10 Summer Reading Strategies

How important is summer reading to your child's education?  Very.  According to literacy expert Julie M. Wood, Ed.D., "The few months of loss in reading skills compounds over the years; by the time children reach middle school, those who haven't read during the summers may have lost as much as two years worth of achievement."  Those words become even more important when you consider this statement by The Children's Reading Foundation, "Up through third grade, children learn to read. After third grade, they read to learn. If they read poorly, they learn slowly. Academic failure by a student in high school (including dropping out) is almost always preceded by academic failure in middle school or junior high. In turn, academic failure in the mid-levels is generally preceded by failing to learn to read at or near grade level by third grade."  In short, allowing your child to slide back a little on reading each year can contribute to his or her struggling in all of his or her classes in high school. That's a pretty heavy statement.  Don't let the weight of the matter overwhelm you, though.  I have put together a list of ideas to help your child not only maintain the reading level (s)he ended this school year with, but maybe even gain a little.

The first step is to know what level your child is currently reading at.  It is important to choose books that are on level or just a hair above so that your child is continually being challenged to improve.  Think of Goldie Locks & the Three Bears. Books that are too easy will not teach your child any new words, or help him or her understand more complex sentence and story structure.  Books that are too hard will only confuse and discourage your child from reading.  Books that are just right will hold your child's attention while slightly challenging his or her abilities.  If your school has not informed you of your child's reading level, A to Z Homes Cool and The Homeschool Hearth both list free reading level placement tests you can administer at home.  

Great, now you know your child's reading level.  But how do you know which books are at that same level?  It's not as hard as you might think.  There are two common reading level scales, Accelerated Reader and Lexile.  However, reading levels can also be expressed on a letter scale.  Benchmark Education makes it easy to switch back and forth between scales with their conversion table.    Okay, on to actually finding the books.  If you have an iPhone, iPod, or iPad, Level It Books is an app which can scan the ISBN of a book and tell you it's reading level.  If you don't physically have the book, you can type or speak the title, author, or ISBN to do a manual search for the reading level.  Unfortunately, I haven't found a comparable app for android, so...for the rest of us, Barnes & Noble, AR Book Finder, and Scholastic all have databases that are searchable by book level.  Finally, if all else fails, simply ask your local children's librarian.  Ours has been very helpful in finding books that are not only on level, but also very interesting.

Last, but not least is the list that was the actual inspiration for this post...10 ways to make summer reading something your child actually looks forward to doing.

1.  Create a rewards system.  You say bribery, I say rewards; it's all the same.  And children love it!  If reading isn't at the top of your child's to-do list this summer, use the things that are as rewards for completing his or her summer reading.  Perhaps your child is a video game junkie like mine are, simply establish a "time spent" scale.  For example, 1 hour of time spent reading earns 20 minutes of time spent playing video games.
2.  Take turns reading outloud.  Reading outloud isn't just for beginning readers.  Even older children enjoy lying back and listening to a good story.  In turn, having your children read to you builds their reading and public speaking skills, and gives you an opportunity to evaluate their progress and comprehension.
3.  Use series books to encourage reading the next book.  Do you have a child who can never seem to pick out a book because they all might be boring?  Series books are a great way to keep the momentum going.  Find series your child is interested in to keep him or her reading all through the summer.  My sons have used this tactic for years.  It started with Captain Underpants in elementary school. Percy Jackson, and Harry Potter carried them through middle school. It then matured into the Drizzt Do'Urden series in high school.  KidsBookSeries.com is a great place to find series for your child's reading level.
4.  Read comic books or graphic novels.  Reluctant readers may enjoy reading comic books or graphic novels.  They are also great for kids who are typically visual learners.  My daughter is currently reading a series of graphic novels about Norse myths.  Talk about killing two birds with one stone!
5.  Read about their interests. Let's face it, novels aren't for everyone.  If this is true for your child, find books about subjects your child is interested in.  Perhaps your child is a history buff, or is really into a particular sport.  Maybe your child has been swept up by the Monster High cartoon craze.  Help your child find both fiction and non-fiction books related to his or her interests.  Did you know that there are currently 6 Monster High novels, and another one coming out this fall? My daughter has read them all because she is just crazy about the cartoon.
6.  Enlist help.  There are so many new books coming out all the time that it can be hard to keep up with what is out there.  Talk to your local children's librarian.  Children's librarians specialize in knowing what new books are out, who they're appropriate for, and if they are any good.  As I said before, ours has been a tremendous help.  We are on a first name basis, and have even exchanged email addresses to keep in touch.  If you don't have access to a good library, use the internet.  Many great librarians publish lists and recommendations to their library's website, or even have a blog.
7.  Set goals.  This is similar to the use rewards idea, or more accurately, is to be used in conjunction with the use rewards idea.  If your child isn't one who will sit down and read on his or her own, set goals regarding how long (s)he reads. This can be for each day, week, month, or even the whole summer.  Goals can made for how much time is spent reading, how many pages are read, or even how many books are read.  Rewards can be set for attaining various levels of the goal.  For example, meeting the weekly goal can earn renting a movie for movie night, and meeting the monthly goal can earn going to the movies for movie night.
8.  Bring the books to life.  Books are so much more enjoyable and memorable when they become real.  There are so many ways to get creative with book projects that I could write an entire post about it.  I'll save that for another day. For now I'll just say, get creative; think outside the book report.  Have your child write a song or poem, or write an alternate ending for the story.  Create a poster, illustrate his or her favorite part of the story.  Make a lapbook.  One of my daughter's favorite projects for her Literature Studies class was the one she made when they read Beauty and the Beast (not the Disney version).  Her project was to pretend she was a realtor hired to find Beauty and Beast's dream home.  She researched actual home listings and created a PowerPoint for her class featuring pictures of the home and why it was the perfect house for them.  My point is, there are endless possibilities when it comes to projects.
9.  Participate in your local library's summer reading program. Most libraries have summer reading programs that combine crafts, entertainment, and prizes to encourage children to have fun reading.  Sometimes the best encouragement comes from someone other than Mom or Dad.  If your child resists reading because (s)he feels it is something you are making him or her do, maybe seeing other kids having fun reading or being encouraged to read by the librarian will be just the encouragement (s)he needs.  Even if your child is a willing reader, participating in a summer reading program is a great way to share his or her love of reading with others.
10.  Join (or create) a book club.  If your child is a social child, joining a book club is a great way to get your child more interested in reading while making new friends.  Book clubs can be as small or large as you want them to be, and can read books specific to the interests and skill level of the children participating.  Check with your local school, library, or book store to find out about book clubs that already exist in your area.  If you can't find a book club that suites your child's needs, consider creating your own.  Our local library has a book club for adults.  It also already has great programs for teens, and pre-schoolers, but nothing for anyone in between.  My daughter approached our librarian about creating a book club for tweens.  The librarian thought it was a great idea.  They are currently brainstorming ideas, and hope to have it up and running when school starts this fall.

Karissa