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What is a Summer Slide Slayer?
School is out; vacation is in! We're aware that children lose knowledge from the completed school year; however, how much? According to a comprehensive study conducted by NWEA and included in an article published by Scholastic.org, children in 3rd to 5th grades lose an average of 20% of their school-year gains in reading and 27% in math during the school year. The term coined for this is called the Summer Slide. The best ways to combat this are to encourage your child(ren) to read more and use some math skills. Reading more also helps with reading comprehension. So, let's suit up and help the kiddos become Summer Slide Slayers.
3 Ways to help your kid become a Summer Slide Slayer
1. Give them a summer reading challenge!
Kids love a good challenge and adventure. I created a free Summer Reading Challenge and a book recommendation list for additional assistance. This allows your kiddo(s) to find books they may not usually find at their school library, creates a bit of adventure, and encourages them to use their imagination by writing their own story. Reward them with something they will love for all items in the challenge. Send me photos of your kiddo completing the challenge and I'll send them a special prize!
The Summer Reading Challenge sheet is available for download below and at the end of this post. You can also visit my Virtual Bookshop for recommended titles : https://bookshop.org/shop/EllenaNGean
2. Better Together
Kids love spending time with their favorite person-You! Let your kiddo(s) read to you. This allows them to gain confidence reading aloud, fortifies their oral presentation skills, helps you to help them with pronouncing more challenging words, etc. Acting out parts or all of the story will create memorable moments for everyone involved. Schedule a Zoom, Google Duo, or Zoom performance for your long-distance loved ones so they can join in the learning experience.
3. Virtual Author Readings!
There aren't a lot of children that have had the experience of hearing an author read their work. There are tons of resources on YouTube featuring authors reading their outstanding works. I recommend you check out Shereá Denise on YouTube, creator of ThisWomansWords and a children's literacy advocate. She has had several Virtual Reading Series with authors reading their book(s) and sharing why they wrote their stories. This can be inspiring for a child to learn that an author considers them when writing a book. It's an opportunity for children to connect more deeply with the authors and hopefully spark a more profound interest in reading. Shereá also shares literacy resources. Additionally, she recently completed a Discover You Local Library Series bringing more insight into the power of being a library card holder. Check out and subscribe to her YouTube page here.
Another favorite is It's Reading Time who inspires the love of reading in children at an early age. They feature hundreds of children's book titles and is completely free! Check out It's Reading Time at https://itsreadingtimekids.org/about/
As adults, we know there is a constant battle for our kids' attention. This is where we step in and support them with all our might. Although our kids are more technologically intelligent than the previous generation, they struggle to retain reading strides. Reading and comprehension are lifelong skills. Let's not forget the ability to read and comprehend was once illegal due to its power. Collectively, we must assist and empower our blossoming generation with these skills that we sometimes take for granted. Capes on and books cracked open, let's help our children become Summer Slide Slayers in reading!
Share this article to encourage them to get their children involved in the challenge!
To read the article from Scholastic and access the study, click this link https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/summer-slide.html#:~:text=A%20more%20recent%20study%20of,in%20math%20during%20summer%20break.
To Visit Shereá Denise's YouTube Channel, click here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8CHNB13phlSZ-j8qxPla-A/videos
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