over for the day.”
– Natalie M.
How it Works:
Summer Reading Program Curriculum
The summer reading program is self-paced. This means you can do it on your schedule at home. The program is step-by-step with video instruction.
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Start where your child is currently reading and spelling.
Is your child behind in reading or spelling? Maybe they are looking to advance faster in reading and make spelling easier. We have different levels for grades K-8 to meet your child where they are over the summer months. Spelling and reading levels can be adjusted independently.
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Each day, your child will do a quick reading fluency activity.
This activity just takes 5 minutes and works on your visual processing skills, eye-tracking, and rapid automatized naming skills.
In other words, this warm-up activity helps your child read faster and gets their mind ready for the other activities. Your child will chart their progress each day, and by the end of each week, they’ll be reading faster and more accurately. -
Each week, your child will read two engaging reading selections and take notes.
After reading the selection, your child will learn how to effectively take notes with our custom-designed graphic organizers. This activity also builds the skills you will need when writing a reading journal. This activity takes 15-20 minutes. You will notice a variety of reading selections: some classic text selections, original text selections, as well as short stories and poems.
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A day or two after your child reads their selection, they will review their notes and answer questions.
This process helps your child build their long-term comprehension skills. Too many other programs and teachers ask children to answer questions immediately after they have read a selection.
By asking questions a couple of days later, children improve their memory and long-term reading comprehension skills. Yes, we even ask younger students to take notes! Kids that are working on handwriting skills can dictate notes aloud. -
Each week, your child will get a new list of spelling words grouped by their spelling pattern.
These are activities like completing the pattern and matching uppercase and lowercase letters. They’ll also learn to write simple sentences with provided printable word cards. These activities improve visual perception and fine motor skills.
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Your child will follow along with video spelling lessons and tests.
Your child will fill out a corresponding spelling worksheet as they watch the videos. Younger kids can use provided printable letter cards. Spelling tests are self-correcting.
This spelling system is Orton-Gillingham based, multisensory, and custom-designed by learning expert Bonnie Terry, M.Ed., BCET. -
After the spelling lesson, your child gets to do spelling puzzles that go with the lesson.
These are activities include word searches, sorting your words, fill-in-the-blank, and more.
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In the middle of the week, younger students do activities to work on letter and pattern recognition.
These are activities like completing the pattern and matching uppercase and lowercase letters. They’ll also learn to write simple sentences with provided printable word cards. These activities improve visual perception and fine motor skills.
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In the middle of the week, older students do a spelling pattern recognition activity.
Your child will identify the spelling patterns that they have learned in other sentences. We provide answer keys too! They’ll also write sentences with their spelling words.
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Each week of the summer reading program, your child gets to do executive function activities.
These executive function activities include planning, organizing, strategizing, flexible thinking, remembering, and paying attention to details.
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Each week, your child gets to do mind-body connection activities.
Mind-body connection activities activate your vestibular system which helps improve higher-order thinking, interpreting information, and helps get your body operating in unison with your mind.
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Play new printable card games every couple of weeks.
Your kids can play these games at any time during the week with your family or their friends. They work on strengthening reading and spelling skills as well as make learning a lot more fun!
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45-60 Minutes a Day
All of these activities are each only 5-20 minutes long and you can fit them into your schedule. We have planning calendars to help! This is not an all-day-long program.
Summer Reading Programs Compared
 | Other Summer Reading Programs | Library Summer Reading Programs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online and offline activities |  | Some |  |
| Science-based curriculum | | Some | |
| Phonics | | Some | Some |
| Reading comprehension | | Some | Some |
| 5 Minute reading fluency training | | | |
| Tap to Read: read-aloud technology | | | |
| Learn to spell with spelling patterns | | | |
| Executive function and planning skills | | | |
| Designed by board certified educational therapist and reading specialist | | | |
| Orton-Gillingham Based | | Some | |
| Under $22/week | | | Free |
What grade level is your child entering in the fall of 2023?
Select a grade level to learn more about each individualized program:
Designed by Learning Expert Bonnie Terry, M.Ed., BCET
Bonnie Terry is a board-certified educational therapist with over 35 years of experience. She has helped thousands of students across the globe improve their reading skills, whether they are gifted or are having difficulties.
Bonnie Terry has been featured on…
Student Results
Below are the student averages of elementary grade students using programs and materials designed by Scholar Within’s Bonnie Terry, M.Ed., BCET.
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woocommerce-reviewsBuild Foundational Reading Skills
This at-home and online summer reading program targets and builds foundational skills that are necessary to become a successful reader.
This summer reading program focuses on building phonemic awareness, reading fluency, comprehension, and improving the ability to decode and encode words. We work on visualization, note-taking, critical thinking, and more.
When you take a holistic approach to reading, you can dramatically improve your reading skills not just in school but in life.
Included in the Program:
- Weekly Reading Passages
- Reading Comprehension Questions
- Reading Fluency Training Drills
- Phonics and Spelling Video Lessons
- Spelling Worksheets and Puzzles
- Video Instruction
- Graphic Organizer Forms
- Note-Taking Printables
- Executive Function Activities
- Brain-Body Activities
- Card Games
- Daily Emails
- And More!
Reviews from Parents
K Kelley B.
My son and I have tried many reading programs; this one has made the most significant difference. It trains the brain to think of reading and spelling in ways beyond rote memorization. In addition, the summer program is enjoyable and effective. As a result, my son started the school year with increased confidence as a reader, and I feel better prepared to help him with his learning.
V Valerie K.
My child was diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and it has been a difficult journey in getting her to develop phonemic awareness skills and reading fluency, among other reading deficits. After enrolling her in Scholar Within’s summer program, I have seen the improvement that I’ve been waiting for! I will definitely continue using this program throughout the school year.
J Jennifer A.
Fabulous reading program! We enrolled our daughter over the summer. It was so wonderful we decided to continue using the program during the school year.
E Elizabeth W.
My son was diagnosed as dyslexic at the end of third grade. I found this program online and thought we could try the 8 week summer program prior to him starting 4th grade. We did a lot of traveling that summer and were able to stay on track without any issue. My son really enjoyed the word games in the program. The few times I reached out to customer service, they were prompt and professional with their help. I could tell a difference in his reading by the end of the summer. The real proof was when 4th grade started; his first quarter ELA grade was a 95%!!!! (He ended 3rd grade with a 62%). This program is amazing, I cannot recommend it enough!
D Dr. Kimberly C.
Great program, even for an older struggling reader with auditory processing disorder and possible dyslexia.
I like the option of switching between grade levels as needed + customer service has been fast/useful so far.
K Kathleen B.
After a recent diagnosis of dyslexia, we started our son on this 6-week summer program. He has taken to it so well and we have already seen such great improvement. We are looking forward to continuing the program year-round!
R Rachelle M.
I have two children who just completed 8 weeks of the Summer Reading Program. My oldest is dyslexic and I’ve been looking for a spelling program that is geared towards older kids since she is in 8th grade and many of the other spelling programs we’ve done feel like they are for younger children. My daughter appreciated that the lessons were straightforward in teaching the patterns through sight, sound and writing. Her spelling confidence and ability grew tremendously. My youngest benefited from the Ready Fluency Drills and Reading Comprehension activities. Both enjoyed the games and puzzles. We look forward to continuing with the program into the fall as homeschoolers.
S Sarah S.
This program kept my kids sharp over the summer. Thank you!
M Mary M.
We love the summer program. My daughter has not only increased her words per minute but also has expanded her comprehension. She is learning valuable note taking strategies and has drastically improved her spelling. She also enjoys the content! We are excited to see her growth.
N Natalie M.
Last summer, my husband and I enrolled our daughters (then entering grade 3 and entering grade 2) in the summer program. This program really helped them with reading comprehension! It gave us as parents the tools we needed to ask the right questions to help them too! Also, the games were really enjoyable! We even played them AFTER the lesson was over for the day. We were very impressed with the variety of activities and tools available with this program. We will be re-enrolling them this summer! Thank you!
A Amy D.
My daughter is begging me to do your reading program again to strengthen her skills. The guides for note-taking and how to pick out important information was only second to the fun activities each day last year. We look forward to seeing what’s in store for this year!
M Melinda G.
We are currently working on week 5 of our program. We really like it and are seeing benefits already. Thank you!
L Lisa G.
Thank you for partnering with me to help my daughters improve their reading skills. They are really enjoying your program and are excited about becoming more confident readers. I am loving it already! I signed up my twin daughters, who are homeschooled.
W Wendi L.
My children took the Scholar Within reading program. I was impressed with how user-friendly and intuitive the program is.
S Sabrina D.
The Monday exercise of reading and taking notes followed with questions on those selections on Wednesday is a really great help for my kids. This lets them work on their comprehension skills. It has made a big difference! The whole program has been a good experience for us. Thank you very much!
N Niiro T.
Even when I’m not sure how to reason/explain to my son about a reading comprehension answer, all I have to do is ask you. You are so good at giving quick replies that are easy for me to tell my son. Thank you!
C Calvin T.
We really loved the program. Thanks so much for all of the neat assignments and games to enhance executive function skills.
K Kameron F.
Thanks for your help throughout this process. You are so responsive whenever I have a question or concern. I see activities on the different levels for my kids which makes them easy to follow. This has been an awesome experience for our family.
J Jill G.
This program really helped my daughter and we saw a difference in her reading and spelling fairly quickly. Plus, she enjoyed the lessons which, as a parent, is probably the most important thing as she was motivated every day to continue learning.
J Jennifer P.
My son is doing well and shows improvements with the reading drills each day. He is also doing well with all the work that is presented. His overall work is improving too. He’s even able to find spelling errors now. Woohoo!
K Ketul P.
This is great a summer reading program. My son has really improved his reading comprehension skills. Thank you, Bonnie Terry, for designing such a great course.
D Danielle D.
Scholar Within has been an amazing resource for my 8-year-old twins this summer. I was so worried about what to do during this summer. It has been great to see how far they have come. They definitely enjoyed how interactive it has been, not just reading. I have recommended this to many of my friends.
C Cynthia B.
I really do like the reading fluency drills. They are making a difference for my son. They are so easy to fit into our day. The thing we didn’t like was all the printing we had to do each week.
C Caroline L.
I enrolled both my sons in the Reading Program this summer. It made such a huge difference for my son who has learning disabilities when we did the summer program two years ago. His teacher was amazed at the improvement in his fluency and comprehension (going into Grade 5). The team has been so flexible with “pausing” our program for a couple of weeks while we are away on vacation too. Note taking is such a key skill that is not really taught here in Ontario, Canada. I think this course will help my kids not fall behind from missing 3 months of school due to COVID 19. I am a poor substitute teacher, but I have confidence that Bonnie’s system is evidence-based, so I just have to follow instructions. Very glad to be able to access this course for homeschooling this summer!
R Regina A.
The videos made all the difference in the world. The spelling videos showed me step by step the structure. You really made spelling easy for my kids. I just keep working with the video, the spelling, the way you explain it, they watch it over and over. It really sinks in. Your materials help build their self-esteem up. They’re short quick activities. You can get so much done in half an hour.
W Wendy F.
We are really liking the summer reading program. I appreciate that you moved my daughter’s level to make the program even more effective for her. Thanks so much.
R Rachel C.
This is a comprehensive program that can be implemented at home. I bought 5 folders and labeled them for each day of the week, plus an extra folder to hold copies of extra forms that are used regularly. You need a decent printer, lots of printer paper, and toner (though I hear they are making print material available for a separate purchase soon!). I prepped the whole week every Sunday evening and had the folders ready for my son and his grandmother to work on each day. It can be kind of overwhelming at first to figure out all the assignments and get it all prepped, but it’s worth it. This is a well thought out program with excellent customer service. We had several questions and adjustments throughout our time with the program and always got quick, helpful, personable replies. Unfortunately, my son’s school year has ramped up and we don’t have enough time to fit Scholar Within into his day. We hope to be back to do a summer program next summer!
M Megan W.
I did find the videos and activities interesting. There was a bit too much printing for me.
C Cathy H.
Jake is doing well and enjoying the program. I’m so pleased with how he has improved and that he likes doing our sessions! Thanks so much!
K Katherine W.
My son’s first drill trend is definitely going in the right direction. His words per minute increased by 17%, and his mistakes decreased, and this is only the first week. I can’t believe he had that much progress already. Thank you for this program and thanks so much for being available for questions, too!
T Tricia L.
Last summer my 3 kids were enrolled in both Scholar Within and another major summer reading program. Scholar Within had more fun activities and games and really focused on building the underlying skills to really prepare for the upcoming year. The other program didn’t build skills in the same way, and was less interactive in my home.
C Christine P.
Your program has so many great things in it. The plan for an excursion was a brilliant idea! We made a trip to the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis and to the Science Museum in St. Louis. I have seen improvements and I have gained insight into how my daughter reads and processes (or lack thereof) the reading assignments. Thank you so very much! The whole-brain approach to improving reading has been very insightful.
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