Summer Reading is Essential
School is finishing up for another year, and those lazy days of summer are here. Since reading skills are directly related to use, children who don’t read during the summer can regress and lose some of their reading skills if they don’t engage with books during their summer vacation. Encouraging parents to keep their children reading through the summer months is essential for preventing this regression.
7 Tips to Share with Parents on Ways to Engage in Summer Reading
Tip 1:
You can play a pivotal role in helping parents understand how to support summer reading by providing lists of high-quality books suitable for their child’s age range and by posting good summer reading lists on your teacher website.
Tip 2:
You can also encourage parents to get their children involved in local reading programs sponsored by libraries or community organizations. The more children continue to read during the summer, the more they will retain their skills.
Tip 3:
Host informational sessions or workshops for parents at the end of the school year. During these gatherings, you can discuss the importance of summer reading and share practical tips on how parents can integrate reading into their daily summer routines.
Tip 4:
Create a “reading challenge” for families to undertake together can make this process both fun and rewarding. For instance, you could suggest that families set a goal of reading a certain number of books or pages each week and reward themselves with small treats or activities upon reaching these goals. This sense of achievement not only motivates children to read but also fosters a family commitment to education and literacy.
Tip 5:
Suggest that parents establish a dedicated reading time each day, allowing children to develop a routine that prioritizes literacy. Reading doesn’t have to be limited to books; magazines, comic books, and audiobooks can also be included in this mix.
Tip 6:
Encourage parents to make trips to the library a regular summer activity, where children can explore various genres and choose their own books to read. These visits also help instill a sense of community and support local literacy initiatives. Your encouragement and partnership with parents can greatly influence students’ reading habits over the summer and instill a lifelong love for reading.
Tip 7:
Lastly, consider providing lists of digital resources that parents can use to introduce new reading materials to their children. Apps and e-books can be excellent alternatives that appeal to tech-savvy kids. By sharing curated lists of engaging and age-appropriate titles available digitally, you empower parents to keep their children excited about reading, no matter where they are.
Summer Reading Builds Lifelong Readers
The key is to make reading a fun and interactive activity throughout the summer, ensuring students return to school in the fall with their skills intact and their love for reading stronger than ever.
If you liked this article, you may like: Working with Parents: Enhancing Literacy Skills Together or Getting High School Students Interested in Reading.
For more tips on building strong readers see Karen’s ASCD books: The Threads of Reading: Strategies for Literacy Development or Literacy Strategies for Grades 4-12: Reinforcing the Threads of Reading.
