I’ve written a lot of blog posts over the years about helping to stop the summer reading slide and the magic of summer reading. I thought I’d kick off the summer by gathering a list of resources to share with teachers and parents with links to sites that have valuable information and programs for summer reading.
Did you know that 2 months of reading are lost over the summer? And that it takes 6 weeks in the fall to re-learn old material to make up for the summer learning loss? I learned this on the Mackin Education Services website. They know that reading is valuable, and a life-long tool that should extend beyond the classroom. Teachers you can check out their Summer/Take Home Reading Program.
Are you aware of the impact that reading to a child for at least 20 minutes a day can have? Well, checkout Cantata Learning's post 20 Ways to Read 20 Minutes a Day! They have put together not only important research and the benefits of summer reading, but also have all kinds of ideas to make summer reading fun! One of those ideas is The Cantata Learning story time videos. It’s a nice way for children to be read to online. It's free and is on YouTube.
Research reveals audiobooks play an important role in children’s reading development because they allow children to focus on understanding words and the overall story, instead of decoding and struggling over words. Here is a link to Teacher Librarian Mary Ann Scheuer’s EdWeb Webinar about how to prevent the summer slide with audiobooks. Have you thought about preventing the Summer Slide with Audiobooks? Think how useful they can be for summer traveling. Tales2GO has put together a great post with lots of valuable information.
Even YouTube has kicked off a global initiative called #ReadAlong month. The program runs throughout June and hopes to make an impact on the next generation of readers by helping them hone their reading skills, as well as encouraging a lifelong love of reading, according to the School Library Journal. The same thing I do with my YouTube channel every day of the year!
We Are Teachers also put together a program that kids will love because they get to color too. Using coloring as a tool to get kids not only reading but using their imaginations. It is the Color as You Go Summer Reading Challenge Bookmark. You can download the bookmark PDF on this link.
Be sure to bookmark the iWantToRead.org website. It’s is a fun place for kids to explore and engage with the titles they’re reading at home. It is a free space where kids can post book reviews, discover activity guides, download summer reading journal, and find additional books recommendations and resources
Need some book recommendations for summer reading? I’ve been enjoying the “Live from our Library: Best Books for the Summer on Scholastic. It’s filled with all sort of great links including their summer reading challenge.
And I'd be remiss not to include here an oldie, but still a goodie I have previously written on how to keep kids engaged in summer reading.
Happy Summer Reading!
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