"Summer reading"

Summer reading

The summer break can lead to pupils losing or forgetting months worth of the skills they learned during the school year. To avoid the summer slide, it’s important to keep the learning process going throughout the summer so you don’t fall behind.

There’s no overstating the importance of reading over the summer. While all areas of learning can be affected by the summer slide, reading and comprehension skills are the foundation of success in every subject. And for pupils who don’t put aside time for summer reading, the reading skills learned throughout the school year are quickly lost.

Find out more about preventing summer reading loss and activities you can plan to encourage you to get reading this summer break.

Reading is one of the best predictors of a pupil’s comprehension level, vocabulary range, and reading speed. The more reading a student does (whether it’s over the summer or during the school year), the more opportunity he or she has to build and strengthen these skills.

So, what happens when students don’t put in enough reading time over the summer break? Pupils without a summer reading routine can lose one to three months of the reading skills they spent the previous school year building. This loss is a long-term, cumulative loss—once students lose reading ability over the summer, they rarely catch back up. By the end of Grade 5, this can add up to over 3 years of lost reading skills, leaving students struggling to perform well in the classroom.

Actively engaging in summer reading reduces the risk of summer learning loss. It also helps pupils develop better reading habits. As students develop better habits, they learn to be more excited about reading. They start seeing it as a fun activity rather than just another school assignment. Once reading turns into a fun summer activity, you will be building reading, comprehension, and vocabulary skills without even knowing it.

Continuing to read over the summer months gives students a chance to engage their minds and improve their skills. In fact, children who read more than four books over the summer perform better on comprehension tests than students who read one or no books.

Reading books over the summer also helps prepare students for the upcoming school year. By making sure their minds are engaged even after the school year has ended, students are giving their brain the workout it needs to stay in shape. When it’s time to head back into the classroom in September, avid summer readers will have the skills they need to come prepared to learn.