4 ways to set up for a summer of learning

In the Classroom

Summer vacation is just around the corner, but the learning doesn’t have to stop! Help students retain everything they’ve learned this past year and keep them on track for the fall with our summer resources:

Keep students learning with expert strategies

Are you taking advantage of IXL’s complimentary professional development webinars? During each 30-minute session, our team of Professional Learning Specialists will walk you through best practices for using IXL in your classroom. 

Starting in May, we have new weekly webinars designed specifically for summer school teachers! Learn from the experts on various topics: 

  • Prevent summer slide with IXL: Explore strategies to keep students learning this summer. 
  • Best practices for summer school instruction: Learn how to use IXL to identify and close knowledge gaps in your summer school classroom. 
  • Accelerate learning with personalized IXL Action Plans: Learn how to use the Real-Time Diagnostic to uncover students’ current knowledge levels and get personalized action plans to close gaps quickly.
  • Science and social studies strategies: Tune in for effective ways to keep students engaged in science and social studies learning.

Check out our full webinar schedule and register today!

Save prep time with ready-made lesson plans

Whether your summer school curriculum follows a textbook or state standards, IXL has already done the lesson planning for you! Our custom-built skill plans guide students through the exact skills they need to work on to meet key benchmarks.

For the summertime, IXL’s Summer Boost lesson plans will help you make the most of your short instructional time. These plans provide 20 days worth of skill recommendations focused on essential math and ELA concepts to help learners gear up for the next school year. And our Summer Adventures skill plans make exploring new topics easy and engaging through fun themes!

Explore more ways you can implement IXL in your summer school classroom! 

Keep parents in the loop

Did you know students can access IXL over summer vacation even if they’re not attending summer school? Help parents encourage their children to use IXL over the break to keep their skills sharp! Curate a list of skills learners can work on or simply share our ready-made summer skill plans. 

Our parent guides, available in English and Spanish, can aid teachers in starting conversations with parents about summer learning. The handouts show how parents can use IXL at home and highlight the benefits of continued practice throughout the summer. Additionally, our IXL Analytics guides, in English and Spanish, give parents a closer look at the different reports they can use to monitor their child’s progress during the summer break. 

Additionally, introduce them to IXL’s instructional resources! These tools empower students to learn independently without the guidance of a teacher or parent, whether they’re solidifying prior knowledge or tackling new concepts. 

Motivate learners with engaging activities

Learning contests are extremely effective motivational tools for students of all ages! Here are a few ways you can incorporate friendly competitions into summer learning: 

IXL Study in the Sun 

Over the summer, learners can participate in our annual Study in the Sun contest. Students who answer the most IXL questions correctly will win an iPad! Stay tuned for more details. 

Summer bingo challenge

IXL’s summer bingo boards are a fun way to visualize learning goals and track progress! You can use our pre-made board filled with learning ideas or customize a blank board with the specific goals you want your class to achieve. Tap into students’ competitive side by making it a competition to see who completes five goals in a row first. 

IXL Leaderboards 

With IXL Leaderboards, teachers can set up learning contests directly in IXL and customize the competitions according to their learning goals! Students will enjoy competing against their peers and watching the scoreboard update in real-time. Plus, teachers can get instant insights into how learners are doing with IXL Analytics. 

Want more fun summertime ideas? Head to our summer resource hub!