Summer Reading
While summer vacation often means relaxed bedtimes, swimming pools, lemonade stands, ice cream trucks, and firefly hunts, for many children it can also mean a break from reading. A 2011 study from the RAND Corporation found that a student can lose up to a month’s worth of reading progress over the summer. This effect adds up, so a student can be an academic year behind peers by 9th grade.
Continued reading during the summer can help students with speech-language concerns to reinforce skills learned throughout the school year and to allow the student to read self-selected books at his or her own pace.
How to avoid the dreaded summer reading slide
Taking part in your public library’s free summer reading program. Many libraries offer programming and special events to encourage families to come to the library over the summer months.
Listen to audiobooks. Your public library has audiobooks that can be borrowed as cds or Playaways. They may also have books that can be downloaded to MP3 and iPods. These are great for road trips.
Sign up for Barnes & Noble’s free summer reading program. Children read or listen to books, write a review, and turn in their completed sheet to any Barnes & Noble’s Bookseller to earn a book from a selected list.
Visit a Little Free Library. These free libraries are built around the idea of taking a book and leaving a book. They can be found throughout the world and are often located at schools, front yards, or parks.
Jann Fujimoto, MS CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and owner of SpeechWorks. SpeechWorks helps Lake Country children become confident communicators and empowers parents to be their child’s speech-language advocate. Reach her at 262-490-5653.
