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Many parents have heard the scary-but-true statistic that children who do not read over summer break can lose up to two months of reading achievement. According to Reading Rockets’ review of 13 empirical studies on summer reading loss, over time, this can create a compounded achievement gap of 1.5 years before a child has even reached middle school.
The good news: it’s not hard to curb summer reading loss. With a little effort, you can help your child continue to strengthen that “reading muscle” and prevent the dreaded summer slide so that when the next school year begins, he or she is ready to hit the ground running. Here are five tips to build those literacy skills this summer:
It’s summer break, which also means it is time for Huntington Learning Center’s annual summer reading program, Reading Adventure. Students select books from Huntington’s carefully formulated book lists that offer a range of choices by grade level and reading ability. They then record what they read in their “reading passport,” sharing their assessment and opinions about each book. The program is intended to introduce children to high-interest reading material and get them excited about reading.
Summer is an ideal time to incorporate reading into the daily schedule—and the perfect opportunity to get children to enjoy this ageless pastime. “The key to making reading a daily habit is to make it enjoyable, and there are so many ways to do that during summer,” says Huntington. “Make it fun. Let your child choose the books. Make reading a fun family tradition. When you do things like this, you’ll start to see your child choosing to read over other activities, and his or her reading skills will improve greatly as well.”
It doesn't take an education professional to know that when it comes to learning, each person is unique.
It’s summer break, which means relaxing, recharging and plenty of fun for students. Even though your child is probably eager to toss the backpack into a closet until September, Eileen Huntington, Co-founder of the Huntington Learning Center encourages parents to develop a summer learning schedule that will deter regression (learning loss), and maintain a schedule. “There are many advantages to incorporating a little structure into your child’s summer schedule,” says Huntington. “Children who continue to exercise their brains have a far easier time going back to school in the fall, plus, keeping the mind active during break can remind children about the fun of learning.
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