CH I L D AC T IV IT I ES AND ED U C ATI ON
S U M M E R R EA D I N G
H E L P S C H I L D R E N R E TA I N
SCHOOL -Y E A R GA I NS
BY DR. TERRY ALBAN, SUPERINTENDENT OF FREDERICK COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Experts, such as the newest
Frederick County Public Schools’
Teacher of the Year, literacy specialist
Amanda Portner, say that reading
AT LEAST FOUR BO OKS
during the summer helps children
retain or even increase gains they
have made during the school year.
Studies show that students who do not
read during the summer can suffer a
reading-proficiency loss equivalent to
three months of progress in school. Often,
children must spend significant time in
the fall reviewing reading concepts and
ideas they understood when they left
school in June. Here are ways that you
can help stop that loss.
Public libraries and many school media
centers are open during the summer. Visit
often enough to encourage your child to
read regularly during the break. During
the school year, teachers assign reading.
In the summer, librarians and bookstore
staff can help your child choose appealing
age-appropriate books. Show your child
that there are both fiction and nonfiction
choices to match a variety of interests.
Children need some material that is easy
to read and some that challenges them.
Many children like to re-read material
already familiar to them. This helps
increase their f luency and build a healthy
pattern of enjoyable reading.
Visit the sections of your local bookstore
and library that invite children to be
comfortable while choosing books. Let
your child know that you value time to
read. Subscribe to children’s magazines
or read them in the library.
When reading a story to children, ask them
to predict from the cover what the story
will be about. To encourage understanding, talk about a favorite character, how
your child might change the book’s ending, or a problem and solution found in the
story. After your child reads a nonfiction
text, ask your child to explain what the
book was about or what details were most
interesting or useful.
36
FREDERICK COUNTY GUIDE | SUMMER 2015