Colorful graphic promoting "Bright Ideas for Summer with Literacy for Texas." The design features playful typography, an open book with vibrant abstract shapes emerging from it, a stack of books, orange fruit, and blooming yellow flowers—all set against a light grid background to symbolize creativity, growth, and summer reading.

We’re thrilled to share this post from our amazing partners at Literacy for Texas! Head over to their site to see the inspiring ways they’re making a difference in literacy education.

A Summer Reading + Hands on Learning Experience for Students to Connect the Stories They Read, to Ideas They Can Build!

Looking for ways to keep students reading, creating and thinking all summer long? StoryBuilders blends the power of reading with the creativity of making. Through high-interest non-fiction books, hands-on STEM activities and design thinking challenges, students connect literacy to real-world learning—all while having fun this summer!

It’s a time for showcasing how literacy can come alive! Turn your students, and even yourselves, into published authors through reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities across all subjects.

Explore with interactive non-fiction print & eBooks

Your summer reading adventure begins with a library of high-interest non-fiction, STEM and maker-forward books that students can access online. Look for STEM/Maker titles that include built-in projects and engaging visuals to spark curiosity and exploration. Whether students are diving into the science behind roller coasters or discovering the basics of coding, non-fiction self selection puts learner’s in charge of their own journey.

Great Non-Fiction titles can be found at your local school or public library, or from trusted educational library publishers like ABDO, Capstone and Flutterbee. By having students engage in multimodal literacy resources and solve real-world challenges, we’re ensuring every reader becomes a thinker, maker, and creator. Whether you’re a librarian, teacher, or parent, you’ll love how easy it is to support literacy with low-prep, high-impact activities!

TIP! Provide Students with a print, digital and STEM/Maker resource to enhance multimodal pathway success!

Get hands-on with STEM activities

Reading becomes a dynamic, interactive experience when students engage in activities that allow them to empathize, ideate, build, test, and reflect. Approaches such as Project-Based Learning (PBL), Design Thinking, and Student-Centered Learning encourage hands-on exploration, connecting literacy to real-world applications. These approaches empower students to take ownership of their learning through tactile experiences, whether they’re working with everyday materials like paper and tape or advanced tools such as robotics and AI technology. Educational publishers like ABDO, Capstone, and Flutterbee offer STEM and Maker titles that integrate these interactive activities, often requiring materials that are easy to source from your classroom, school, or home environment.

How StoryBuilders works

Each week features a fun, themed challenge built around print, digital and STEM resources:

Read It – Start with engaging nonfiction and fiction digital books in print, digital, or both formats!
Make It – Explore a hands-on project inspired by the theme.
Solve It – Take on a design challenge that applies what you’ve read.

💡 You’ll need simple materials—paper, tape, recycled items, craft sticks—and a lot of imagination.

📚 All books are available digitally through Literacy for Texas partners:

☀️ Weekly themes & book-Inspired STEM Activities

🛠 Week 1: Inventor’s Workshop

Explore how real people solve everyday problems with creative thinking.

Books to read:

Great Inventions (Capstone)
Young Inventors at Work (ABDO)

Try this:

Build It: Create a new invention using recycled materials. You could have students use the Book Creator engineering notebook below to document their inventions.
Solve It: Design an ad or commercial for your invention. Write a persuasive script or record a pitch!

Book cover titled 'Engineering Notebook' by Katie Fielding. The cover has a teal background with engineering-themed visuals, including a rocket launch, binary code, a laptop, gears, and a circuit board. The title 'Engineering' is in bold yellow text, with 'Notebook' in white and light blue. The design includes science, technology, and coding icons, emphasizing STEM themes.

🐾 Week 2: Animal architects

Discover how animals build habitats—and how we can learn from nature.

Books to Read:

Animal Engineers (Capstone)
Animal Architects (Flutterbee)

Try This:

Build It: Construct a nest, dam, or underground burrow from natural items or recyclables.
Solve It: Compare two animal homes. Write or draw which one you'd want to live in and why.

🌉 Week 3: Super structures

What holds up a bridge—or a skyscraper? Let’s find out!

Books to Read:

Engineering Wonders: Skyscrapers (ABDO)
How to Build a Bridge (Capstone)

Try This:

Build It: Use marshmallows and toothpicks to create the tallest tower.
Solve It: Redesign your tower to make it stronger using paper or foil supports.

⚙️ Week 4: Science in motion

From simple machines to surprising forces, explore how movement works.

Books to Read:

Simple Machines at Work (Capstone)
Wheel sand Axles (Flutterbee)

Try This:

Build It: Create a mini catapult using craft sticks and rubber bands.
Solve It: Test how far different objects launch. Make a graph to compare!

🌍 Week 5: Planet protectors

What can kids do to help the Earth? Start with one small action.

Books to Read:

Kids Can Save the Planet (Flutterbee)
Our Earth, Our Future (ABDO)

Try This:

Build It: Make a sculpture using only recycled trash.
Solve It: Design a campaign with posters or slides to inspire your community to recycle.

🚀 Week 6: Space explorers

Lift off into a world of stars, science fiction, and futuristic thinking.

Books to Read:

Living on Mars (Capstone)
Mission: Outer Space (ABDO)

Try This:

Build It: Create a straw rocket and test how far it travels.
Solve It: Imagine you’ve landed on a new planet—write a journal entry or draw your habitat.

🧠 Why It Matters

Research shows that out-of-school learning opportunities—especially those that combine literacy with creative exploration—can improve reading fluency, build confidence, and prevent learning loss.

StoryBuilders supports a range of learners by offering:
✅ Open-ended challenges
✅ Hands-on experiences
✅ Digital, accessible reading resources

Whether in libraries, classrooms, or at home, this is a reading experience that sticks.