Summer+Readings

Teachers are right to worry about the amount of learning students lose over the summer. Summer learning loss is particularly pronounced for at-risk and low-income students. Studies of Title I students show that over the summer at-risk and low-income students lose a significant amount of the limited reading gains they have made during the school year compared to their more affluent peers, who show small but continued growth during the summer months. The cumulative effect results in widening the learning gap between low-income and high-income students over time, despite the positive effect of instruction during the school year. The effect of summer learning loss holds true regardless of the standardized test used to measure the loss or grade level tested. (//Prospects//, 1997.)
 * Summer Reading** - Antidote to Summer Learning Loss **by Linda L. Cornwell**

The value of summer reading is well known. In Summer Learning and the Effects of Schooling, Barbara Heyns states reading is the single most effective summer activity in regards to summer learning. Heyns concludes that children who read as few as six books during the summer months gain or maintain reading skills achieved during the preceding school year, while students who do not read during the summer may fall back as much as a grade level in their skills. Why does summer reading serve as an antidote to summer learning loss? The answer is simple: Practice makes perfect. When it comes to reading, practice contributes to the development of accurate, fluent, high-compensation reading. Studies consistently show that regard­less of how the volume of reading was measured, there exists a powerful relationship between the volume of reading and reading achievement. (Allington,2001.) The evidence that researchers suggest that the simplest of all solutions for fostering improved reading is encourage and challenge children and young adults to read. (Education Week,1999 .) Kids who read, succeed!

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