Avoiding the Summer Slide The Importance of Reading over the Summer Presenters: Liz Caffrey, Tim Gould, John Ferrero, Sharon Kent, and Pat Speight

How Important is Summer Reading? Develops background knowledge Increases vocabulary Improves fluency Maintains achieved reading level Perform better on Fall reading comprehension. Prevents reading achievement loss.

What if my child doesn’t read over the summer? Students can fall 2-3 months behind their peers. Lose 3 months off their reading level.

How much should my child read? Kids who read 5-6 books over the summer do better in the fall. Reading more books leads to even greater gains.

How can I encourage my child to read? Show children reading is important to you Model reading Make reading a way to connect with your child Set reading times Find the fun in books Take reading on the road

How can I encourage my child to read? Read with and to your child Talk about reading Trade books with friends Hold a book club Create rewards for reading Go on a family outing Library summer reading programs Governor’s Reading Challenge

How Do We Find the Right Books? 5 Finger Rule RL (Reading Level) Scholastic Book Orders

How Do I Talk About Books Who is in your story? Where does the story take place? What is the problem in your story? How was the problem solved? What do you wonder about as you read? What do you predict will happen next? What connection can you make to yourself, another book or the world? 

What types of materials should my child read? Chapter books Picture books Magazines Newspaper Recipes Internet articles Original stories Comic books Poetry

Do you have any ideas? What has worked for your family to encourage reading?

Internet Resources to Encourage Reading www.readingrockets.com www.scholastic.com www.childrenslibrary.org http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/CA/44 http://www.nationalreadingpanel.org/