Encouraging Summer Reading

Many who follow my blog and podcasts know that I discourage free reading time or independent reading time during the school day. That’s not because I don’t think reading practice is important, but because kids learn more from the directed reading activities that teachers should be providing within their ELA, social studies, and science classes.

Of course, it makes sense to have books available for when kids finish school lessons early. But setting aside 20 minutes a day for classroom reading is not a good use of instructional time.

It takes a lot of reading practice to improve reading achievement. Even summer reading may not be enough to give your youngster a measurable boost in achievement – though like many professionals who encourage reading, I suspect the benefits may accumulate slowly over childhood (Kim & Quinn, 2013).

Getting kids to read on their own – afterschool, weekends, and summers – is a different thing than reading under the supervision of teachers. Those kinds of independent reading won’t replace teacher-supported reading. Practice is good and we should encourage it as effectively as we can.

Summer is upon us, and I hope this entry will serve as a timely reminder to parents to get your kids reading.

I vividly remember my summer between 3^rd and 4^th grade. Mom decided it was a good idea to make me stay in after lunch to read each day. She even took me to the library to get me started. I’ve been a reader ever since. Gestures like that from parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, friends of the family, and coaches can have big impacts on kids’ interests. Accordingly, I have several suggestions for doing just that.

Often it is asserted that getting kids to read will make them love it. That certainly was true for me, but the research on these matters is not so sanguine. Sometimes kids just find reading to be difficult, boring, or lonely. I don’t think that problem is solved by sending kids off to read on their own. There is more to it than that. People read not just because they find it pleasurable. They read because they want to know things or because they want to do things that reading enables. They read because of the social connections it allows. As you’ll see, the activities I have recommended tend to have some kind of payoff or social connection. That’s not by accident.

1.     Summer usually allows families to spend more time together. This can be a great opportunity to read with your kids. Children can learn a lot from being read to. If they can already read, then have them read to you, or better yet, take turns reading pages to each other. Make sure you discuss what you are reading. Ask questions, answer questions, explore the ideas together, but read.

2.     As kids get older, help them find books, magazines, or newspaper articles they would enjoy reading – and you read some of them, too. Trips to the library together can be a great source for such material. Reading a book that your child is reading communicates your interest powerfully and facilitates deeper and more meaningful discussions. The point is to share the reading experience.

3.     Even if you are not reading the same books, talk to your children about what they are reading. Ask questions such as what happened in the story or what might happen next, who is their favorite character, or who is the villain and why. This builds summarization and recall skills, and your interest will increase their interest.

4.     Create a summer reading nook or spot in your home. Make sure there is good light and comfortable seating and try to set aside one TV/video-game-free night per week for family reading. Reading night can be a special snack night, too. There is nothing better than reading with a big bowl of popcorn or cookies and milk.

5.     If your child’s school program provided materials for summer activities, use them.

6.     If you are taking a trip this summer, send for brochures and maps and have your children read them with you. They love to be involved in that kind of planning.

7.     Don’t ignore the value of graphic novels or a popular book series like the Twilight books. These are great ways to encourage adolescents to read more.

8.     Whether you are reading to your children, or they are reading themselves, plan an outcome event or activity based on the reading. For instance, if the book has been made into a movie, watch the DVD together after reading it. Book reading can lead to picnics, museum and zoo visits, ballgames, or even family vacations. We took our kids to Chincoteague Island and Hannibal, Missouri because we had read Misty of Chincoteague and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

9.     If you really want to get crazy, team up with your child to create a book club for him or her and their friends. Many adults read because they have joined a social group that agrees to read books together. They pick a book to read and then monthly, they get together and talk about it, usually with wine. With the kids, let’s skip the wine, but engaging them and their friends in that kind social contract can be a real winner. Moms and dads may even join the group. I know one teacher who had a monthly book club for adolescent boys and their dads – very successful.

1. Write notes or letters to your children. What a great opportunity to remind them of experiences that they had when they were younger or to tell them about the lives of older people in the family, like their grandparents. Kids love getting letters and sometimes they’ll even write back. Other writing activities make sense, too. https://www.startwithabook.org/summer-writing
2. Don’t just focus on storybooks. Kids often prefer to read fact rather than fiction, including books and articles about the environment, animals, current events, sports, and other factual topics. Right now, some of my grandkids are excited about ballet, robots, soccer, and dance – there are sources available on each of those topics. Talk to them about what they like and help them find reading materials that match their interests.
3. Consider taking on a family cultural study… reading some books about or from a particular country and then supplementing this reading with examinations of relevant art, visits to museums, meals at ethnic restaurants or cooking experiments at home, etc.
4. Take on a genealogical study. Kids love finding out about their families and there is a lot of reading and writing involved in that kind thing.

https://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/67_taylor.html

13.  Most communities provide activities aimed at promoting reading. Check with your local library, park district, museums, zoos, churches, and the like. However, just in case those resources aren’t available or for some reason you can’t avail them, there are many useful sources available through the Internet.

The links below provide specific book recommendations for children of various ages, and more ideas and resources on how to encourage summer reading.

https://www.cbcbooks.org/readers/searchable-reading-lists/favorites-awards-lists/

https://www.readingrockets.org/books-and-authors/literacy-calendar/summer-reading

https://www.ala.org/alsc/summer-2025

https://lemonlimeadventures.com/must-try-summer-science-activities-for-kids/

https://www.scholastic.com/site/summer/home.html

https://kids.scholastic.com/kids/games/homebase/

https://www.nea.org/resource-library/get-serious-about-summer-reading

https://www.weareteachers.com/10-summer-reading-programs-for-kids/

https://www.science-sparks.com/summer-science/ 

https://lemonlimeadventures.com/must-try-summer-science-activities-for-kids/

https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/

References

Kim, J. S., & Quinn, D. M. (2013). The effects of summer reading on low-income children’s literacy achievement from kindergarten to grade 8: A meta-analysis of classroom and home interventions. Review of Educational Research, 83(3), 386-431. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654313483906