Featured May Teaching Resources
May Teaching Resources for Your Classroom
May is a month that celebrates growth, curiosity, and the joy of discovery. As students dive into new ideas, reflect on the progress they’ve made, and engage with the energy of the changing season, it’s an ideal time to nurture exploration and a love of learning in the classroom. To help educators bring this spirit to life through literacy, Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) has curated a collection of free, easy-to-use teaching resources designed specifically for May. This resource center features engaging classroom activities, timely book lists, and standards-aligned lesson plans. It also highlights content from Skybrary, RIF’s trusted kids’ reading app, giving educators flexible tools to inspire and support students through the final stretch of the school year.
May Teaching Resources and Themes
Monthly Theme: Creativity
May highlights growth and possibility by celebrating the curiosity, resilience, and creativity that fuel learning and progress. This month’s theme encourages students to reflect on how far they’ve come, stay engaged through the end of the school year, and continue exploring ideas that inspire meaningful impact in their communities and beyond.
Suggested Focus Points
Reflecting on growth and accomplishments over the school year
Staying motivated and engaged through the final stretch
Celebrating curiosity, creativity, and continued learning
Recognizing opportunities for growth in every challenge
May Book Collections
Explore our themed book collections and free accompanying reading resources.
AAPI Heritage Month Collection
Encourage children to explore the stories and voices of Asian American and Pacific Islander authors, illustrators, and changemakers: past and present. As they read, they’ll discover themes of identity, resilience, culture, and community, building a deeper understanding of the rich contributions AAPI individuals have made in shaping a more inclusive and vibrant world.
RIF Summer Reading Camp 2026
Spark a love of reading all summer long by inviting children to explore stories that entertain, inspire, and ignite curiosity. From imaginative adventures to heartfelt tales of friendship and discovery, these books help keep young minds active, engaged, and excited about learning beyond the classroom.
Mother’s Day Collection
Invite children to honor the love and influence of mothers and mother figures by exploring stories that reflect care, strength, and connection. Through reading, they’ll discover the many ways families express support and kindness, building a deeper understanding of the meaningful role caregivers play in their lives and communities.
Well-Being (Mental Health Awareness Month) Collection
Share stories and lessons that help children understand and navigate their emotional well-being. Characters encounter situations that develop empathy, relationships, decision-making, and mood, ultimately teaching how these factors influence daily life.
Curriculum & Standards Alignment
All RIF teaching resources are designed to support Common Core State Standards, early literacy development, and sustained reading engagement. This May, students can tap into their creativity while strengthening essential literacy skills:
Identifying key ideas and details in texts that highlight creative thinkers and innovative ideas
Comparing how individuals use creativity to overcome challenges and make an impact
Building vocabulary related to imagination, innovation, and self-expression
Participating in collaborative discussions about creativity, curiosity, and original thinking
Making connections between social-emotional learning (SEL) skills and creative confidence
Whether you use Wit & Wisdom, EL Education, Amplify CKLA, or other similar curricula, RIF resources help you enrich learning with adaptable units and flexible tools for your students.
Skybrary Book Feature: Last Day Blues
May’s featured Skybrary book is Last Day Blues, a funny and heartwarming story that demonstrates the shared emotions that students and teachers face as summer break begins.
What Students Will Learn
Identifying key details and events in a realistic fiction story
- Understanding and expressing emotions around change and transitions
- Vocabulary related to feelings, routines, and the end of the school year
- Recognizing the importance of friendship, reflection, and celebrating milestones
Support Materials
Access the full suite of activities, guides, and resources for Last Day Blues.
Last Day Blues 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 thoughtfully curated online platform offering free reading resources for educators, families, and students. With lessons, activities, and book-based tools in one convenient place, it makes it easy to foster engaging, meaningful literacy experiences throughout the month.
Support literacy instruction through May with classroom-ready materials:
Identifying key ideas and details in texts that highlight creative thinking
Vocabulary-building activities and engaging reading passages
Writing prompts that encourage imagination, self-expression, and original ideas
Creativity-focused activities that spark innovation and exploration
Printable worksheets and extension materials
Teaching Resource Feature: Summer Reading Camp
The summer months are a critical time for families to support their children’s reading engagement and ensure they don’t experience the unfortunate ‘summer slide’ where students lose months of learning when out of school. Keep students reading and active all summer long with RIF’s Summer Reading Camp. This free, annual summer reading program empowers families with fun read-alouds, ready-to-use book lists and related activities to help their children be inspired to make reading a part of everyday summer fun.
Use Summer Reading Camp to support:
Encouraging independent reading and exploration during summer break
Connecting books to hands-on, seasonal activities
Engaging families in literacy with easy at-home resources
Building reading routines that extend beyond the classroom
Supporting a wide range of interests with diverse, themed book lists
Free Printable Teaching Resources
This month, check out RIF’s AAPI Calendar. Explore a new themed activity each day this month. Click any date to access ready-to-use printables.
RIF’s Daily Book Bites calendar highlights national holidays and important dates. Click any entry to access aligned stories with linked printable resources, ensuring an activity for each day of the month.
Enhance Classroom Reading with Read-Aloud Videos
Listening to books read aloud helps build vocabulary, enhance comprehension, and nurture a love of reading. RIF’s library of read-aloud videos makes it easy for educators to bring engaging stories into the classroom, introduce authors, and connect reading to any lesson or monthly theme.
May Webinars & Professional Learning
RIF provides engaging webinars year-round to support educators and families with fresh ideas and practical approaches to helping young readers thrive. These sessions feature RIF experts alongside guest voices, including authors, researchers, and academic leaders, who share insights on fostering reading engagement and strengthening literacy instruction. All webinars are saved in our archive for convenient, on-demand access.
- May 1, 2026 | 12-1pm EST Every Book Is A Mental Health Book | Register Now
- May 12, 2026 | 4-5pm EST Finding Joy in Summer Reading | Register now
Check out our schedule for future webinars and watch past recordings here.
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
Classroom Ideas
Create a Teamwork Reading Challenge where small groups read a story together and present how the characters worked as a team.
Host a storytelling circle featuring creative, imaginative texts, followed by student discussions that encourage sharing ideas and perspectives
Use graphic organizers to explore and compare different forms of creativity, from artistic expression to innovative thinking
Create a “Creative Showcase” where students illustrate original ideas, such as inventions, imagined worlds, or reimagined communities
Invite students to identify an everyday challenge and design a creative solution, presenting their ideas through drawings, writing, or short pitches