5 Ways to Prevent Reading Loss

Summer is a much needed break for both teachers and students, but it can be a time of academic loss, too. Just like athletes who take an extended break from using muscles and skills, students who do not read over the summer will regress in fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Here are 5 ways teachers and parents can prevent reading loss.

 

1. Provide Books

Distribute 6-12 books for students to take home over the summer. "Simply providing children from low-income families with self-selected books for summer reading eliminated summer reading loss and spurred reading gains comparable to those experiences by middle class children (Allington, McGill-Frazen, Camilli, et al., 2010).

 

2. Meet Students...ONLINE!

Set up dates to meet online for book chats. If you use Edmodo, you can set up small groups. If you aren't an Edmodo user, use www.todaysmeet.com to set up a 2 hour chat on specific dates throughout the summer!

 

3. Meet Students Locally

Plan dates ahead of time to meet students at their neighborhood library. Meet to give book talks, browse and read books together, or set goals! Get your local librarian involved too!

 

4. Empower Parents

Suggest online library sources to parents. Tumblebooks is a great way to have instant access to great books! Visit our blog for a link to using Tumblebooks.

 

5. Make a Summer Plan

Create a summer calendar for parents and students to follow. The calendar can have fun simple daily activities for students to do with their parents or independently to build reading and math fluency & comprehension skills. Offer incentives for students who complete activities during summer vacation. Hold a "back-to-school" celebration so students can share summer learning activities and turn in reading logs for prizes and rewards.