This summer think about adding a book to your beach bag! Research shows that children lose reading skills over the summer months and for some children that loss can be significant.
To get the most out of summer reading, get involved yourself. It isn’t enough to just give your child a book. It’s the time you spend making sure the book is the right level, and talking about the book that makes a big impact. For reading to improve, children need to understand what they are reading. Having a conversation about a book deepens learning and helps children maintain their skills through the summer months.
To make sure your child is reading at the right level, try the five finger rule. Choose a page to read. Each time your child comes to a word he or she doesn't know, put one finger up. If you have five fingers up at the end of the page the text is too hard - for now.
Make summer reading fun and creative. Try something new! Try reading non-fiction, magazines, comics, online blogs and recipe books. Play word games in the car and do crossword puzzles. Write a grocery list or a letter to a grandparent. Write a story and illustrate it to make your own book. Keep a summer photo journal.
Talking about what you read is a great way to connect and deepen your child’s understanding. Try these questions to get a conversation going:
Here are a few more ideas to keep your child reading this summer:
Wherever your summer adventures take you, be sure to take a book. And remember what Dr. Seuss says…
To get the most out of summer reading, get involved yourself. It isn’t enough to just give your child a book. It’s the time you spend making sure the book is the right level, and talking about the book that makes a big impact. For reading to improve, children need to understand what they are reading. Having a conversation about a book deepens learning and helps children maintain their skills through the summer months.
To make sure your child is reading at the right level, try the five finger rule. Choose a page to read. Each time your child comes to a word he or she doesn't know, put one finger up. If you have five fingers up at the end of the page the text is too hard - for now.
Make summer reading fun and creative. Try something new! Try reading non-fiction, magazines, comics, online blogs and recipe books. Play word games in the car and do crossword puzzles. Write a grocery list or a letter to a grandparent. Write a story and illustrate it to make your own book. Keep a summer photo journal.
Talking about what you read is a great way to connect and deepen your child’s understanding. Try these questions to get a conversation going:
- What do you think will happen next?
- Does this make you wonder about anything?
- What was your favorite part of the story?
- What did you learn?
- How did the characters change over time?
- What was the problem in the story?
- How did the problem get solved?
Here are a few more ideas to keep your child reading this summer:
- Read aloud together with your child every day, and let your child read to you.
- Get your child trading books and comics with their friends. Hold a book swap party!
- Set a good example by letting your child see you read. Crash out on the couch with a good book and a bowl of popcorn.
- Take your child to the library. Many libraries have summer reading programs.
Wherever your summer adventures take you, be sure to take a book. And remember what Dr. Seuss says…
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