By Claire Miller
e’re approaching midsummer, the time of year when kids begin falling into the “summer slump,” losing retention of some key lessons learned during the school year.
“Play is important and parents wouldn’t want to take too much of that away, but from a literacy perspective, students can experience some learning losses if they’re not practicing regularly,” says Laura May, associate professor in Georgia State University’s College of Education & Human Development.
A literacy specialist and former elementary school teacher, May has seen firsthand how a three-month break from schoolwork can set students back. Here are her tips for making sure students are back-to-school ready come fall.
1. Get a library card and use it.
Parents who take their children to their local library once or twice a week can help them develop a lifelong love for reading, whether that’s by borrowing paperbacks, checking out audiobooks or attending weekly story times. Find your local library at ilovelibraries.org.
2. Encourage kids to pick out their own books.
Students are much more likely to read if they’re given the freedom to choose their own books, May says. Graphic novels, book series and even fan fiction may not look like their classroom assignments, but students will still gain valuable literacy skills by maintaining strong reading habits.
3. Find ways to incorporate reading, writing and other skills into daily life.
May suggests parents give their kids the opportunity to put the skills they learned during the school year to the test at home. But instead of giving kids writing prompts or other formal assignments, think about more realistic day-to-day scenarios: writing a grocery or packing list, reading to younger siblings or calculating how many miles the family will travel on their road trip to the beach.
4. Keep a journal handy.
Journaling gives students a creative outlet to express themselves and put their literacy skills into practice. Parents can give kids and teens a journal or notebook and suggest they use it to record their experiences over the summer or to start writing their own poetry or stories.
5. Find educational activities nearby.
Take kids to bookstores that host local authors and “show them that writers are real people with interesting things to say,” May suggests. Look for similar activities at museums and science centers.