Is there more to reading books than just reading? Yes! There is comprehension, reflection, and connection to name a few higher level thinking skills that go along with reading. In simpler terms, that means, understanding, thinking about, and relating to other ideas learned. Follow up reading activities are a great way to get readers to engage in these higher level thinking skills. In teacher jargon, we call them “reader response” activities. I guess that is because they get the readers to respond to what they read. There are lots of reader response activities that are a fun way to get kids to think more deeply about their summer reading.

Above is a picture of a diorama that my daughter made for a scene in the novel Charlotte’s Web. It’s the scene where people come to see Charlotte’s web when it says “some pig”. She also did a write up of a summary which is glued on the back. My daughter dislikes writing but she loves making things. I have sometimes wondered if she had a bad experience with a pencil in a past life but she also dislikes typing. Fortunately the write up was totally overshadowed by the fun of making a diorama. The summary encourages differentiating between main points and minor detail whereas the diorama encourages attention to detail. Here are more reader response ideas:

·         Do a book review (there are lots of online samples)

·         Write the author a letter

·         Write a summary (younger kids can summarize the beginning, middle and end)

·         Act it out

·         Write the story into a play format

·         Identify the story elements (characters, setting, problem, climax, resolution, theme)

·         Compare and contrast the book with the movie (Venn Diagrams are a nice way to organize thoughts)

·         Write a different ending for the story

·         Make a commercial to sell people on the idea of reading the book

All these activities require readers to use higher-level thinking skills. They are also a great base for discussing what they read and what they thought about it. And many of them are suitable for children who dislike their pencils (and keyboard).

If your child is reading regularly this summer then great! Talk about the value of doing some reader response activities and let them choose an activity to do for the next book they read. If your child is not reading regularly then I would work on helping them develop that habit first. For some ideas on how to do that see the previous post “Summer Reading”.

A fun way to keep up on or improve math facts over the summer is a game called, Speed. It is actually very similar to the old card game called, War. However my daughter was horrified when I suggested we play a game called War so I switched the name to Speed. Anytime that I have slipped up and called the game War, I get the same horrified reaction which goes something like, “No! Why would I want to play War?! Mom, that’s awful! How could you even say that word in front of me?!” So if I just call the game Speed from now on then I’m less likely to slip up and use the old name.

You can use the game Speed to practise addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Let’s start with Addition Speed.

·         Use a deck of cards, remove all the face cards (Jacks, Queens, and Kings), explain that Aces have a value of 1.
·         Shuffle what remains of the deck and deal out all the cards between two players. Each player keeps all cards face down in a pile, as in the picture above.
·         Dealer gives a signal, which might just be the word “go” and both players turn over their top card. The first player to give the correct sum of both cards wins both cards.
·         If both players say the correct sum at the same time, then it begins a battle for the tie cards (not a war!) and each player turns over the top card again until there is a clear winner and that player wins the tie cards as well.  
·         Continue in this manner until all the cards have been played. The winner is the player who won the most cards.

Variations:

·         For Subtraction Speed, the players want to be the first to say the correct difference of the two cards, just have them take away the smaller number from the bigger number.

·         For Multiplication Speed, the players want to be the first to say the correct product of the two card numbers multiplied together.
·         For Division Speed, the players want to be the first to say the correct dividend by considering one card number to be the divisor and the other two be the quotient. For example, if a 3 and a 2 are turned over the players would need to think what? divided by 2 equals 3 or what? divided by 3 equals 2. However once a child plays this game, they will probably realize that it’s really just Multiplication Speed. But it forces them to think of the relationship between division and multiplication to reach this conclusion.
·         To make the Speed game easier, use two dice. That way the numbers to be added or subtracted are 6 or less.
·         To make the Speed game harder, include the Jack as 11, the Queen as 12, and the King as 13.
·         To make Addition Speed harder, include another player or more. You could do this for Subtraction Speed as well but if you take away the two smaller numbers from the biggest number, then the answer might be a negative digit.

Now if your child complains about having to practise their basic math facts, you can always give them a choice of Speed, flash cards, or worksheets. Choice always makes the work go down easier!

As a classroom teacher I spend each September figuring out each of my students’ reading levels so that I can provide them with what I like to call “best fit” reading instruction and practise. Depending what grade I am teaching, and whether or not there has been a lot of staff changes, I can sometimes get the students’ reading levels from the previous May. This is helpful because instead of randomly guessing where a student might be reading at and then having them read a book at that level to see how they do, I can instead base the first book I give them on how they were reading three months ago.

So one year as I was checking reading levels for a class of grade two and three students. I sat down with one boy who had tested at a level 13 in May of his grade one year. Now with the system that I was using, the district I work in has the expectation that by the end of grade one students should be reading independently at a level 16 and by the end of grade two they should be reading independently at a level 22. Now that is ideal but the reality is that students come from all different backgrounds, some with very little exposure to books at home, some with lots of exposure, and they have all different strengths and weakness. So even though this particular child had received intensive reading support in grade one, he was not able to get to level 16 by the end of grade one. So I pulled out a level 13 book and after the first page, I told him I had changed my mind and wanted him to try a different book. I gave him a level 11 book and it was still way to challenging for him. I went for lower and lower books. I asked him as casually as I could, if he had been reading over the summer. He said flat out, “No!” His tone suggested that he thought this was a crazy idea why would he do that over the summer. The final result was that he was reading at a level 6 at the beginning of grade two.

This is what is commonly referred to as summer reading loss. By the end of grade two this student was reading at a level 17, which is a beginning grade two level. When he was in grade three his teacher told me that she checked his reading level and he was reading at a grade one level. It seems he had another summer without reading. Now this is one of the more extreme cases that I have seen and it is definitely a prime example of how the most “at-risk” students are the most vulnerable to summer learning loss. However if I was to sum up what I see year after year, I would say that overall (and each class is slightly different) less than a third of the students in any given class improves their reading level over the summer. Typically, these are the students who have a regular habit of reading over the summer and throughout the school year. I would say that just over a third of students stay at roughly the same reading level over the summer. These are the students who do some reading over the summer but typically they don’t have the regular habit of reading. Finally, the third of the students who regress in their reading skills are typically the ones who admit, sometimes rather shyly and sometimes rather boldly, that they did not read over the summer.

Reading over the summer is imperative to preventing summer reading loss! A regular reading habit over the summer is likely to help with an improvement in reading accuracy, comprehension, and fluency.  The best way to build a habit according to Charles Duhigg author of The Power of Habit, is to have a cue, routine, and reward. Over time this sequence becomes more and more automatic until cue and reward are intertwined. I have always found that an easy cue to use is a particular time in a daily routine. Some more practical cues might be, in the morning before any screen time (tv, video games, movies, computer pleasure use), after lunch, before dinner, after dinner, or before bed. The routine could be to read for 15 minutes for primary students and 30 minutes for intermediate students. Ideally the reward would be that the reading was enjoyable but some children could use a little bit more of bang in their reward. For those who like their screen time then having their enjoyable screen time after reading would be a reward. Checking off their reading on a calendar could also be a reward. Many libraries have a summer reading programs that gives the children their own calendar to keep track of their reading and after completing a specific number of days for their reading, they can come in for some form of recognition. My daughter has joined the Surrey Public Libraries summer reading program for the last number of years and I know that the Fraser Valley Regional Libraries also offers a similar summer reading program. I highly recommend these programs especially for younger children. For older children, an incentive might be to read them the example above to offer proof that it isn’t just their parent who thinks reading over the summer is important.

Here is a link that I came across for 24 books that will captivate your kids this summer. I emailed it too myself because I want to check out some of these books over the summer and now I don’t remember where I came across it. Picture books are fun for all ages and lend themselves to lots of rich discussions about story elements (character, setting, plot, and theme) and connections to other stories as well as life lessons. Picture books are great for a family story time with different family members taking turns reading them and asking other family members discussion questions. Stay tuned for a blog post on follow up reading activities or reader response activities  in order to squeeze some more Language Arts learning into the summer.

It has been my daughter’s long-time dream to sell things on the side of the road. Just what every parent hopes their child will aspire to, right! Our own home does not face a street and it does not have a front yard so, alas, this has not been a simple dream to fulfill. Personally, I do not have the time or inclination to sit around on a street for hours on end with her.

Last summer she was able to sell some of her used toys on her cousin’s front lawn which is on a street. She made one sale. It was to her cousin. I heard the news before picking her up and although I knew she would be disappointed I was relieved that this would be the end to her latest career aspiration. So as we headed home, I asked her how she felt about her day. She told me that she thought things would have gone better if she’d had a commercial advertisement on television. Her dream was still alive. I decided then and there that my daughter was a budding entrepreneur and not an underachiever.

So this week, since I was already going to be spending hours street-side, due to the B.C. teachers’ strike, I thought why not kill two birds with one stone. My sister had offered my daughter some free herbs from her garden, for an herb sale. We had two other children with us and I figured it would be a great way for the kids to stay occupied and learn some business terms. A business meeting was called and we discussed what the signs might say, what the prices would be, and how the proceeds would be used. More specifically we determined what percentage of the proceeds would be used to pay back the interest free start up loan, what percentage would be used for reinvestment, and what percentage everyone would get to keep as her share of the profit.

On day one, the girls had two generous customers. They made a total of $9.  My daughter thought it was a shame that they didn’t have a debit machine since a number of potential customers had remarked that it was too bad that they didn’t have any money with them. We discussed who would be their ideal customer (people who like to cook with herbs) and where might be a better location to sell to that target market (outside a grocery store or at least an area with more foot traffic). On day two, my daughter had a different friend with her. This time they had a total of three customers and they made total of $4. Mind you, there were two more customers who would have liked to buy the homemade organic perfume. Fortunately my daughter realized that these customers/kids’ parents might be upset when they got home with bags of dirt water that they had spent money on. So those were given out for free instead.

Now my daughter is now richer by $3.50 and she has $4 to reinvest in a new product. Her friends are richer too. Since kids seem like a better “target market” we have discussed how much might be reasonable for a child to spend and what kind of product would their parents be okay with them spending their money on. Your advice and ideas are welcome!

Summer learning loss has been well documented for decades. Students who struggle with learning tend to be the most vulnerable. In fact we know that three different things happen for children in the summer. Some children regress in their learning skills. They can actually lose more than two months of learning in reading and math each summer. From grades 1 to 6 this would result in more than a year of learning lost! Some children hold fairly steady with their learning over the summer and return to school with the skills they basically left with. Other children actually gain learning ground and return to school with a learning advantage. What is the difference? Much of these differences can be attributed to the amount and quality of educational experiences a student has over the summer.

At a very minimum, if we want to prevent summer learning loss there are a number of educational experiences that we can provide our children that cost very little money. Children should read, write, compute, play, and connect. Joining a library reading program can be a great way to make sure children read throughout the summer. Children can keep a journal over the summer. Even if they don’t write it in every day, they could have a set day of the week that they write in their journal each week. A simple way to practise math skills is to play math games or solve a word problem each day. For math game ideas, click on the “learning games” tag for this blog under Categories. More and more research has been coming out over the past few decades to support the benefits of play. Large amounts of time spent watching movies, television, playing video games, texting, and surfing the web, take away time for play. Set limits on your child’s “screen time” either daily or weekly. Children make connections in so many ways. Connections help deepen and solidify learning. One of the best ways to help your children make connections between subject matter, themselves and others, or their personal lives and society at large is to talk with them. Family dinners can be a great time for discussions. Additionally, reading books together, watching movies together, and visiting museums and art galleries can help foster enriching conversations that help your children make connections. Teach Yourself’s book Help Your Child Succeed at School gives lots of solid information and advice on having enriching interactions with our children.

Recently, I heard that children with educational summer experiences tend to academically outperform their peers in high school. The best way to ensure that your child does not lose any ground this summer and returns to school in September with a learning gain is to make sure that they have an education plan for the summer. Especially for children who struggle with their learning in school, this gain can help bolster their confidence which in turn improves their learning capabilities. Below are two forms that you can use to help children stick to an educational plan. The “Make a Daily Schedule” form helps you and your child plan out their activities. This can be done 1-4 times a week or you can increase the time allotments and use it for the entire week. The “Student Report on Daily Work Schedule” is to be completed at the end of their learning sessions. Younger children will need more guidance. This reflection helps solidify and deepen their learning and is a great way to report to you.

Make a Daily Schedule
Student Report on Daily Work Schedule