WAYNESBORO- Waynesboro Area School District (WASD) is encouraging daily reading during the summer months to maintain reading skills and strategies learned in school. Reading to and with children not only helps to maintain reading skills but also provides enrichment through the exploration of both real and imaginary worlds within books. The Pennsylvania Keystone State Literacy Association offers suggestions and recommendations for classic and new literature, as well as educational apps. The WASD Summer Reading program is also a great resource for building daily reading habits. Additionally, the state of Pennsylvania’s 21st Century program offers daily reading or literacy programs, and there are literacy programs available for adults as well.
According to a study, summer reading is critical for students to retain knowledge and skills learned in the previous school year. Students who don’t read are at risk of falling behind their classmates. Parents and teachers can avoid this by making sure kids take time to read. Another study found that nearly half of parents with school-age children are unaware of the “summer slide,” the loss of academic skills that occurs when school is not in session and which is attributed largely to the lack of reading. This is of critical importance as the effects of the summer slide are cumulative.
Summer reading facilitates the practice of skills learned during the school year and improves children’s experience of the world around them while also helping them to discover the joy of reading. Summer reading may not be a priority for children, but parents should make it a priority. This is because kids who read throughout the summer beat the summer slide. Summer reading is critical to children’s ability to retain information learned earlier and develop critical thinking and knowledge skills for the coming school year. Children must read every day to maintain literacy skills and develop new skills.
There are many advantages to keeping children engaged in reading during the summer months and avoiding the “summer slide,” or a dip in their educational learning. Summer reading programs are designed to improve reading comprehension and memory skills. The benefits of summertime reading include building long-lasting reading habits, increasing social-emotional development, and improving analytical skills.
Let’s take advantage of the summertime to build daily reading habits and explore the wonderful world of literature.
