Posts Tagged ‘Summer Setback’
That time is almost upon us ….
Summer!
What about some ideas for students who may need some extra encouragement to keep reading over the summer?
BigUniverse Learning provides great books that could be used with many of these activities:
Summer Reading Activities for Struggling Readers (from Imagine Learning)
- See a movie that’s based on a book. Then, read the book together.
- Encourage your child to read for fun by reading entertaining books, newspapers, and magazine articles together.
- Have your child read the recipe as you make something fun, like a favorite family dish.
- Read stories out loud, either to your child or with your child.
- Encourage your child to explore new interests by signing up for a sports team, summer camp, or even a fun summer class.
- Then, find books and magazine articles about his or her new interests and read them together.
- Have older children read out loud to their younger siblings.
- Make reading together enjoyable by focusing on the meaning of what you read rather than focusing on reading accuracy.
- Talk to your child about things he or she has read in school or at home.
- Play board games that involve reading, and include siblings and friends whenever you can.
- Ask your child’s teacher to recommend books.
- Have your child watch reading-focused television programs on PBS.
- Make reading a family event by having 15-30 minutes of family reading time every day.
photo credit: woodleywonderworks via photopin cc
Teachers more than anyone know just how real the “summer slide” phenomenon is. Take a student out of his or her learning rhythm and they will begin to lose ground. At least one month, according to recent studies.
Thinking about this brought me to this very real analogy: if we had that many days away from our job as kids do for Summer Vacation (104 according to Phineas and Ferb!), we’d probably forget a couple of things, too.
As a mom, this was the summer I have been dreading for years: required reading for my now 10-year-old. She had to read Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman. It is just one book, and it will be the baseline for her first Social Studies unit of Fifth grade. I understand it and think it is more than reasonable … but the push back. Oh, the push back!
So how do we help our kids – who at this age have a lot to say about what they like and don’t like – without destroying the idea that reading can be fun? and getting that “must do” in there too?
1. Let them pick. Let them decide what material they want to read, and when. Maybe they like to get stuff done in the morning, maybe at lunch … pick a time that works. By letting your reader read something they like (magazines and manuals count!) , keeps those skills polished.
2. Set the limits. You should set a minimum time, both per reading session and how many days a week. Most school districts have guidelines. For example, ours is 90 minutes per week. That still allows plenty of time for summer fun.
3. Divide and conquer. Just because the process sounds easy and fair to us, doesn’t mean that it will be interpreted that way. Our suggestion is take that agreed upon time and split it in half. Your reader can start with their favorite and then do the required reading or vice versa.
Agreeing on a plan and breaking down the task into manageable pieces not only helps get the job done in time, it makes everyone happier, too. And isn’t that the best part of summer?
So whether you’re enjoying a Staycation or heading to the beach, mountains or lake in these next few weeks, we hope that you’ll pack some books!
Terry Doherty is a Stay-at-Home Mom, reading mentor, and a family literacy advocate. She is the founder and Executive Director of The Reading Tub(r), and is the force behind Share a Story – Shape a Future, an annual blog tour for literacy. You’ll find reviews by families for families on The Reading Tub website; and her ideas for reading on Family Bookshelf, her blog.
Rats! It seems like we were just waving the flag for the Fourth of July and POOF! We are now well into August. Ready or not, we’re barreling into the next season: back to school.
Those ads for new clothes and school supplies, backpacks, and lunchboxes also visible reminders that maybe our kids didn’t read as much as they’re “supposed to.” Summer slide is real. Rats!
The good news is that you can turn around the summer slide AND start preparing them for the routine that’s just around the corner.
Last month, the children’s book world lost Donald Sobol. You may not remember his name, but I’ll bet you know his hero: Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown. Encyclopedia Brown has been inspiring readers since 1963. He is as popular with girls as boys and these crack-the-case books are perfect not only for summer reading, but in that initial transition when we’re trying to get kids back into a reading groove when school starts. We call them the 3 S’s of Summer.
- The story is short, with an illustration. The image helps readers create a tangible, visual scene from the words they’ve been reading.
- Lots of dialogue makes it to easy to share the reading aloud and mystery solving!
- Series books make it easy to add new titles and keep kids wanting more from their favorite characters.
It is easy to chop the book into smaller reading sessions (i.e., 1 story, 2 stories). The illustrations break up the pages and make it “go faster,” too. Last but not least, each mystery is independent. You don’t have to know the characters or previous events to enjoy the story. Put those things together and you have a book hook for even the most dormant reader.
Encyclopedia Brown is just one character that neatly fits into the 3 S’s of Summer Reading model. There are plenty more listed on the Family Bookshelf Blog in the story Encyclopedia Brown Inspires Readers – No Mystery There.
The good news is there is still time to keep summer going and start adding in a little more reading time over the next few weeks. Lazy afternoons with a book, the kids, and cold beverage … the perfect antidote to the Dog Days of Summer.
No more Rats, just Sweet!
Terry Doherty is a Stay-at-Home Mom, reading mentor, and a family literacy advocate. She is the founder and Executive Director of The Reading Tub(r), and is the force behind Share a Story – Shape a Future, an annual blog tour for literacy. You’ll find reviews by families for families on The Reading Tub website; and her ideas for reading on Family Bookshelf, her blog.
Take a step back and then move forward. As with so much at the beginning of the school year, we need to heed this advice with literacy too. I was reminded of that yesterday, the first day back to school with my students. Sure, they were excited to start back at school and start their fourth grade year, but they were rusty. It’s at this point that I need to remind myself that these students aren’t the fourth graders I left in June, but the third graders that just finished their summer vacation.
To some, writing their name multiple times to label their new books was a challenge and still others had read multiple books through the summer. There is always a diverse group of learners. At the beginning of the school year, though, it’s important to meet students where they are in their literacy and maybe even cut them a little slack as the year gets underway, knowing that they will be challenged as they progress. When we are getting things started back up, however, there is a definite need for review and renewal of reading skills and strategies.
Later this week, I hope to introduce my students to Big Universe by letting them browse their accounts and complete their first assignment. For that purpose, I chose a short, easy picture book for the students to read. Being a new online format, I think it’s appropriate for students to learn with a less difficult text. Along those lines, it will also give us a chance to discuss various reading skills and strategies such as making predictions, drawing conclusion and finding the main idea as well as reviewing story structure. With all the variety on Big Universe and the easy to navigate leveling tools, it was easy to find a book that fit my purpose for this week.
I’m looking forward to using all my resources, including my new one, Big Universe to motivate my students to get back into the swing of things and become stronger readers.
Big Universe offers an assortment of baseball books for children -- just in time for summer reading.
Major League Baseball has a new official historian named John Thorn. Mr. Thorn is an established sports author, who loves baseball, history and words. He’s channeled that passion into his latest project – a children’s book titled “First Pitch: How Baseball Began,” published by Beach Ball Books.
Big Universe has an online collection of children’s baseball books too, so I compiled an easy-to-tackle summer reading list for all the young sports enthusiasts. (See list below.)
Big Universe thinks summer reading is vital to the educational process, and so do I. My girls read tens of thousands of pages each summer, and I have no doubt that this contributed to their rewarding academic careers.
Books read during the summer keep developing brains primed for learning, feeding children’s natural curiosity and desire to learn. Summer reading underscores lessons learned in the previous school year and helps remediate issues for struggling learners. Exposure to new books readies students for vocabulary, formats and new material they’ll see in their classrooms in the fall.
Children’s Books about Baseball
Go to the "Read" page on Big Universe and click on the "Browse or Search for Books" tab to find the "Summer Reading Lists" drop-down tab.
NOTE: Big Universe has compiled age-leveled book lists, as well as other assorted topical book lists for SUMMER READING. Students can tackle one or more lists, or they can pick and choose various Big Universe titles, logging books or reading minutes as they go. Simply go to Big Universe’s “Read” page, find the “Browse or Search for Books” sidebar, and click on the “Summer Reading Lists” tab to get a drop-down list of suggestions. Themes include: Animals, Chapter Books, Cultures, Humor, Nature, Science and Sports.
Or, click on one of the following blogs for other thematic book lists:
Posted on May 10, 2011 by Suzan Woodard in Personal Experiences, Reading Lists, Uncategorized.
Tags: Brain Drain, Bug Books, Cicadas, Insect Books for Children, Ladybugs, Reading Loss, Summer Fun for Kids, summer reading, Summer Setback, Summer Writing
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Big Universe has children's picture books about ladybugs, cicadas, bees, crickets and more.
Summer is on its way and like it or not, so are the bugs. Most adults have lost their fascination with insects and other creepy-crawlies, but don’t underestimate the power of a six-legger to keep a child occupied.
I recently attended a high school track meet – one that lasted a long time. There was a delay in the action, so I watched a charming little girl play nearby. She was not holding an electronic device or the latest plastic plaything from Toys R Us. Nope. That 3-year-old was playing happily with a ladybug. It occupied her for THREE HOURS!
She did not whine to go home. She did not beg for candy. Nor did she pull a “Grace Van Cutsem,” when the crowd cheered loudly for the relay runners on the track. She simply let her ladybug crawl up one arm and down the next, making a bug-friendly bridge with her chubby, but gentle, index fingers.
I am inclined to think she would enjoy the two online picture books about ladybugs that Big Universe offers. The website has an amazing assortment of fact-filled bug books for junior entomologists. The pictures are exquisite, so pre-readers can enjoy the books on their own or alongside a grownup.
The Big Universe Author Tool provides another way for kids to process what they find in their own backyard. They can write about the bugs they discover in the flowerpots on their deck or crawling in the lawn. The writing tool can be used to create a field notebook to record life cycles, feeding habits and other observations. The website’s “Insect” clipart lets children illustrate their writing easily.
Reading bug books, going on a scientific bug hunt, and writing about it on a computer are a fun combo to ward off summer setback – or “brain drain.” (Experts say reading a minimum of six books is enough to keep children from losing literacy gains made during the previous school year.) The physical activity will keep their bodies healthy, too.
Children’s Books About Bugs
Other BU Blogs About Summer Reading:
Summer Reading Lists: Cats, Dogs and Horses
Batter Up! Baseball Stories for Summer Reading
The ABCs of Car Games: Part One
The ABCs of Car Games: Part Two
The ABCs of Car Games: Part Three
Fight Summer Setback with Free Books
Top 10 List: Golden Opportunities of Summer
Children, Books and Summer Vacation
Reading in the Summer
“This is June, the month of grass and leaves . . . and a new summer is offered me.”
– Henry David Thoreau
There’s something magical about summertime: new adventures, freedom and beauty that one can almost sip from a straw.
Summer clips the tethers that hold us tight the rest of the year. We stay outside longer, we stop for impromptu ice cream cones, and we get up early on Saturday morning and consider it fun because we are headed to the farmers’ market.
And then, there are the vacations! Off we go to the beach, the lake, the amusement park or to the mountains to camp.
Unfortunately there’s usually some significant travel time involved on vacations, and that can be tricky with little ones in tow. But, that’s part of life, so early on I decided to embrace the inevitable car rides, seeing them as opportunities – rather than something one step above rubbing sunscreen in my eyes.
So, I came up with a kid-friendly strategy that made trips both fun and educational. In my two previous blogs I detailed tips to make long trips easier, including a packing list and some car game suggestions to make the time go faster and to exercise brain cells.
Here are a few more car games to boost your children’s language skills and minimize irritability and whining.
Who Am I?
One child says, “Who am I?” The second child asks, “Are you a person, place or thing?” The first child answers, and then the question-answer volley proceeds until the mystery item or person is guessed. (Are you smaller than a car? Do you make noise? Can you be eaten? Are you scary? Are you soft? This models conversation patterns, teaches critical thinking skills and sharpens listening aptitude.
License Plate Game
If you have a long road trip planned, print copies listing the 50 states. As your child spies license plates from different states, have him check the state off his list. Or, give him some crayons and a black and white map of the United States and let him color in each state that he sees. Reading, geography and small motor skills wrapped into one.
Rhyme Time
Language is made of sounds, and making rhymes is an early literacy milestone. This game involves parent-child interaction, which builds communication bridges as well as a wide vocabulary base. Some of the rhymes will be silly or nonsensical, but that’s OK. Language has its serious side, but words can be a delight, too.
Give a noun in a phrase, pausing so your child can fill in the blank. Start by example:
The dog and a ___. (hog, log, frog)
A star with a ___.(car, jar, or a nonsense word like “dar”)
Jack Sprat and his ___. (cat, rat, mat, bat)
Fortunately, Unfortunately
Older kids will love this word play game. It encourages the imagination and a sense of humor. One person starts a scenario by say, “Fortunately…” The second person responds by saying, “Unfortunately…” You alternate between fortunate and unfortunate things. It’ll get the laughter going. For example:
“Fortunately, we are stopping for lunch soon.”
“Unfortunately, Mom left your sandwich at home.”
“Fortunately, I have a bag of peanuts in my pocket.”
“Unfortunately, the park we are going to is infested with aggressive squirrels.”
“Fortunately, I speak ‘squirrel’ fluently and will be able to talk my way out of trouble.”
“Unfortunately, the park is a wildlife refuge and kids aren’t allowed to speak out loud there.”
“Fortunately…”
And so on.
Would You Rather?
This game is as simple as they come. Start by example, then let the kids have a turn.
“Would you rather go to the pool or go to the zoo?
“Would you rather eat lima beans or eat spinach?”
“Would you rather pet a bear or pet a lion?
“Would you rather have 12 toes or 12 fingers?”
These are just a few of the many games that can be played in the car. I shared “Horse on Wheels” in my first blog in this series and three other car games in my second posting: “The Great Race from A to Z,” “Sack on My Back” and “Name Game.” They foster communication, build literacy skills and boost family bonding. Check them out.
I’d love to hear about some of the word games your family plays in the car to pass the time. Feel free to post a comment.
Have a great summer.
***NOTE: If you are taking a laptop with you on your road trip and have a 3G Internet card or have Internet hookup at your vacation lodging, Big Universe provides a portable library for children at your fingertips. With thousands of beautiful picture books available 24/7, there is no reason for your kids to experience “summer setback” in reading. Maintain or even improve their literacy skills with a wide assortment of fiction and non-fiction stories.
In my last blog, I talked about summer vacation, traveling in a car and how important it is to prepare carefully when carrying young passengers. If you are going to confine small people in small spaces for hours on end, it’s best to have a plan. “Prepare or perish” were my exact words.
Car games are a good way to pass the time on a long trip, along with a pile of books, a new toy and some snacks. Car games are literacy builders, too – whether players look for letters on billboards, build an expanding story based on the ABCs and memory skills, or sing silly songs with changing sounds.
I shared a new but simple game called “Horse on Wheels” in my previous blog. Here are three more games to foster communication, build literacy skills and boost family bonding while putting some mileage on your car.
The Great Race from A to Z
Have your children look for each letter in the alphabet, using billboards and signs on businesses. See how many times they can get through the alphabet before getting to Aunt Carolyn’s house. Or, use a stopwatch to time the race from A to Z. It can be a group effort or kids can compete, depending on the squabble factor. Add a notebook and pencil to the equation if your children need practice with penmanship.
Sack on My Back
This is a memory game and tongue twister all packed into one! Each player takes a turn reciting the game prompt: “In a sack on my back, I think I’ll pack…” He or she adds a noun each time, starting with A, then B, and so on. Each player will need to listen closely, so he doesn’t leave anything off the list. “In a sack on my back, I think I’ll pack an apple, a basketball, a camera and my dachshund.”
Name Game
This rhyming car game takes some practice, but the kids love it. I never quite mastered it, but children have a special knack to pick up on the playful sound switcheroos, especially when names are involved. You can play it with other words, too. Learn one line; then add another. Here are several examples:
Darby, Darby, Bo-barby
Banana, Fanna, Fo-farby
Fee, Fie, Mo-marby
Daaar-by!
—-
Tom, Tom, Bo-bom
Banana, Fanna, Fo-fom
Fee, Fie, Mo-mom
Tooo-ooom!
—-
Maddie, Maddie, Bo-baddie
Banana, Fanna, Fo-faddie
Fee, Fie, Mo-maddie
Maaad-die!
—-
Dave, Dave, Bo-bave
Banana, Fanna, Fo-fave
Fee, Fie, Mo-mave
Daaa-ve!
(Clue: Note the rhyming pattern. Pick a name. Say it twice, then drop the first letter of the name and substitute the silly consonants and sounds.)
*** NOTE: See more car games in my next post, and read the first in this three-part series:
*** NOTE: If you are taking a laptop with you on your trip and have a 3G Internet card or have Internet hookup at your vacation lodging, Big Universe provides a portable library for children at your fingertips. With thousands of beautiful picture books available 24/7, there is no reason for your kids to experience “summer setback” in reading. Maintain or even improve their literacy skills with a wide assortment of fiction and non-fiction stories.
Oprah Winfrey said, “My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.”
I’ve always been an optimist, so I appreciate her sentiment. I try to look at the bright side of things and make the best of less than ideal situations – even imprisonment in a smallish vehicle with three other people.
…That’s 70 cubic feet of space, divided by four – not counting the luggage, the snacks and the pillows. But, I suppose if Oprah and her best friend, Gayle King, can go cross country for 11 days in a little Chevy Impala, I can survive for five in an SUV.
Road trips. They can be viewed as either adventures or a stress-packed short cut to Purgatory – especially if children are involved. If vacations involve a lot of driving, parents MUST be prepared. Prepare or perish, I say!
A captive audience
Some of my girls’ fondest memories are of the vacations we took when they were little. It wasn’t necessarily the destination that thrilled them either. I worked hard to make the drive time fun…and educational…to make the most of a potentially difficult situation. I figured I had a captive audience and took advantage of the opportunity.
If you set your children up for a successful road trip, 99 percent of the time, that’s what you’ll get. Plan well, prepare your children, have a positive attitude…and pray like crazy. That was my formula. I desired happy children…but, I also wanted to avoid a nasty case of vehicular momicide.
We listened to books on tape, and we played word games. (See car game at end of this article…and more in the next blog!) We sang and we TALKED about what we saw out the windows.
Building Blocks for Literacy
A language-rich environment like this helps children develop their vocabulary and their ability to communicate. They learn how to express their observations and opinions, to ask questions, and to listen – all building blocks for literacy. And, if parents engage fully, they can get to know the hearts of their children.
One for You, and One for Me
Of course, what’s a car trip without snacks? I packed healthful treats in Ziplocs, but crossing state borders was something to really celebrate! One Gummi Worm for North Carolina. Two for Virginia. Three for West Virginia, and, well, when you hit Pennsylvania, you hit the Mother Lode!
What’s in the Bag?
There were always a few brown bags marked “Top Secret,” too. When we reached certain landmarks and IF the children behaved properly, they each got a bag with her name on it. Sometimes it contained a coloring book or puzzle booklet. Other times it had a 50-cent bracelet, a miniature dolly, a little book or a couple of plastic animals. (Note: Don’t forget something for the return voyage!)
NEVER, No Never Ever…
And, of course, we NEVER embarked on a long excursion without a fresh supply of books from the library. We wedged a laundry basket between the girls’ booster seats, which gave them easy access to a heap of books. We left a list of the library books taped to the refrigerator at home with their due dates to make their return easier and to minimize late fees. Our library was good about printing a list for us.
Now with mobile 3G Internet cards becoming more common, network access on the road is possible. That means websites like BigUniverse.com and all its beautiful children’s picture books can go on vacation with you. Can’t get much better than that!
To help get all you road warriors ready for this summer’s trips, I have compiled a checklist to make your preparations kid-friendly.
How to Survive a Road Trip with Kids
- Pack comfort items. Pillows, teddy and a favorite blanket.
- Buy or borrow books on tape/CD. Great for when it gets dark.
- Bring drinks in spill-proof containers. Pack individual snacks. Dry nibbles are best. There will be crumbs, so choose things that can be vacuumed up.
- Don’t forget hand wipes to clean sticky faces and grimy hands.
- Buy or borrow a fresh collection of age-appropriate books to fight boredom and make the trip go faster. Have older siblings read to their younger brothers and sisters. You’ll get twice the mileage from each book.
- Pick out a few movies for the laptop or DVD player, but use sparingly. I suggest saving them for the return trip or for when it gets dark. Don’t forget headsets – unless you want to be humming kiddie songs for the next week.
- Tuck Dramamine, ear patches or pressure-point bracelets in the glove compartment.
- Pack a jump rope, Skip-It or football in the trunk to facilitate some quick exercise at rest stops. Antsy kids don’t make good passengers. Stop often.
- Give each child their own flashlight. Just take my word on it. It’s a godsend, while en route and once you get to your destination. (Don’t forget a plug-in nightlight, too.)
- Place a few surprises in opaque gift bags: mini books, Matchbox cars, stickers, word search puzzles, sugarless gum, Polly Pocket dolls, tiny spiral notebooks and washable markers, mazes, string and string games booklet, etc.
- Prepare a list of car games and pack any necessary props. Many of them are good literacy builders, since they involve word and symbol recognition, playful rhymes, spelling, counting and writing.
- Add your own ideas to this list.
A Car Game for You
“Horse on Wheels” is a good car game for beginning readers. It involves observation, counting, spelling, writing and stickers. It can be competitive in nature or not. It’s a little like bingo and a little like the driveway basketball game “Horse” – only there is no hoop or basketball…or driveway for that matter! You do spell “h-o-r-s-e” though!
It’s easy to play and only requires three simple components.
- One sheet of stiff card stock, matte finish (no shine)
- One child-safe washable marker or a pencil
- One sheet of yard sale dot stickers (office supply aisle)
How to assemble: Take card stock and write the word “horse” in big bold letters across the top. Draw vertical lines from top to bottom between the letters. Draw horizontal lines to create squares big enough to fit a dot sticker in the middle. Add a few more horizontal lines to create rows of empty boxes big enough for a child to write the corresponding letter. (See graphic above.)
How to play: The child looks out the window until he or she spots a horse. For every horse, the child gets to add a sticker dot to the chart, placing it first under the letter “H,” then in the “O” column, and so on. After the sticker is in place, the child should write the letter below the sticker. The first child to write “horse” three times wins.
Note: We were driving through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, so it was easy to count horses. Not so easy if you are sticking to urban byways. If this is the case, mark the top of your sheet with a different word or phrase: dog, police car, taxi, bridge and so on.
*** NOTE: See more car games in my next two posts – all part of a three-piece series:
*** NOTE: If you are taking a laptop with you on your trip and have a 3G Internet card or have Internet hookup at your vacation lodging, Big Universe provides a portable library for children at your fingertips. With thousands of beautiful picture books available 24/7, there is no reason for your kids to experience “summer setback” in reading. Maintain or even improve their literacy skills with a wide assortment of fiction and non-fiction stories.
Summer is a mixed bag. There’s a little yin, a little yang and a whole lot of gray in between. There’s barbecue, baseball and beaches on the one hand and mosquito bites, sun burn and educational backsliding on the other.
Citronella candles, Skin So Soft Bug Guard Plus – SPF 30, and hats with brims will minimize two of the season’s pitfalls. A couple reading incentive programs by three national retailers will help minimize the third issue.
- In a week, the Barnes & Noble Passport to Summer Reading program kicks off. Participating children, grades 1-6, use the bookstore’s summer reading passport to list each book he or she has read, including the title, author and locations mentioned in the story. Once the child has read eight books and recorded his efforts, he turns in the form for approval at the nearest Barnes & Noble store. Then the child is rewarded with a FREE book from a list of preselected titles. He also gets a chance to win a set of signed “The 39 Clues” books. The literacy initiative runs May 25 through Sept. 7.
- If a child – 12 or younger – reads 10 books and fills out Borders’ Double Dog Dare Summer Reading Program form and turns it in, he gets a FREE book from the store’s summer reading titles. The program is under way and will continue until Aug. 26 or until books are gone. Forms may be turned at Borders, Waldenbooks or Borders Express.
- Kids up to the age of 14 can take part in Half Price Books’ Feed Your Brain Reading Program from June 1 until July 31. Participants are required to read for 15 minutes or more for five days each week to earn a FREE $3 gift card redeemable at Half Price Books Store. Kids simply need to print and fill out the Feed Your Brain log. They may use any reading material and can earn up to $15 in vouchers.
Local school, library or community group initiatives are a great resource to prevent reading skill loss over the summer too; however, parent facilitation is key. A child can’t drive to the local bookstore and may need help printing out the online forms and completing them.
A handmade chart will help keep track of daily reading goals, and parents can bump up the motivation factor for reluctant readers by adding bonuses when a goal is met: sticks of sugarless gum, 10 minutes of extra computer time, a visit to a new pool, stickers, a quarter in a jar toward the purchase of a new toy, or yard time with a soccer ball and dad. It doesn’t matter what method you use as long as books get read. Just a little effort yields so much!
“While the statistics on summer reading loss seem discouraging, there are answers,” say University of Florida education professors Anne McGill-Franzen and Richard Allington in an article titled “Bridging the Summer Reading Gap” on Scholastic.com. “Studies suggest that children who read as few as six books over the summer maintain the level of reading skills they achieved during the preceding school year. Reading more books leads to even greater success,” they note. “When children are provided with 10 to 20 self-selected children’s books at the end of the regular school year, as many as 50 percent not only maintain their skills, but actually make reading gains.”
While B&N, Borders and Half-Price Books offer their reading initiative in the summer months, BigUniverse.com promotes literacy year round. This award-winning educational website offers thousands of colorful books with page-flip animation. Whether parent, teacher or homeschooler, this virtual library is the perfect antidote to “summer setback.”
No bug spray or suntan lotion required.
* If you are a frugal soul, check out “Tips for Getting More Books in 2010.” In this blog, I list economic ways to add to your child’s home library.
