What is “Summer Slide”?
The Parents Lounge
What is “Summer Slide”?
Donna Hall, M.Ed.
Have you ever had a child who made tremendous gains in their reading ability during the school year, and upon returning to school, your child’s new teacher advised your child was again having reading difficulties? You may have wondered how this is possible, or you may have even thought that the new teacher was just incorrect in the opinion because your child read very well at the end of the previous school year. This phenomenon is called the “Summer Slide”?
“Summer Slide” occurs because many children do not read during the summer. Reading is a skill just like playing sports, learning to play a musical instrument, or any other activity requiring practice to maintain or excel in the skills necessary to succeed in the activity. A child must continue reading practice over the summer in order to maintain the skills learned and maintain the abilities gained during the previous school year. In order to encourage reading during the summer, make reading fun and active. One way to encourage reading practice is to sign up for the Summer Reading Program at a local or nearby library. The libraries’ Summer Reading Programs offer incentives to read, weekly activities, and occasional guest readers or performers. The Creek County Literacy Program is also offering a class for parents of children age four to nine on May 19th from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. entitled “Creative Summer Reading Skills – Fun Activities to Prevent ‘Summer Slide’.” This class will provide engaging and fun summertime activities focusing on ways to practice reading skills. If you are interested in learning about this or to register, please contact the Creek County Literacy Program at 918-224-9647. I hope I see many of you at this class, and if not, I hope you will read my next blog in late July/early August.
Happy Summertime Reading, Everyone!
Donna is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early Childhood, a Reading Specialist, and has a Master’s in Reading. She currently serves as a REAC3H Instructional Coach.