Summer Reading
The long, lazy days of summer offer kids lots of opportunities to discover new books and the fun of reading. See the articles below to find out about summer reading programs, summer learning loss, and cool activities to do together.
This section contains 20 articles.
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How to Make the Most of Summer
This tip sheet from the Center for Summer Learning shares some things parents can do to keep kids sharp over the summer.
What Makes a Summer Learning Program Effective?
The National Center for Summer Learning identified nine characteristics of effective summer learning programs, and recommends that all summer learning providers work toward incorporating these broad characteristics into current programming.
Reading Rockets has packed a "virtual beach bag" of activities for teachers to help families get ready for summer and to launch students to fun, enriching summertime experiences. Educators will find materials to download and distribute as well as ideas and resources to offer to students and parents to help ensure summer learning gain rather than loss.
Finding a Great Summer Program: A Checklist for Parents
Use Summer Fun to Build Background Knowledge
Summer Reading: English Language Learners at the Library
Libraries today have changed in a number of ways to meet the demands of our modern society, but their underlying purpose for children is still to help them discover the joy of reading. As summer peaks, many local libraries advertise special summer reading programs and activities to keep children enthusiastic about reading.
Strategies for Summer Reading for Children with Dyslexia
Read a dozen strategies to help your children keep the academic skills they learned last year. Support them as they read. Give them material that is motivating – and some of it should be easy. Help them enjoy books and feel pleasure—not pressure from reading. The summer should be a relaxed time where their love of learning can flower.
Do you spend most of the fall reviewing what was taught last spring? Help prevent summer reading loss by finding out why it happens and encouraging family literacy while kids are at home for the summer.
Take a Break, but Bring a Book!
Five Free and Easy Tips for Summer Learning: Research Pointers and What You Can Do
Research about how much children lose ground over the summer is well documented, but kids don't have to lose ground over the summer. In fact, you can encourage your child to have a summer of fun and learning with these five free and easy things to do.
Summer Learning: A Community Conversation About Education
Many students lose the equivalent of one to two months of reading and math skills during the summer. This learning loss can have a long-term effect on their overall academic success.
Summer Reading and Fluency: Tips for Parents from Reading Rockets
You've got the reading lists. You've got the books. But what else can you do to make your children better readers this summer?
Not everyone lives near Chincoteague lsland off the Maryland and Virginia coastline (Misty of Chincoteague) or has a chance to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder house museum in the Ozarks (Little House on the Prairie). But books can inspire some exciting day trips.
Lost Summers: Few Books and Few Opportunities to Read
Many kids lose ground during the summer months, especially those from low income families. Part of the problem is that many students don't have easy access to books. This article presents some suggestions for what schools can do.
Effective Out-of-School Time Reading Programs
Reading instruction does not need to stop when the bell rings. Using out-of-school time (OST) can be an effective way to boost academic skills while engaging students outside of the classroom. Education research lab McREL reviews effective afterschool and summer programs that focus on reading, and identifies the components that make them successful.
Research demonstrates that all students experience significant learning losses in procedural and factual knowledge during the summer months.
Making a Splash With Summer Reading
If you're a children's librarian who wants to promote an upcoming summer reading program at your public library, start by targeting the local schools. After all, that's where the children are.
10 Weeks of Summer Reading Adventures for You and Your Kids
It's not hard to help your children keep their interest in reading and learning during the summer break. Here are ten weeks of suggestions to encourage your children to open books even after school doors close.
Summer Reading Tips for Parents
Summer shouldn't mean taking a break from learning, especially reading. Studies show that most students experience a loss of reading skills over the summer months, but children who continue to read actually gain skills.