10 Fun Summer School Activities for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Grade

10 Fun Summer School Activities for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Grade 

(No Prep + Differentiation Ideas!)

Summer school can feel like a balancing act—keeping things light and fun while still squeezing in meaningful learning. If you're looking for no-prep ideas that don’t require extra materials (or extra stress), you’re in the right place.

Whether you're planning a chill afternoon lesson or need a last-minute time filler, these activities will keep your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders engaged and learning.

✨And if you want an end-of-summer activity that doubles as a keepsake and creativity booster, my Summer Bucket List Foldable Heart Craftivity is a class favorite! It works beautifully in interactive notebooks or as a stand-alone craft—and includes several fun variations of one simple template. I’ll share more at the end of the post.

Let’s jump into the fun!

1. Summer Story Circle

What to do: Start a story with a summer-themed sentence like, “One hot day at the beach…” and let students take turns adding a sentence.

🔹 Low: Provide sentence starters or a word bank.
🔸 Medium: Encourage complete sentences with detail.
🔺 High: Challenge students to add figurative language or dialogue.

2. Would You Rather? – Summer Edition

What to do: Ask fun summer-themed “Would You Rather?” questions and have students explain their answers.

🔹 Low: Draw or circle choices.
🔸 Medium: Write 1–2 sentence explanations.
🔺 High: Defend answers in a short paragraph or class debate.

3. Beach Ball Questions

What to do: Pretend you're tossing a beach ball—call on a student to “catch” it and answer a fun question like, “What’s your dream summer day?”

🔹 Low: Answer orally with a visual cue.
🔸 Medium: Write 2–3 sentence responses.
🔺 High: Create and ask their own beach ball question to a partner.

4. Sunshine Spelling

What to do: Students write summer words (like watermelon, sunglasses, etc.) and practice spelling them in different ways.

🔹 Low: Trace or copy words.
🔸 Medium: Write in rainbow colors or use in a sentence.
🔺 High: Use words in a short story or poem.

5. Summer Sentence Sort

What to do: Say a sentence aloud and ask students to identify parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc.).

🔹 Low: Identify one part (just the noun).
🔸 Medium: Identify multiple parts.
🔺 High: Create their own sentences and label each word.

6. Outdoor Adjective Hunt (even if you're inside!)

What to do: Ask students to describe summer things using adjectives (ex: popsicles = cold, sweet, colorful).

🔹 Low: Use an adjective list to choose from.
🔸 Medium: Write their own three adjectives.
🔺 High: Write descriptive sentences or mini poems.

7. Summer Math Facts Race

What to do: Set a timer and give students a quick set of math facts to solve.

🔹 Low: Use visual supports or counters.
🔸 Medium: Solve 10–15 problems.
🔺 High: Create their own problems to challenge classmates.

8. Pass the Popsicle – Vocabulary Game

What to do: Pretend to “pass a popsicle” and when the music stops (or timer dings), the student holding it must define or use a summer vocab word.

🔹 Low: Match word to a picture.
🔸 Medium: Say or write a sentence.
🔺 High: Use the word in a mini story.

9. Summer Syllable Sort

What to do: Call out summer-themed words and have students clap the syllables and sort them by how many they hear.

🔹 Low: Repeat after you and clap together.
🔸 Medium: Sort into 1-, 2-, and 3-syllable lists.
🔺 High: Write words and challenge others with tricky ones.

10. Summer Bucket List Foldable Heart Craftivity

This low-prep craft is a fun, reflective way for students to set summer goals or share what they're excited about. Use it in interactive notebooks or on its own—it looks great on bulletin boards too!

🔹 Low: Draw pictures or use writing prompts from a list.
🔸 Medium: Write simple sentences for each item.
🔺 High: Turn their list into a paragraph or creative narrative.

This print-and-go template comes with several versions, making it super easy to adapt for your learners—no scissors, glue, or extras required!

👉 Ready to grab the Summer Bucket List Heart Craftivity? 

Click HERE to view our Teachers Pay Teachers Promoting Success store.

Click HERE to follow us on Instagram.

Click HERE to follow us on Pinterest.

Shelly Anton is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. ** This means there are Amazon affiliate links in these blog posts. This does not mean you pay a dime more when you purchase a product through the link. It just means I am trying to save you valuable teacher time by making it easier for you to find valuable resources for your students, and I earn a few cents for my research and time. Thank you for all you do for kids!