Did you know?

Research has consistently shown that students who do not read over the summer experience what is called “summer learning loss.”  Of greater concern is the fact that this loss has a cumulative effect, “creating a wider gap each year between more proficient and less proficient students.”  

 (see http://www.reading.org/General/ Publications/ReadingToday/RTY-0804-summer.aspx).

 • All young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer.  Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer. 

(White, 1906; Entwisle & Alexander, 1992; Cooper et al., 1996; Downey et al., 2004).

• Low-income students lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains (Cooper et al., 1996).

• About two-thirds of the ninth-grade achievement gap between lower and higher income youth can be explained by unequal access to summer learning opportunities during the elementary school years. As a result, low-income youth are less likely to graduate from high school or enter college (Alexander et al., 2007).

• Children lose more than academic knowledge over the summer.  Most children—particularly children at high risk of obesity— gain weight more rapidly when they are out of school during summer break (von Hippel et al., 2007).

• Parents consistently cite summer as the most difficult time to ensure that their children have productive things to do (Duffett et al., 2004).

James Kim, assistant professor of education at Harvard University, looked at different approaches to summer reading and found that voluntary summer reading programs can work—but they work best when adults and teachers get involved by helping students to choose appropriate books and employ simple techniques to improve skill and understanding. Providing books with no guidance may not help much at all. But when children get help choosing skill-appropriate books and read those books over the summer break, both independently and with guidance from family members, reading achievement scores can improve significantly.

The NationalCenter for Summer Learning at JohnsHopkinsUniversity spoke with Kim about what we can learn from summer reading studies and how we can use that information to help young people retain or improve reading skills.

You’ve done several studies on children and reading over the summertime. What have you learned?

We’ve learned that if you’re trying to improve children’s reading abilities, you have to provide books that match the child’s reading level and interest and you have to know how to monitor comprehension.

So it’s not enough to just give a child a book and expect him or her to read it?

Access to reading materials is crucial, of course, but according to our research, that’s not enough, especially in the early elementary school years. Many people are aware that children lose reading skills over the summer and that low-income children fall behind, compared to their more advantaged classmates. We also know that kids who read a lot over the summertime sustain reading comprehension and vocabulary. Consequently, some people conclude that, in order to increase reading skills, we need to increase access to books—but the research indicates it’s not that simple. In fact, in one study, when we gave books to kids but did nothing else, they did no better than the kids who did nothing

over the summer. There was no difference.

But doesn’t it make sense that if reading over the summertime is a good thing, and we want children to read, we need to give them books?

Our research indicates that it’s about more than access, especially with younger kids who are still learning to read. Reading is most effective when parents or family members can provide reading guidance and make sure that kids understand what they’re reading. Reading can be both a solitary activity and a social activity that fosters learning and recreation.

How can a parent, teacher, or other older adult figure out whether a child understands what he or she is reading?

There are different methods, but some of the most effective are relatively simple: Ask questions about the story and allow the child to ask questions; summarize or ask the child to summarize; and reread hard-to-understand passages. Essentially, make reading more of an interactive process in order to boost fluency and comprehension. All good readers use those techniques, but fourth graders, for example, don’t know how to do that on their own. Teachers and adults need to be explicit.

(from http://www.dinasnotes.com/node/286)

See high school slideshow from 2009. . . Click here

See middle school slideshow from 2009. . .Click here

Combine activities with books.
Summer leaves lots of time for kids to enjoy fun activities, such as going to the park, seeing a movie, or going to the beach. Why not also encourage them to read a book about the activity? If you’re going to a baseball game, suggest your child read a book about a favorite player beforehand. In the car or over a hot dog, you’ll have lots of time to talk about the book and the game.

Visit the library.
If your child doesn’t have a library card, summer is a great time to sign up. In addition to a wide selection of books to borrow, many libraries have fun, child-friendly summer reading programs.

Lead by example.
Read the newspaper at breakfast, pick up a magazine at the doctor’s office, and stuff a paperback in your beach bag. If kids see the adults around them reading often, they will understand that literature can be a fun and important part of their summer days.

Talk it up.
Talking with your kids about what you have read also lets them know that reading is an important part of your life. Tell them why you liked a book, what you learned from it, or how it helped you—soon they might start doing the same.

Help kids find time to read.
Summer camp, music lessons, baseball games, and videos are all fun things kids like to do during the summer. However, by the end of the day, children may be too tired to pick up a book. When planning summer activities with children, remember to leave some time in their schedules for reading. Some convenient times may be before bedtime or over breakfast.

Relax the rules for summer.
During the school year, children have busy schedules and often have required reading for classes. Summer is a time when children can read what, when, and how they please. Don’t set daily minute requirements or determine the number of pages they should read. Instead, make sure they pick up books for fun and help find ways for them to choose to read on their own. You may even want to make bedtime a little bit later if you find that your child can’t put down a book.

Have plenty of reading material around.
Storybooks aren’t the only thing that kids can read for fun. Be sure to have newspapers, magazines, and informational material on hand that might spark the interest of a young reader.

Use books to break the boredom.
Without the regular school regimen, adults and kids need more activities to fill the hours. Books that teach kids how to make or do something are a great way to get kids reading and keep them occupied. Don’t forget to take your kids’ favorite reading series along on long road trips.

Read aloud with kids.
Take your children to see a local storyteller or be one yourself. The summer months leave extra time for enthusiastic read-alouds with children, no matter what their age. Don’t forget to improvise different voices or wear a silly hat to make the story that much more interesting!

The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities has developed its own list of tips for parents to make summer reading enjoyable, particularly for children with learning disabilities. Like RIF‘s suggestions, CCLD’s recommendations include reading aloud, setting a good example, and going to the library regularly.

In addition, they have a few other helpful ideas:

ü Read the same book your child is reading and discuss it. This is a great way to use books as a bonding tool. 

ü Let kids choose what they want to read, and don’t turn your nose up at popular fiction. A bad attitude toward certain books will only discourage the reading habit.

ü Buy books on tape, especially for a child with a learning disability. Listen to tapes in the car, or turn off the TV and have the family listen to them together.

ü Subscribe, in your child’s name, to magazines like Sports Illustrated for Kids, Highlights for Children, or National Geographic Kids.

ü Encourage older children to read the newspaper and current events magazines, in order to keep up the reading habit over the summer and develop vocabulary. Ask them what they think about what they’ve read, and listen to what they say.

ü Ease disappointment over summer separation from a favorite school friend by encouraging them to become pen pals. Present both children with postcards or envelopes that are already addressed and stamped.  If both children have access to the Internet, e-mail is another option.

ü Make trips a way to encourage reading by reading aloud traffic signs, billboards, and notices. Show your children how to read a map, and once you are on the road, let them take turns being the navigator.

ü Encourage children to keep a summer scrapbook. Tape in souvenirs of your family’s summer activities, postcards, ticket stubs, photos, etc. Have your children write the captions and read them aloud as you look at the book together.

Enjoy your summer reading and remember, you are a big part of your child’s attitude toward reading as well as his or her reading success!

From: http://www.rif.org/educators/articles/what_can_families_do.msp