Summer slide, summer setback, summer slump. No matter what you call it, it's a problem for many students—especially those who may not have access to reading material during their vacation from school.

Research suggests some fairly simple solutions–enrolling more kids in summer school programs, providing them with books. But how do we accomplish that at a time when cutbacks in many schools threaten even the most basic programs?

This article provides some insights into the problem of summer slide and offers some possible solutions.

A widening achievement gap

In a chapter for the forthcoming IRA book Revisiting Silent Reading, Thomas G. White of the University of Virginia and James S. Kim of Harvard University note that in the years following school entry, children of low socioeconomic status (SES) lose ground in reading relative to their high–SES counterparts. They also cite a variety of research studies suggesting that this widening achievement gap may be largely the result of different rates of learning during the summer months.

In a telephone interview with Reading Today, Anne McGill–Franzen of the University of Tennessee said that a meta–analysis of 39 studies of the effects of summer periods on reading achievement found that middle–class students gain a couple of months worth of achievement each summer, whereas low–SES students lose an average of three or more months. When schools are in session, low–SES students gain at the same rate as middle–class students.

What this means, adds Richard Allington of the University of Tennessee, is that summer slide may account for more than two years' worth of achievement by the time kids are in middle school. "The evidence is pretty clear," he says, "that poor kids don't read during the summer, and middle–class kids do."

A matter of access

There are many reasons for this disparity in summer reading, but the main one is probably access to books. Research by Susan Neuman and others indicates just how pervasive the access issue is. Typically, middle–class kids have many more books in the home than low–SES children. They also have better access to bookstores and libraries. In fact, Neuman's research found that overall access to reading materials in one large urban city was roughly 10 times greater in higher income neighborhoods than in lower income neighborhoods.

Why does that matter? Not surprisingly, research supports the common–sense notion that access to books affects rates of reading. "When kids don't have easy access to books, they don't read very much," Allington says.

Lack of access, then, leads to lack of reading. And lack of reading leads to loss of skill. "Much like we would expect an athlete or a musician's performance to suffer if they didn't practice regularly, the same thing is true for young people when it comes to reading performance," says Ron Fairchild, founding CEO of the National Summer Learning Association. Therefore, summer reading, or lack thereof, makes a difference.

Making books available

There are many ways to help keep low–SES students reading over the summer. One is summer school—but it reaches only a small percentage of students. In this age of accountability, "rather than promoting engaged reading, it's more of the test preparation curricula," says McGill–Franzen.

From 2001 to 2004, Allington, McGill–Franzen, and their colleagues tested the hypothesis that providing low–income students with books could help raise their achievement. The researchers conducted a large–scale, randomized study that provided 12 paperback books each summer to 842 randomly selected students in first, second, and third grades. All the students attended high–poverty elementary schools and were eligible for free or reduced–price meals. Students self–selected the books at book fairs at the end of the school year.

After three years, the researchers compared the reading achievement of these students against that of a control group of 428 low–income students who received no books. The researchers found that students who had received free books had significantly higher achievement than those who had not. Furthermore, the achievement gains were comparable to providing summer school programs and far less expensive.

The program worked best for the students from the poorest households, Allington and McGill–Franzen found. It worked least well for the worst readers—possibly because those readers often self–selected books that were too difficult for them. "Struggling readers are likely to be the kids in schools who are least likely to be able to self–select their own books," McGill–Franzen said.

"I see a role for using books of this type—very engaging texts—in a summer program or out–of–school reading environment," McGill–Franzen added.

Principals could stop spending money on test preparation and workbooks and spend it instead on books for students to read over the summer, Allington said. He noted that Ted Kennedy once proposed giving book stamps to the people who received food stamps—stamps they could trade for children's books. "An initiative like that might go a long way in itself. The best strategy is simply giving books."

The program benefited more than the students. "They were selecting books not only for themselves but all their family members," McGill–Franzen said. One boy selected some sports books, some series books, and some Clifford books for his sister "because I love her." One Hispanic girl selected books in Spanish for her mother, who couldn't read English.

Allington and McGill–Franzen called for professional development for teachers on using the classroom library to engage kids in reading. Noting that teachers may have as much or even more influence than parents in motivating kids to read, Allington said teachers have to support engaged reading rather than simply focusing on preparing kids for tests.

"The push to provide lots of subskills work and no opportunity for kids to engage in the complex activity of self–selected reading is a primary cause for flat scores over the years," Allington concluded. However, by emphasizing self–selected reading, "we can create kids who read not only during the summer, but in school and outside of school during the school year as well."

Deep reading often gets short shrift

Research shows that more and more of young people's reading in today's world focuses on online resources. Often, that type of reading revolves around skimming and scanning rather than the deeper reading needed to absorb a complicated text such as a novel.

"It's important that kids learn to do both kinds of reading," says Francie Alexander, chief academic officer for Scholastic Inc. "We have to be the equivalent of ambidextrous in reading."

Practical ideas that Alexander suggests include a family book club where families read and talk about books together. For instance, she recalls the time her whole family read The Catcher in the Rye. Initially, her teenage stepdaughter did not get the humor in the book, but after reading and talking as a family she began to appreciate it.

Alexander suggests setting aside a regular time of day—after dinner, twilight, before bed—when everyone is reading. "That establishes the model, the tone, and the setting," she says.

Alexander also suggests getting kids hooked on a book from a series. If they find a series or author they like, they are likely to read many more of those books. Related to that, she notes the value of letting kids choose the books they read. "Kids get more attached to books they choose themselves," she says.

To help encourage vacation reading, Scholastic runs a Summer Challenge program, now in its fourth year (visit the website at www.scholastic.com/summerreading for details). The goal is to see that participating kids read four or more age–appropriate books over the summer.

"We engage kids through the website, which features author activities, games, and more," Alexander says. "Our plan involves using technology for motivation and also going off and curling up with a good book." Last year, 63,000 participating kids logged 35 million minutes of reading.

Quick summer tips for parents

BY LINDA GAMBRELL

When summer comes along, many students experience summer learning loss. Research indicates that struggling learners score significantly higher on standardized texts at the beginning of summer vacation than they do on the same standardized tests taken at the end of the summer—and this loss is particularly evident in reading.

The key to overcoming summer reading loss is finding ways to get books into the hands of students during the summer break. Here are four quick tips for parents to increase the odds that their children will choose to read over the summer.

1. Schedule weekly trips to the public library to pick out books they want to read.
2. Have your child select some library books they would like you to read aloud.
3. Encourage your child to read in bed—some parents even allow their children to stay up later IF they are reading in bed.
4. Purchase an inexpensive camera and notebook. Have your child create a picture journal of summer experiences.

Linda Gambrell of Clemson University is a past president of the International Reading Association.

Boys will read when their interest is piqued

BY BILL BROZO

What could be more frustrating for a teacher than to finally get a boy into a regular recreational reading habit as the school year winds down only to discover at the start of the next year he didn't read a single book, article, or page of print during the entire summer holiday? With so many other activities and diversions competing for a boy's attention as the weather warms up, reading becomes an especially hard sell. Why sit quietly and alone indoors with a book when one could be with friends playing baseball, skateboarding, swimming, bicycling, or just hanging out?

Since boys tend to be less motivated to read than girls, and their reading achievement is significantly lower than girls in virtually every state in the United States, gaining their interest in reading and keeping them reading throughout the year can be daunting but necessary goals.

One important guideline for keeping boys reading is to capitalize on their interests. And since boys have plenty of time to pursue their interests during the summer, linking text to the things they like and want to do is a particularly promising approach.

For example, a boy who loves to play baseball should be reading about his favorite team in the sports page of the newspaper. Before going on a camping trip, a boy should be given opportunities to read park pamphlets and field guides, as well as texts about canoe safety, first aid, and how to read a compass and maps, A boy who receives a dirt bike should be reading maintenance and repair manuals. Most of these texts can be found online.

The goal is to make reading seem an important and useful activity for boys who are not willing to read during the summer just because their teachers and parents say so. v

Bill Brozo of George Mason University is the author of the new IRA book To Be a Boy, to Be a Reader: Engaging Teen and Preteen Boys in Active Literacy (2nd ed.) and the coauthor with Debbie Zambo of the IRA book Bright Beginnings for Boys: Engaging Young Boys in Active Literacy.

Sizzling summer resources

There are numerous resources available that educators and parents can use to help promote summer reading among students of various ages. Here's just a sampling:

ReadWriteThink.org. The Parent & Afterschool section of this award–winning website at www.readwritethink.org offers activities and projects, games and tools, tips and how–to's, and more for ages kindergarten through twelfth grade. ReadWriteThink.org is a collaboration of the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English with support from the Verizon Foundation.

Reading Rockets. This nonprofit website, available at www.readingrockets.org, offers information and resources for teachers and parents, as well as 2010 summer booklists for children of various ages, online activities for parents (with links to other sites featuring educational resources and games), and more.

Scholastic Summer Challenge. This site from Scholastic Inc., available at www.scholastic.com/summerreading/index.htm, encourages kids to sign up and log their minutes reading this summer. The site features an online community for kids, along with expert advice, engaging activities on Facebook, summer booklists for parents, and resources for librarians and educators. Last year, 63,000 kids signed up and logged 35 million minutes read.

National Summer Learning Association. This site provides a wealth of news and resources about summer learning in all forms, including reading. Learn more by visiting the site at www.summerlearning.org.

SummerReads project offers free, engaging texts for at–risk readers

After spending a long and distinguished career in the field of early reading acquisition, Elfrieda Hiebert is well aware of the vital importance of summer reading—especially for those students who may not have ready access to books in their homes. However, she also realizes that "it's not just about having books accessible; it's about having accessible text."

With this in mind, Hiebert has established a nonprofit TextProject, whose new product is SummerReads. SummerReads provides free, accessible, engaging texts for at–risk readers. By June 1, 2010, 15 leveled texts are expected to be ready—five each for students preparing to move into third, fourth, or fifth grade. The books cover the following topics: Nature, Places to Visit, Summer Weather, Summer Fashion, and Summer Sports.

The SummerReads project includes resources for teachers, students, and parents. Each book includes usage guidelines, comprehension questions, and a place where students can keep records of their reading. There is also a recording of each text at www.textproject.org.

The books help kids develop background knowledge about topics ranging from thunderstorms to baseball to footwear to mountains to birds. Key words are repeated multiple times, which makes for "the perfect kind of text to use with kids who need to become more facile with reading," Hiebert says. Her goal is to reach and help "the persistent third"—those students who fail to reach the Basic level in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests.

And why did Hiebert choose to found a nonprofit organization to give all this material away? "It's because of my commitment that the students most in need have accessible texts in their hands," she says. "I was the child of immigrants to North America, and I know how critical reading has been for me. I've had a great career as a teacher, teacher educator, and researcher. This is my chance to give something back to the students most in need." For further information or to download books, visit www.textproject.org.

Stopping summer slide. (June 2010). Reading Today, 27(6), 1, 6, 7.