Why
Is Summer Reading So Important for Kids' Success?
Teachers
Summer reading is
critical for students to retain knowledge and skills learned in the previous
school year. Students who don't read are at risk of falling behind their
classmates. Parents and teachers can avoid this by making sure kids take time
to read.
Summer
Reading Defeats Summer Learning Loss
Reading over summer vacation may not be a priority for
children, but parents and teachers should make it one. Why? Summer reading is critical to a child's
ability to not only retain information learned the previous year, but also to
grow in knowledge and critical thinking skills for the coming year.
Literacy expert Julie Wood believes that it is necessary for children to read daily
in order to maintain literacy skills learned in the previous school year.
Exercise
the Brain Over Summer
Assistant Principal Twana Santana-Embry likens reading to
exercising. She encourages students to read to strengthen their reading skills.
Just like exercising keeps muscles in shape, reading keeps the brain in shape.
If you don't exercise, you lose muscle, and if you don't read, you will lose
literacy skills.
A University of Tennessee, Knoxville, research study shows
that children who don't read over the summer lose at least two months of
reading development. This is often referred to as 'the summer slide' or the
'summer learning loss.' On the other hand, students who do read over the summer
may gain a month of proficiency in reading. Reading over the summer is not a suggestion to keep kids busy; it's a
critical requirement to help students stay on track for their entire
educational career and beyond.
Increase
Knowledge
Reading, in general, is highly effective at building up a
child's knowledge in a vast amount of subject areas, including English, math,
science and history. Studies conducted by Dr. Alice Sullivan monitored the
impact of reading in a child's life from elementary through adulthood. These
studies discovered a greater intellectual progress in vocabulary, spelling and
math than that of a child not reading more than the required school amount.
Clearly, reading is a strong tool for growing in comprehension skills and
general knowledge of the world. Therefore, children who read can stay ahead of
their classmates during the school year.
Encourage
Summer Reading
Summer reading is very important for maintaining a child's
current grade level skills and for pushing forward to develop skills above the
current grade level. But how can parents encourage their children to read over
the summer? Here are a few summer reading suggestions from teachers who shared
their thoughts with Scholastic.
Send
Books Home with Students
Teachers have discovered that students who are sent home with
books of their choosing are more apt to read over the summer than students who
are given a summer reading list or are simply told what read over the summer.
Further studies reveal that children of lower income have more difficulty
finding access to books and reading programs. Allowing students to pick a few
books to take home over summer vacation not only increases access to books, but
it also encourages students to read on their own.
Build Up
Anticipation
Another suggestion from a teacher is for teachers to get their
students hooked on a book series close to the end of the school year. Read the
first book in a series aloud to the class and build up excitement and
anticipation for the next book in the series. When school lets out for the
summer, encourage students to go to their local library or bookstore and pick
up the next book in the series.
Suggest
Audio Books
If students have a hard time reading, suggest they read a few
books over the summer to help build their reading skills. At the same time,
find books that are also available on audiotape. This can help encourage
students to keep reading even if they don't particularly like it. A book on
tape still opens the world of adventure and gives students a boost in literacy
skills.
Don't
Forget to Read for Fun
Encouraging children to read is critical to helping them stay
on track with other students and retain information and literacy development
over the summer break.
Don't forget to keep reading fun. Give your child the
opportunity to choose books on his own as well. This can help keep reading
interesting and inviting. Reading over
the summer is a necessity, but it should also be fun!
Enjoy,
Ms. Nora
Sierra
EC
Assistant Principal
Discovery
School
