Summer Learning Success
- Rosetta Mandisa
- May 19, 2018
- 3 min read
As part of my extended job as Title 1/Parent Involvement Coordinator at my school, I was asked to present our end of the year Parent Night. Preventing summer learning loss was the topic given to me and the following is what I shared. Thought it would make a great post.
7 Ways to Prevent Summer Learning Loss
And just like that, summer is upon us once again. As you begin to plan for days without your child’s school schedule with free time, family vacations and outings remember that summer is also a great time to strengthen academic skills and close learning gaps. Research shows that, a nonacademic summer can cause students at every grade level to digress two to three months in their academic skills. A little time each day during the summer will go a long way in helping students be successful when they return to school in the fall. Here are a few tips to help set your student up for summer success.
1. Make Time for Learning
Set aside time for your child to read and practice math skills each day during the summer break — 15 to 30 minutes per day is all it takes! Summer is the time to encourage reading for enjoyment. It is also a great opportunity to preserve and strengthen their reading and math skills. Keep track of summer academics by using a calendar. Give your child a stamp or a sticker each day for working on summer academics as they work their way toward earning a reward at the end of the summer.
2. Learn and Practice Affixes
To help kids of all grade levels improve their reading and spelling skills include some learning activities that include affixes. Most multi-syllable words have prefixes and suffixes added to a base word. You can find a list of affixes and their meanings in a dictionary or in many online sources. To make this practice appealing, turn it into a game! Students can create flashcards of prefixes and suffixes using index cards or sturdy construction paper cut into squares. For each affix, they can write the meaning on the back. As they practice the affix they can try to guess what they think the affix means. Create the same activity to help students learn new vocabulary words.
3. Develop Math Skills
Getting your child to read during the summer may be an easy task to accomplish. However, most children will want to steer clear of math practice over the summer so keeping it simple and making it fun will be the key! Working on just three to four math problems per day during the summer can prevent students’ math skills from getting rusty. For help with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts, students can create their own flashcards to use for a quick review while riding around in the car.
4. Improve Reading Comprehension
Consider reading with your child and asking questions about the story along the way. This is a great way for students to hear and see new or unfamiliar words. Reading together is also an opportunity for you to help your child understand the meaning of words they may not be familiar with. Be sure to keep a dictionary handy while you read to help students build problem solving skills by looking up words they don’t know.
5. Encourage Creative Writing
Give your child a journal. Encourage them to write all about what they see and do over the summer. A short paragraph or two once a week is all it takes! You can join in on the writing fun by helping them choose a topic to write about. Remind them of all the fun and exciting things they are doing.
6. Send Them Outside
Keep children active and healthy by sending them outside. This is a great way for kids to meet up with friends for impromptu games, making up rules and learning to play fair to keep everyone involved.
7. Buy a Bird Feeder
While kids are exploring outside, a bird feeder will activate their scientific discovery. This will give students something else to write about as they observe nature around them!
School’s out for summer! 🙂
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