Shelf Stuff – Summer Reading Selection
Why Is Summer Reading So Important for Kids’ Success?
According to Study.com, 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 on a daily basis in order to maintain literacy skills learned ihttp://www.readingrockets.org/blog/51882 the previous school year.
Exercise the Brain Over Summer
Assistant Principal Twana Santana-Embry likens reading to exercising. She encourages students to read in an effort 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.
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?
Check out these fabulous books for Summer Reading for your grandchildren
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