What is Summer Slide and How to Prevent It?

Students who don't read over the summer have been shown to lose ground academically during the long summer break. Moving backwards over the summer holiday is called, "summer slide." And while moving backward during one summer is bad enough, the effect of the summer slide has been found to be cumulative. Researchers estimate that, by middle school, reluctant readers who don't read at all during the summer can be two whole years behind their peers in their reading levels.¹

That's why we work hard to encourage our students and our families to keep reading during the summer! 

Not only does summer reading prevent the summer slide, it can have other positive benefits. 

Benefit #1: Expanded Vocabulary

The benefits of reading are undeniable. A student reading twenty minutes a day at home will hear on average 1.8 million words per year. Compare that to a child reading five minutes per day at home who hears roughly 282,000 words per year, or a student reading on average one minute per day at home being exposed to 8,000 words per year, and the numbers are clear. Clearly the child hearing 1.8 million words is going to have a far more robust vocabulary than the child hearing 8,000.

Maintaining twenty minutes a day over the summer is critical to at least maintaining student literacy levels through the development of their vocabulary.

Benefit #2: Enhanced Emotional Intelligence & Empathy

Reading fiction is one of the very best ways for children (and adults!) to develop empathy. We may not personally experience every problem captured in the storyline of a fiction book, but by walking through it from the character’s point of view, we as readers develop empathy skills for others who are experiencing challenges, even those with which we are less familiar. In the same vein, students also develop stronger emotional intelligence as they hear the internal dialogue of a character navigating a challenge in the plot. 

Benefit #3: Broadening Perspective

Similar to emotional intelligence, students can also expand their perspectives on the human experience through texts about people that are different from them. Reading books with characters who have different family structures, races, cultures, abilities, and interests can both develop a sense of inclusivity for your child while also opening the door to important conversations with your child about equality and respecting differences. 

Benefit #4: Background Knowledge

Further, with expanding vocabulary and emotions comes a much deeper background of people, places, concepts and things in the world around us. Students who can readily connect something they’ve already been exposed to with new content, like in a science or social studies lesson, are far more likely to both actively engage in the learning and also retain the information purposefully. 

Benefit #5: Escape on a Rainy Day!

Of course, one of the best benefits of reading over the summer is having a screen-free activity on a rainy day. Reading provides an activity for children that is engaging and fun, without having to leave the comfort of home. 

Strategies for Engaging Students in Summer Reading

As the adult fostering a love of reading in your child at home, knowing and accessing available resources is critical! Stock up on books from our ICSB library for summer reading! We have ebooks too, that you can access even when our library is closed this summer. 

Don’t forget the value of being read to, especially for children in elementary school. Often emergent readers may be reluctant to apply literacy skills independently as they fear it will replace the joyful experience of being read to by a beloved adult. Creating a balance, especially for young readers, of “who” reads is still highly beneficial for students to maintain and grow their literacy skills over the summer.

Make reading fun! Create special spaces for reading in your home, like a reading tent or corner with twinkle lights or a favorite stuffed animal audience. A “reading hideout” can be a very motivating factor in making reading a preferred summer activity! Allow your child as much choice as possible in the books being read, because truly the most important element of creating a reader is igniting a love for reading. If they are choosing books too far above their reading level, offer to read it with them, but also help them to find books of high-interest at their level. Before the school year ends, be sure to know your child’s reading level so that you can ask the librarian for help if needed with selecting “just-right books”.

Enjoy the special time with your reader at home this summer, and remember the million-word value of twenty minutes a day!²

As always, let me know if you have any questions, and remember to check the Weekly announcements and school calendar for our summer library information. 

 

Mrs. Tricia Fraser

tfraser@icsbudapest.org

 

 

 

¹https://www.scholastic.com/readingreport/summer.html

²https://www.teachhub.com/professional-development/2020/06/summer-reading-why-its-important/