Exactly how many days are between you and summer? C’mon, I know you know. If you’re anything like me, you’re already dreaming of your summer to-do list. (Yes, the summer to-do list—it is equal parts sad and fabulous.) In between the household to-dos (clean out that closet!) or the family fun to-dos (pick more berries together!) likely resides your list of reading to-dos (read more professional books!).

My summer reading list is epic. It includes professional books I have been fantasizing about (complete with new pens for underlining, of course). It includes deliciously breezy fiction perfect for the beach or for someone who can read only one page or two before falling asleep at night.  It includes back issues of magazines, two biographies, a recent award winner, and a stack of young adult lit that makes me want to squeal. 

I gather my future reading on my nightstand. Some nights, instead of reading, I peruse the titles, rearranging and organizing them into a “next at bat” stack. My husband considers this a very nerdy pastime, but I don’t care. I know what I love as a reader, and it is reflected in my prized (yet slightly unwieldy) stack.

Which brings me to my point: How many of our students truly know themselves as readers? I think one of the saddest things is a reader who is unable to name a favorite book, genre, or author. 

In your final days and weeks with your students, consider working with them to shape or revise their own reader selves. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Talk to your students about creating an “at bat” pile of books that are waiting to be read.
• Start a “Wall of Summer Reading” and collect titles students are excited to read over the summer. Make a take-home copy of this list.
• Ask students and families to tweet their favorite titles with a common hashtag (such as #room201faves).
• Provide students with library card applications for their families.
• Compile a list of favorite authors, titles, or genres from the school year to share.
• Help students set a goal for how many books they would like to read this summer with a quick and easy way for them to keep track of their progress.
• Collect a group of popular books that are appropriate for your class. Gather your students in a circle and give one book to each student. Let them read each book for 1 or 2 minutes, then ring a bell and tell students to pass the book to their left. The goal is to encourage students to create a list of books that interest them while giving them the opportunity to look through a large number of titles.

Mrs. Mimi, aka Jennifer Scoggin, is a teacher who taught both first and second grades at a public elementary school in New York City. She's the author of Be Fabulous: The Reading Teacher's Guide to Reclaiming Your Happiness in the Classroom and It's Not All Flowers and Sausages: My Adventures in Second Grade, which sprung from her popular blog of the same name. Mimi also has her doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University.