Have you heard of the "Summer Slide?" It is what many students experience during the months that follow the end of the school year. Summer learning loss can progress during the summer months. Children may lose academic skills and be unprepared for the next school year. Experts agree that students who read during the summer experience academic success, and the opposite is true for students who do not. According to a report from the National Summer Learning Association (https://www.summerlearning.org/ ) "A conservative estimate of lost instructional time is approximately two months or roughly twenty two percent of the school year. Educators often spend at least a month re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer. That month of re-teaching eliminates a month that could have been spent on teaching new information and skills."
During my years in the classroom, I often used the month of September and the first few weeks of October re-teaching the previous year’s skills while implementing the current year’s curriculum. Although it was an arduous balancing act, it was a necessary endeavor. Many of my students spent their summer traveling, going to camp, and participating in various non-academic activities. In addition, many students did not read over the summer. These and other factors caused my students to be ill-prepared for the new school year.
Before the pandemic, many children in underserved communities were reading below grade level. The two plus years of interrupted, inconsistent instruction caused a deeper divide between students who could read well and those who do not. Now more than ever, we must do everything we can to bridge learning gaps and help children maintain their academic skills while meeting and exceeding literacy standards. With the increasing literacy demands that our students face, it is imperative that we do everything we can to prevent the "Summer Slide".
Educators, parents, the local community, and policy makers must continue to diminish the loss of learning by developing and implementing various strategies to meet the academic needs of all children. We are all responsible. Consider the following suggestions.
Summer programs summer learning experiences (formerly known as summer school). Attendance is often voluntary and the neediest students do not always participate. Programs must be engaging, incorporate remediation, provide enrichment and, include fun activities and field trips.
Summer assignments. This is a controversial topic. Some students do not complete the assignments even when a grade is attached. Consider offering students options and allowing them to be a part of the planning process. Create other incentives or prizes for completing the assignments.
Summer reading clubs and incentives sponsored by the local public library. Local libraries offer incentives for students to log the number of books and/or pages read. Many students must rely on an adult to bring them to the library. Work schedules and other issues may be a hindrance. Parents and caring adults can work together to ensure that children are able to participate.
Extended school year/day. Evidence-based studies indicate that districts across the country and in other countries have successfully created positive extended school programs that yield positive student outcomes. Policy makers, local school boards, community groups, and teacher unions must work together to seek viable solutions. Parents, be sure to be a part of the process by attending school board and community meetings.
Individual/small group tutoring. To diminish the "Summer Slide" and fill in learning gaps, tutoring may be the solution. Tap into your friends, fellow parents and your child's school for reputable tutors. I offer a ten week summer tutoring individual tutoring program. It includes an assessment, an individualized learning plan, and weekly virtual sessions to meet children's needs. Contact me for a FREE 15-minute consultation. CLICK for more information.
As a literacy advocate, and educator with over 35 years of experience, I know how important it is for children to read throughout the summer. As a matter of fact, it is absolutely imperative. Whether they choose to read fiction, graphic novels, comics, or informational text...whether they love the feel of turning pages or...whether they opt to read by sliding their fingers across an electronic device...reading is one of the most effective ways to keep children on track throughout the summer.
Sharing books about real life events students can learn from, and relate to is essential. My Lizzie B. Hayes middle grade series offers a historical view of events through the innocent eyes of a child. Book 1, Summertime with Lizzie B. Hayes, transports readers to a simpler time when kids played outdoors until the street lights came on and most families gathered together around the dinner table. But the ‘60s was also one of the most turbulent times in our country’s history, Lizzie and her family experiences firsthand the fateful summer of unrest, the 1967 rebellion in Newark, NJ.
Book 2 of the Lizzie B. Hayes series, Lizzie B. Hayes and the Great Camp Caper picks up two years later. Lizzie is on a two-week summer adventure at sleep away camp with the Girl Scouts. At Camp Chicktawanga, Lizzie must learn to take care of herself without her loving family and deal with a bully in her cabin. When she and the bully get lost on an overnight hike, things really heat up. It is available for Pre-Order here.
All children deserve to be reading rockstars! I write to bring children joy, empower children to overcome life’s challenges, and create a lifelong love of reading. I tutor to support children on their journey to become competent , confident readers.
Below are a few of my favorite resources to motivate students to read throughout the summer:
The American Library Association
The Brown Bookshelf
Just Us Books
Readingrockets.org
Local bookstores
Local libraries
Goodreads.com
Bank Street College
Middle Grade Book Suggestions:
Tristan Strong Punches A Hole In The Sky
Kwame Mbalia
Rick Riordan Presents
Disney Hyperion
2019
Seventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading the month he’s going to spend on his grandfathers’ farm in Alabama, where he’s being sent to heal from the tragedy.
Abraham Lincoln & Frederick Douglass: The Story Behind an American Friendship
Russell Freedman
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2012
This is a carefully researched account of two surprisingly parallel lives and how they intersected at a critical moment in U.S. history. Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were both self-taught, both great readers and believers in the importance of literacy, both men born poor who by their own efforts reached positions of power and prominence—Lincoln as president of the United States and Douglass as the most famous and influential African American of his time. Though their meetings were few and brief, their exchange of ideas helped to end the Civil War, reunite the nation, and abolish slavery.
The First Girl Scout
Ginger Wadsworth
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2012
Juliette (Daisy) Gordon Low was a remarkable woman with ideas that were ahead of her time. She witnessed important eras in U.S. history, from the Civil War and Reconstruction to westward expansion to post–World War I. And she made history by founding the first national organization to bring girls from all backgrounds into the out-of-doors. Daisy created controversy by encouraging them to prepare not only for traditional homemaking but also for roles as professional women—in the arts, sciences, and business—and for active citizenship outside the home. Her group also welcomed girls with disabilities at a time when they were usually excluded.
The Crossover
Kwame Alexander
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2014
"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I’m delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood.
The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventure of Spirit and Opportunity
Elizabeth Rusch
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2012
On June 10, 2003, a little rover named Spirit blasted off on a rocket headed for Mars. On July 7, 2003, a twin rover named Opportunity soared through the solar system with the same mission: to find out if Mars ever had water that could have supported life. A thrilling addition to the acclaimed Scientists in the Field series, The Mighty Mars Rovers tells the greatest space robot adventure of all time through the eyes—and heart—of Steven Squyres, professor of astronomy at Cornell University and lead scientist on the mission.
One Crazy Summer (Gaither Sisters #1)
Rita Williams-Garcia
Harper Collins Publisher
2010
In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
Clean Getaway
Nic Stone
Crown Books for Young Readers
2020
For the life of him, William “Scoob” Lamar can’t seem to stay out of trouble – and now the run-ins at school have led to lockdown at home. So when G’ma, Scoob’s favorite person on Earth, asks him to go on an impromptu road trip, he’s in the RV faster than he can say FREEDOM.
If You Were a Chocolate Mustache
by J Patrick Lewis, drawings by Matthew Cordell
Highlights Press
2012
This book is a compilation of 125 humorous poems, limericks, riddles, shape poems and more by Children's Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis. A wide range of topics including animals, school, weird things, wacky inventions, foods, computers, roller coasters, and more are included
This summer, help your child have fun reading!
Until next time, I wish you…
LOVE
LAUGHTER
AND LITERACY