Summer Fun with Junior Great Books
How to structure discussions, build confidence, and keep kids reading without making summer feel like school—and with a program aligned with the science of reading!
Summer programs need to be different. During the summer, parents want to see their children engaged in meaningful work, students want something that doesn’t feel like school, and teachers want something that supports them and isn’t too complicated. Enter Junior Great Books. Using short, rich texts with routines that invite every student to think out loud, reading and learning become social, active, and memorable. Junior Great Books is exactly what a summer program should be.
What is Junior Great Books?
Junior Great Books (JGB) uses the Shared Inquiry methodology to engage students in pondering big questions through complex texts and interpretive questions. Instead of boring worksheets or comprehension quizzes, students develop stamina by reading and re-reading texts, citing evidence, listening to peers, and revising their thinking. The leader facilitates the activities without steering them. The leader nudges the group toward deeper meaning rather than a predetermined interpretation of the text.
Why JGB works especially well in a summer setting
- Leader/Facilitator Support: The professional development available to teachers, parents, and other volunteers ensures that students work with well-prepared adults. The Teacher Editions provide just-in-time support to help the leader engage with students and texts.
- High engagement, low “school-ish” feel: Students talk, debate, and make connections. They can almost forget that they’re doing serious reading work.
- Built-in community: The Shared Inquiry Sequence of Activities helps new groups gel quickly, which matters when programs run only a few weeks. The routine created by the sequence of activities means less time spent on creating group norms and more time spent on the fun. The open-ended nature of the questioning helps the students quickly feel at ease with one another and in the program.
- Leveled playing field: Students make meaning through discussion and re-reading, and can contribute even if their reading skills vary. The first reading is done orally, which gives students access to the text even if their decoding skills aren’t well developed yet.
- Vocabulary and comprehension growth: Repeated exposure to rich language, plus accountable talk, strengthens comprehension without drills or boring worksheets.
- Transferable skills: Students practice the skills that many teachers feel are lacking in the classroom. Listening to each other, citing evidence, asking questions, and disagreeing respectfully are practiced in an authentic environment.
Maximizing Literacy Impact:
Flexible Implementation of Junior Great Books
Learn how to integrate Junior Great Books during the school day, throughout the week, or across your school calendar. Includes examples for WIN (What I Need) time for targeted enrichment or intervention, as well as a structured, engaging option for summer learning programs.
A simple summer program model (that actually fits your schedule)
By building a 3–6-week program with a predictable routine, students can practice real skills and learn how to persist in difficult but rewarding work. Start with a 45–60 minute block, 4 days a week. Read aloud and/or partner read for flow and enjoyment.
Sample week: one text, multiple angles
Monday Plan
Using the teacher’s edition (TE), decide which pre-reading activity (if any) is the right start. Use of the pre-reading will also depend on the length of the text. The TE lets the teacher know how long the read-aloud will take. Read the text aloud or use the associated recordings. Have students share the questions that they have about the text, remembering that the goal isn’t to answer questions, but to ask them.
Tuesday Plan
Second reading, which can be done as a whole class, small-group, or individual activity. Students can annotate the text, do a move, or share activity. The TE and the reader’s journal (RJ) provide guidance and support for the leader and the students.
Wednesday Plan
Shared Inquiry Discussion Day. Focus on an interpretive question that has more than one reasonable answer. Use follow-up questions to help students respond to each other’s ideas, find and use evidence, and develop their thinking.
Thursday Plan
Writing day. Students draft a paragraph (or two) answering the discussion question with evidence. Or use a creative prompt to sketch a scene, create a “missing page,” or connect to the text’s theme.
Friday Plan
Share and celebrate. Students read excerpts, perform a short dramatization, or host a mini gallery walk. Optional: invite families for the last 15 minutes.
Facilitation tips that make discussions work (even with mixed ages)
- Set one clear discussion norm per week. Examples: “Look at the speaker,” “Use the text to support your idea,” or “Invite someone in.” The Reader’s Journal has suggestions for this.
- Teach 3 sentence stems and practice them. “I agree because…,” “I see it differently because…,” “Where do you see that in the text?” The Reader’s Journal has suggestions for this.
- Keep the text visible. Use page and line numbers to reference the text so evidence stays central.
- Plan for quiet thinkers. Give students time to write their answers to the focus question before discussion. This will make it easier for them to participate in the discussion.
- End with synthesis. Ask students to reflect on how their idea evolved through the discussion.
Differentiation without watering it down
Summer groups are often wonderfully mixed: different schools, different reading levels, sometimes a wider age span than you’d see during the year. The goal is to keep the thinking complex while making the text accessible.
- Support decoding with audio: Read the text aloud, then have students reread it when citing evidence for fluency practice.
- Use students’ questions to determine which vocabulary to highlight: let students choose words they feel are necessary to understand (not every hard word). Use quick sketches, gestures, or examples. The teacher can guide this as well.
- Use mixed-role discussion: Assign roles like evidence-finder, summarizer, connector, or questioner so students contribute in different ways.
- Extend for advanced readers: Add a companion text, invite them to craft their own interpretive question, or lead a portion of the seminar.
Bring families in (without sending home packets)
One of the easiest wins in a summer program is helping families see what “reading growth” looks like beyond a log of minutes. Using the digital classroom could be one way to share the texts with caregivers. You can share the discussion question with the caregivers.
- “Ask your student: What’s a moment in the text that made you stop and think? Why?”
- “Which character (or person in the article) made the best choice? What evidence supports that?”
- “What’s one question you still have after today’s discussion?”
How to measure impact in a short program
- Discussion snapshots: Utilizing a seating chart (which is taught in the Professional Development workshop) to track over time the growth of each student.
- Before/after writing samples: Use the same simple prompt format (claim + evidence) in week 1 and the final week.
- Reading stamina notes: Record how long students sustain independent/partner reading without redirection.
- Student reflection: A short exit ticket: “Something I understand now about the text that I didn’t before is…”
Closing thought
Junior Great Books works in the summer because students are thinkers. With the Shared Inquiry Sequence of Activities, you can run lively, text-based discussions that build comprehension, vocabulary, and confidence. There can still be room for field trips, games, and the casual atmosphere that makes summer feel like summer. Start small, stay consistent, and let students’ questions do the heavy lifting.
Quick-start checklist
- Schedule professional development for the teachers, volunteers, or parents who will be running the program.
- Decide how to group the students. Shared Inquiry can work with students of differing ages and abilities, so don’t limit yourself to just grade or reading level.
- Based on your students’ ages, meet with your partnership manager to decide which texts to use and whether the digital classroom is right for you.
- Teach a few sentences and question stems and revisit regularly.
- Build in one weekly “showcase” moment, so students know their thinking has an audience.
Professional Learning Consultant
Teri Laliberte has over 20 years of experience working with learners from a variety of backgrounds. Prior to working abroad, she earned her master’s degree in language and linguistics from the University of Georgia. With 15 years of experience working with English language learners, she has supported language growth and acquisition in her students, along with the needed academic skills of critical thinking, listening, and speaking. Prior to rejoining the Great Books Foundation, she spent 15 years working with adult learners in higher and continuing education, honing her skills by meeting the needs of various learners in literacy, communication, and critical thinking.
