Summer vacation is upon us. Children everywhere are exhaling as they run from their stark classrooms to visions of pools, family vacations, summer camps and sweet cool summer treats. Summer is a special time: a time for exploring outdoors; a time for making new friends; a time for relaxing and enjoying quality time with family. However, I urge you, as a teacher who has seen the effects of lack of reading on our children, to ensure that your child reads regularly this summer. Consider the rest of this post as an open and honest letter from your child’s language arts teacher.
If you generally care about your child’s education and long-term academic success, which I know you do, consider what I am about to say carefully as you plan for your child’s summer break.
The summer slide is real
Most parents know that the first month of school is often spent reviewing skills and material learned the previous year. We recognize that two months of holiday can lead to some memory loss on the academic front. However, did you know that many students’ reading levels drop significantly when tested in the fall versus being tested in the spring. Now I know that reading levels are not the be all and end all of comprehension indicators; however, the data is consistent and significant – if our children are not reading, their vocabulary and comprehension is affected. And this doesn’t just affect their performance in language arts. It affects social studies and science. And, yes, gasp… it can even affect math! Remember, when children are young they learn to read, and as they get older, they read to learn.
Books have too much competition
In today’s high-tech world, books have too much competition. Screens, sports, and social lives are often far more important to our children, especially older children; reading often seems antiquated. Far too often in my classroom I heard, from both students and parents, that children would only read at home if it was required (via a reading log). This is a sad fact, mostly due to the next point.
Your children are not reading as much in school as you would like to think they are
How much your child reads in school will vary from school to school and classroom to classroom, and of course, is dependent upon the age of your child. However, as a generalization (and at least at the middle level) teachers today are often too strapped for time, trying to cover curriculum objectives within a sometimes impossible timeframe, to allow students ample time in class to read. Furthermore, children do not have the chunk of time in class needed to get sucked into a story. In a classroom of 20 students, it takes time for children to settle and focus on the words on the page. Oftentimes, by the time they have focused, reading time is up.
To combat this issue, teachers will recommend titles, often assign reading outside of class, and even require reading logs – trusting that the student read at home. Teachers know that kids need to read and honestly we wish we had more time in our classrooms to allow for it.
Similarly, due to students’ struggles with comprehension, children are often required to read less and less in the content areas once they get older. Instead, teachers have to find ways to present information in more engaging and ‘digestible’ formats: hands-on activities and PowerPoint/Smartboard presentations. (Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for hands-on activities and technology… but our kids still need to read.)
Practice makes perfect
Just like other skills, practice makes perfect when it comes to reading. Reading helps to develop vocabulary and comprehension skills and the more your child reads the more his or her fluency will improve.
During my time in the classroom, some children began the year reading below grade level; however, after being required to read (for class novels, for weekly homework assignments, and because parents encouraged it at home), some students were able to gain as many as three grade levels in their vocabulary and comprehension by the end of the school year. The same could be true for your child this summer.
Require reading over the summer
Parents, carve out the time in your child’s schedule for reading. Use the quality free time that your child has over the summer months to help your child fall in love with a good book. Oftentimes, all this takes is reading the first few chapters of a book together to get your child hooked.
Of course, try as much as you can to make the process enjoyable: read aloud with your child (yes, even your middle schooler), plan family book competitions, go with your child to purchase new books as a summer treat, read books and then watch the corresponding movies, enrol your child in your local library’s summer reading program or an online reading program.
Do what’s necessary to engage your child in a love of stories. However, even if your child protests, go old school and require some form of reading before your child pulls out a screen. Remember, it doesn’t have to be an old fashioned novel. Quality stories are the best, but any reading is better than no reading! If your child is a reluctant reader, find non-fiction titles, websites or even magazines on topics that interest your child. If you’re uncertain as to whether your child is really reading, ask them open-ended questions about the text and see what they are able to tell you.
Remember, ultimately, reading is about storytelling, and storytelling is an essential part of cultures worldwide. Children – all children (even active, at-risk, reading below grade level, or children with learning challenges) – love a good story.
Giving your child the gift of time to read will best prepare your child for the upcoming school year. Your child will be armed with a new arsenal of vocabulary words; his knowledge about the world will have increased; his brain will more easily be able to make connections with what he’s learning about in the classroom with what he has read already on a page; he could even learn the joy of getting caught up in a good story.
If you’re struggling with where to begin, I would suggest checking out the websites listed below which provide suggestions with books by topic and age.