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Topics
Summer Reading
Students who don’t read much over the summer show a decline in reading performance from the end of one grade to the start of the next. Research done at Harvard University by James Kim shows that even reading 4 or 5 books over the summer helps to prevent the summer slump.
Often, it is low-income students who don’t have ready access to books at homes. Typically, the books that are distributed for summer reading are too hard for students to read by themselves.
TextProject is the nation’s best resource for summer reading. First, we provide sufficient, accessible texts for students who have yet to develop facility with the core vocabulary of English—the task that many American students have not mastered. AND these texts are available for free download at TextProject.
Second, we provide guidelines for teachers and parents for how the books should be used. There are short articles that teachers can send home to parents. There is also a webinar that teachers and administrators can use to ensure that the foundation is set for students’ reading over the summer.
Third, we provide strong research evidence for the choices that we’ve made in the SummerReads program.
Teachers, parents, and administrators will find all they need to set the stage for an effective summer reading program at TextProject.org.
Featured Content
SummerReads™
Students who don’t read much over the summer show a decline in reading performance from the end of one grade to the start of the next. Research done at Harvard University by James Kim shows that even reading 4 or 5 books over the summer helps to prevent the summer slump.
Having books at home explains how much students read over the summer. Unfortunately, the very students who are most at-risk are the ones who often don’t have enough books. SummerReads changes this situation by providing accessible, engaging texts for at-risk readers… for FREE! And it provides enough text for an entire summer of reading.
TextProject Webinar: Stopping the Summer Slide with SummerReads
A short webinar on the importance of reading during summer vacations and how SummerReads can help stop the summer slide.
Generic Pages from the Misc section
SummerReads project offers free, engaging texts for at-risk readers
SummerReads is in the June/July 2010 issue of Reading Today!
What Parents Can Do to Stop the Summer Reading Slide
Freddy wrote an article on the importance of summer reading for The Homeschooling Handbook.
Hiebert, E.H., (May/June, 2011). What Parents Can Do to Stop the Summer Reading Slide. The Homeschooling Handbook, v2 (3), p12-13.
Presentations from the Library section
Stopping the Summer Slide with SummerReads™
In June 2010, Dr. Elfrieda H. (Freddy) Hiebert presented a webinar on the effects of summer reading.
Presentation Synopsis
Over grades 1 to 3, Entwisle, Alexander, and Olson (1997) studied 800 children. Children from high and low socioeconomic levels made equivalent gains on reading (and math) during the school year. However, achievement level of low-income children either fell or stagnated during the summer, while higher-income children continued to progress. What can be done to stop this summer slide? Are there certain kinds of books that students should be reading?
Dr. Elfrieda H. (Freddy) Hiebert presented a webinar on the effects of summer reading.
Presentation Synopsis
Over grades 1 to 3, Entwisle, Alexander, and Olson (1997) studied 800 children. Children from high and low socioeconomic levels made equivalent gains on reading (and math) during the school year. However, achievement level of low-income children either fell or stagnated during the summer, while higher-income children continued to progress. What can be done to stop this summer slide? Are there certain kinds of books that students should be reading?
Includes Presentation Slides Accompanied by Audio of the Lecture
Presentation Slides with Audio
38 minutes, 52 seconds
Presentation Resource
A chapter from the upcoming book, Revisiting Silent Reading: is referenced in the presentation. Click here to download the chapter.
SummerReads can be downloaded for free here.
Frankly Freddy Posts
What Teachers and Parents Can Do to Stop the Summer Reading Slide
Students from high and low socioeconomic homes have been found to make similar gains on reading during the school year (Alexander, Entwistle, & Olson, 2004). It’s what happens in the summer that contributes to a growing gap in low- and high-income students’ reading. During the summer, low-income children either fall or stagnate during the summer, while higher-income children continue to progress or maintain their reading levels. By fourth-grade, the accumulated differences over several summers are reflected in a significant gap between low- and high-income students.
Research Articles from the Library section
Can Silent Reading in the Summer Reduce Socioeconomic Differences in Reading Achievement?
The question we ask is whether socioeconomic differences in reading achievement can be reduced by programs that encourage silent reading in the summer months.
White, T.G., & Kim, J.S., (2010). Can Silent Reading in the Summer Reduce Socioeconomic Differences in Reading Achievement? In E.H. Hiebert & D. Ray Reutzel (Eds.), Revisiting Silent Reading: New Directions for Teachers and Researchers. (pp. 67-91). Newark, DE. IRA.