It is vital that students read outside of school!!!!
There are numerous articles and links that help support the notion that summer reading is important. Here is just one link that I have found: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/summer/research.htm
I have spoken with all of my students about the NEED to read and have compared it to being involved in any sport or activity that requires practice. You can’t expect to pick up a trumpet and play like you did at the end of the school year, if you have not touched the instrument for 3 months. You can’t expect to go into a basketball game and play like you did the previous season without ever touching a basketball for 6 months. Maintaining your child’s reading improvements means investing in reading time this summer!!
10 to 15 minutes of reading time a day can make all of the difference!!
Here are some suggestions from the district:
Helping Students Improve Their Reading
- Set aside a regular time to read with your teenager every day. Studies show that reading aloud, even with teenagers, increases the desire to read independently.
- Surround your teenager with reading material. Surround your kids with books and magazines at their reading level in the car, bathrooms, bedrooms, family rooms and even by the TV.
- Have a family reading time. Establish a family routine of 15-30 minutes where the family reads together silently. Seeing you read will inspire your teen.
- Encourage a wide variety of reading activities. In addition to all kinds of functional reading (recipes, instructions, movie time listings, etc.) make sure your teen always has something to read in places where he/she may be waiting (like at appointments or in the car).
- Develop the library habit. Lincoln City Libraries has a link for teens on their website. It provides “Hey, Read This!”, a list of current teen titles available at the library, and “CoolSites”, a place to search for titles based on author or topic.
- Use a variety of aids to help your teenager. Reading also comes in the form of books-on-tape, computer websites, and word games (i.e., Balderdash, Apples To Apples, Scrabble, Scrabble Slam).
- Be A Reading Role Model. Make sure your teen sees you reading and writing, whether it’s reading the morning newspaper or making a shopping list. Talk with your teen about what you are currently reading and about books you read as a teen. Turn off the TV for some quiet reading time. Seeing that reading is an important part of your life will help your teen understand that reading can be an important part of his/hers.
- Talk about the reading process. Talk about the books you and your teen have read together — what you liked, what you didn’t like, or who your favorite character was. Ask your teen to tell you about what he/she is reading. Sharing the experience of reading is a great way to open up discussions with your teenager.