Reading Strategies to Stay on Track this Summer

Cari Diaz June 06 , 2018

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For many parents, the end of the school year doesn’t signal feelings of relief and joy, but rather feelings of concern and worry for the next school year.  Students who struggled to complete the school year or received less than desirable final grades can also have feelings of anxiety and unrest when thinking about back-to-school.  These feelings are only amplified when the struggling subject area is something as crucial to learning and classroom performance as reading.

But did you know that there exists a hidden gift that will guarantee your students’ vocabulary and language development over the summer months?  Did you know that this same gift could unleash a student’s critical thinking and conversational skills next school year?  The best part? This treasure costs nothing, requires very little preparation, and lasts forever!  So what is it? It is the gift is the gift of your TIME given to students by reading aloud to them every day.   The practice may sound simple, but research has proven the promises of this daily act are real.

It is never too early to start reading to your students.  The time you invest in a student now will later grow into solid reading comprehension skills, a mastery of language acquisition, and a greater chance of overall success at school with benefits for behavior and attention.  The suggestions below will all enhance your read-aloud time with your student this summer:

• Try to go a step beyond simply reading the book to your student. Talking about the book, either during or after reading, is vital to your student’s development of critical thinking and language skills. Asking yes or no questions, such as “Did you like the book” are not as effective.  Try sharing your response to the book instead by saying something like, “I’m really surprised by the ending.  I thought he would have returned home.”  This may be more likely to make your student share his/her opinion.  Be accepting of your student’s opinions, so that they learn there can be more than one right answer.  As students become used to sharing their opinions, their insights will improve.
• Stock an enjoyable selection of children’s books from which to choose. If you are reading to an infant, try using picture books that are in black and white. For older children, use pictures that have bright, attention-getting colors.  Check to make sure the language flows nicely.  Are the topics interesting for your unique student?  The internet and/or librarians can be good sources for finding popular children’s books.
• Make sure you read the book, or at least a decent-sized sampling of the book, to ensure that you like the book you are reading to your student. Your enthusiasm and enjoyment of the experience, or lack thereof, will come through.
• Shorten or bypass long descriptive passages until your student’s attention span is capable of handling them.
• Allow your student to choose the book to be read. If he/she chooses the same book every night (kids love repetition), then extend the session and bring in a book of your choice to read afterwards.
• Previewing the book with your student is an important reading strategy that will enhance your student’s reading comprehension. Look at the pictures before you start reading. Always read the title and the author’s name of the book, even if you’ve read it a million times already.  Review some key vocabulary words that may be unfamiliar to your student.  Ask your student to predict what the book will be about.
• As you read, try asking your student what he/she thinks will happen next? This will maintain their interest, keep them involved, and build their reasoning skills. Also,
• Allow young children to have a role during the reading by allowing them to turn the pages for you or by having them recite key phrases of the story from memory.
• If you lack the time to finish the book, make sure you choose a good stopping point that will hold your student’s suspense until the following day.
• Reading aloud should not end after your student learns to read. Beginning readers need a lot of opportunities to practice, and they still enjoy being read to!
• As children grow into more independent readers, try parallel reading with them. This occurs when you read the same book their student is reading and allows them opportunities to discuss the book together. Reading tutors can also select books by the same authors their students read, and make future reading recommendations to their kids.  Tutors can be one of the biggest influences over what and how often students read.  Enthusiasm is contagious!

If you really want to turn your reluctant readers into super readers this summer, consider a fun and engaging Summer Reading Camp, like the one offered by Club Z! With Club Z!’s online summer reading camp, reading lessons are taught live online with a qualified reading tutor, all sessions are recorded in high definition for easy playback and review (which also works well with vacation travel plans!) and students can incorporate their school assigned summer reading books right into the curriculum! In addition, students can earn fun rewards for participation and attendance. For more information, or to enroll in one of our courses, visit https://clubztutoring.com/summer-reading-camp-programs/.