July classroom activities to keep summer learning alive

July is the heart of summer. School is out, schedules are looser, and the challenge for teachers running summer programs, enrichment camps, or informal learning experiences is finding activities that feel worthwhile without feeling like school.

These July classroom activities are built for that middle ground. Each one connects to a real July moment, works across a range of ages, and is open enough to let students move at their own pace. Whether you’re leading a summer school session, running a camp, or supporting families looking for meaningful summer projects, you’ll find something here.

Start with a July activity journal

The July Activity Journal from Book Creator is the anchor resource for this month. It’s a collection of daily activities students can work through on their own: drawing prompts, writing challenges, observation tasks, and creative projects, all in one place.

It works for a range of settings: a morning warm-up in summer school, an independent activity in a camp rotation, or a take-home resource families can use to keep learning going between sessions.

Remix the journal: July Activity Journal

Celebrate where you’re from: Canada Day and Independence Day

July 1 and July 4

Canada Day and Independence Day land within four days of each other, making early July a natural moment to explore national identity, place, and belonging. Rather than treating them as two separate events, this activity frames both as the same question: what does it mean to be from somewhere?

Students use the Let’s Go Exploring: States and Provinces book in Book Creator to investigate their own region. They can explore geography, local history, cultural traditions, and what makes their state or province distinct. The format works for Canadian and US students alike.

For Independence Day, students can also create their own illustrated book in Book Creator documenting their local July 4th traditions, community history, or what the idea of independence means to them. No template needed. The blank canvas is the point.

Remix the Book Creator book: Let’s Go Exploring: States and Provinces

Summer STEM: get outside

July is one of the best months for outdoor science. These two activities bring learning outside and give students a reason to investigate the world around them.

Boat buoyancy challenge: Students design and test a boat using materials they have on hand, then document their investigation in Book Creator. They record their hypothesis, test results, and what they would change in a next attempt. It’s engineering thinking applied to something you can do at a park, a pool, or a backyard.

Nature journal: Students use the nature journal to observe and document the natural world around them. It works for any outdoor setting (a backyard, a park, a trail) and builds observation skills alongside scientific vocabulary.

Remix the Book Creator activities:

Nature Journal

Boat Buoyancy: STEM Challenge

Summer reading check-in: July edition

Mid-summer is a good time to check in on summer reading. Students who started strong in June may be losing momentum. A new journal prompt can re-energize their reading practice and give them something concrete to share when school resumes.

July Epic reading journals (Book Creator): Students respond to what they’re reading in Epic or Sora using these journals, combining text, drawing, and voice to capture their reactions and build comprehension.

Watch the community session: This summer, educators from around the world shared their favorite ways to use Book Creator and Kami for summer learning in a community demo slam. Watch the replay before you plan your July activities.

Bastille Day: a French language activity

July 14

Bastille Day marks the French national holiday and is a natural anchor for world languages and French immersion programs. This Kami matching activity gives students a structured way to engage with French vocabulary and cultural knowledge.

It works as a standalone activity or as part of a broader unit on francophone culture, history, or language learning. For French immersion classrooms or programs in Canada, it connects directly to summer curriculum priorities.

Use the Kami template: Bastille Day Matching Activity

Take a museum trip this summer

Summer is museum season. Whether students visit in person or explore from home, it’s one of the best times of year to build the habits of curiosity and close observation that museums teach.

The Sealed Chamber of Egypt activity in Kami puts students inside an archaeological mystery. They reveal clues, annotate images, and work through evidence to draw conclusions. It’s the kind of inquiry-based activity that feels like a game and works like a lesson.

Pair it with a museum journal in Book Creator, where students document what they notice, what they wonder, and what they want to find out more about. The combination works for a summer school lesson, a camp day, or an independent project.

Use the Kami activity: The Sealed Chamber of Egypt: Reveal Activity

How to use these July activities this month

Pick one activity that matches where your students are. Open the resource, walk through one example together, and let students take it from there. Most of these work as a 20-minute session, but they can stretch into longer projects if you have the time.

If you’re running a summer program, the July Activity Journal is worth assigning at the start of the month and returning to each week. The other activities slot in naturally as July unfolds.

Watch the webinar: Earlier this spring, Kami and Epic came together for a live session on building a summer reading =Read the full guide: Summer reading resources: journals, author studies, and more

We Want to Hear From You!

Have a brilliant idea for more June classroom activities? Or perhaps you’ve created a masterpiece in your own classroom that you’d like to feature?

• Request a Resource: Let us know what to build next!
• Contribute to the Library: Share your creations with our community here.