Featured July Teaching Resources
July Teaching Resources for Your Classroom
July is a month that celebrates independence, confidence, and self-discovery. As children enjoy the freedom of summer, they can explore new interests, make choices about what they read, and build the habits that support lifelong learning. To help families and educators bring the theme of independence to life through literacy, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) has curated a collection of free, easy-to-use resources designed specifically for July. This resource center features engaging summer activities, themed book lists, read-aloud guides, and literacy printables that encourage critical thinking, self-expression, and reading confidence. It also highlights content from Skybrary, RIF’s trusted kids’ reading app, providing flexible tools to keep young readers engaged, inspired, and learning all summer long.
July Teaching Resources and Themes
Monthly Theme: Independence
July celebrates independence by encouraging children to build confidence, make thoughtful choices, and take ownership of their learning. As summer offers more opportunities for self-directed exploration, this month’s theme invites young readers to discover how independence helps them grow, solve problems, and pursue their interests. Through stories of courage, perseverance, and personal responsibility, children can learn how individual actions and decisions contribute to success and create positive change in their communities and beyond.
Suggested Focus Points
Exploring the role of responsibility and decision-making in everyday life
Recognizing how perseverance and determination help people achieve their goals
Discovering how individual actions can make a positive impact on others
Learning from leaders, innovators, and changemakers who demonstrated courage and self-reliance
Celebrating personal strengths, interests, and accomplishments through self-expression and exploration
July Book Collections
Explore our themed book collections and free accompanying reading resources.
Disability Pride Collection
Encourage children to explore stories that celebrate disability identity, inclusion, and the many ways people experience and engage with the world. Through these books, readers will discover themes of self-acceptance, resilience, advocacy, and community while gaining a deeper appreciation for the diverse perspectives and contributions of people with disabilities. These stories help foster empathy, understanding, and respect, while empowering all children to embrace what makes each person unique.
Summer Reading Collection
Inspire children to make reading part of their summer adventures with stories that spark curiosity, imagination, and discovery. From exciting adventures and fascinating nonfiction to heartwarming tales of friendship, this collection encourages young readers to explore new interests while building confidence and maintaining literacy skills. These books help children stay engaged with reading all summer long, fostering independence, learning, and a lifelong love of books.
Curriculum & Standards Alignment
All RIF teaching resources are designed to support Common Core State Standards, literacy development, and year-round reading engagement. This July, children can build independence and confidence while strengthening essential literacy skills:
Identifying key ideas and details in stories and informational texts about courage, responsibility, and self-reliance
Analyzing how characters and real-life individuals demonstrate independence, perseverance, and leadership
Building vocabulary related to personal responsibility, decision-making, confidence, and community
Making connections between social-emotional learning (SEL) skills and independence, including goal setting, self-awareness, and responsible decision-making
MDeveloping reading stamina and comprehension through independent reading and summer literacy activities
Whether you use Wit & Wisdom, EL Education, Amplify CKLA, or other similar curricula, RIF resources help extend learning beyond the classroom with adaptable lessons, engaging reading materials, and flexible literacy tools for summer and year-round instruction.
Skybrary Book Feature: Eight Days Gone
July’s featured Skybrary book is Eight Days Gone, an engaging story that follows a young boy’s journey to the moon and back. Blending imagination with science, this book introduces readers to the excitement of space exploration while highlighting the curiosity, determination, and courage that drive discovery.
What Students Will Learn
- Identifying key details and events in an informational narrative
- Understanding the challenges and achievements of space exploration
- Vocabulary related to space, astronomy, exploration, and discovery
- RRecognizing how curiosity, perseverance, and independent thinking contribute to innovation and learning
Support Materials
Access the full suite of activities, guides, and resources for Eight Days Gone.
Eight Days Gone is available to read on Skybrary, RIF’s trusted kids reading app. Visit the Skybrary website or download the Skybrary app from the Apple App Store, and dive into this light-hearted story plus hundreds of additional books.
Literacy Central Teaching Resources
RIF’s Literacy Central is a free online hub filled with high-quality reading resources for educators, families, and young readers. Featuring lesson plans, literacy activities, book collections, and classroom tools, Literacy Central makes it easy to support meaningful reading experiences throughout the summer.
Support literacy learning in July with ready-to-use resources that encourage independence and exploration:
Reading activities that promote independent thinking and self-directed learning
Vocabulary-building exercises and engaging reading passages
Writing prompts that encourage reflection, goal-setting, and self-expression
Book-based activities that explore courage, responsibility, and perseverance
Printable worksheets, discussion guides, and extension activities for continued summer learning
Whether at home, in summer programs, or preparing for the new school year, these flexible resources help keep children engaged, confident, and connected to reading all season long.
Teaching Resource Feature: Sense of Belonging Center
This month’s featured educator resource is the Sense of Belonging Center, RIF’s collection of literacy resources designed to help children see themselves in stories, appreciate diverse perspectives, and build meaningful connections with others. Through carefully curated books, activities, and lesson materials, this resource supports conversations about identity, inclusion, empathy, and community, helping every child feel seen, valued, and empowered.
Use the center to support:
Fostering inclusive learning environments through diverse books and stories
Encouraging empathy, understanding, and respect for different experiences and perspectives
Helping students explore identity, self-expression, and personal strengths
Building social-emotional learning skills through reading and discussion
Creating opportunities for meaningful conversations about community, acceptance, and connection
Promoting a sense of belonging both in and beyond the classroom
Additional Resources
This month, explore RIF’s on-demand webinar featuring Katie Sciurba, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Literacies and Children’s Literature at the University of Georgia. In this engaging session, educators will examine how books can help students connect reading to their own lives while developing critical thinking and meaning-making skills.
The webinar explores strategies for evaluating the relevance of texts for K–12 learners and demonstrates how books can empower young people to become thoughtful readers, active participants in their communities, and more connected to the world around them.
Use this webinar to support:
Helping students make meaningful connections between texts and their lived experiences
Developing critical reading and thinking skills
Encouraging deeper engagement with diverse books and perspectives
Strengthening students’ ability to construct meaning as readers
Creating literacy experiences that foster belonging, empathy, and connection
Access this webinar on demand and explore additional professional learning resources from RIF.
Reading Inspires! Podcast: Teaching Resource for Educators and Families
RIF is proud to highlight Reading Inspires!, Reading Is Fundamental’s podcast for anyone who believes in the transformative power of literacy.
Each episode brings together voices from across the literacy community, such as authors, educators, advocates, and thought leaders, to share perspectives on engaging young readers and expanding access to books. Through thoughtful conversations, listeners will discover new ideas, real-world experiences, and actionable insights that support building a lifelong love of reading. Subscribe and listen on Apple podcasts for inspiring stories and practical takeaways that highlight how literacy can open doors for every child.
Tips for Social & Classroom Engagement
Summer Learning Ideas
Host a "Book Adventure Share" where children recommend favorite books and discuss what they learned, discovered, or enjoyed most
Encourage readers to keep a summer journal, reflecting on books they read, new experiences, and personal achievements
Invite children to explore stories about courage, leadership, and independence, then discuss how characters' choices shaped their journeys
Organize a neighborhood or family reading picnic where children can read independently and share stories with friends or family members
Create a "My Summer Discovery" project, encouraging children to research a topic of interest and present their findings through writing, artwork, or a short presentation
These ideas align well with the July theme of independence while feeling appropriate for summer learning and family engagement rather than classroom instruction.