Every summer some students experience a “summer slide.” Although this sounds like fun, it’s not. This slide is actually a slide backward involving crucial skills students learned during the school year.
This includes reading ability. On average, not reading during the summer can result in at least a month’s loss of a student’s reading achievement. Over time, this adds up. Children don’t “catch up” in the fall because the other children are moving ahead with their skills. By the end of sixth grade, children who lose reading skills over the summer may be two years behind their classmates.
The good news is that studies, including one done by Jimmy Kim for the Center for Evaluation of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, show that reading just four to six books over the summer helps middle school students maintain their skills. Reading more books can actually make students better readers. That’s good news for parents.
The good news for students is a study done by Dr. Erin Teresa Kelly, a fourth-year resident in the Internal Medicine-Pediatrics program at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She found that students who picked their own books to read over the summer improved their reading scores more than those who “had” to read certain titles or had books chosen for them to read.
The books included in her small study included a broad range of selections — fiction and nonfiction, classics and newer works. An adaptation of Disney’s “Frozen” was especially popular. Many students chose works considerably above or below their reading levels so they could share with siblings or read on a subject of interest. Those children who could pick their own books did better than those who read from a school list or were given “good” books to read over the summer.
Elementary school students aren’t the only ones that can profit from choice. A Scholastic Corporation study of 1,000 readers found that middle and high school students who are given the opportunity to choose the books they read are more likely to read more frequently for fun.
“You become a lifelong reader when you’re able to make choices about the books you read, and when you love the books you read,” Pam Allyn, a literacy advocate, told The Washington Post. “You tend to get better at something you love to do.”
Public libraries have known these secrets for a long time. Summer reading programs began in the 1890s as a way to encourage school children, particularly those in urban areas and not needed for farm work, to read during their summer vacation, use the library and develop the habit of reading.
One advantage of public library summer library programs is that they are not located in school buildings, which helps reduce the negative perception about summer learning for students who are struggling. Programs at public libraries in the summer provide constructive, supervised, free activities and include activities related to literature that often are not included in schools, because of the time constraints and budgets.
For example, the Bangor Public Library this summer will offer The Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, a Chewonki Natural History program, and a “Mad Science” summer reading finale. Some of the opportunities for teens include a writing contest, a photography contest, a Super Smash Bros. tourney and a teen talent show.
Public libraries across the state of Maine are open and ready to help readers from preschool through high school find books to enjoy. The books are free. Many libraries this year are offering activities centered on the theme “Every Hero Has a Story.” Many businesses in the community are eager to encourage young readers and have donated incentives for summer reading. Public library programs can help meet the personal and social needs of youth and help them feel safe, cared for, useful and valued.
Parents can check out their local library’s website and see what is available to keep their children from experiencing the “summer slide.”
Barbara McDade is director of the Bangor Public Library.