Here are the Cliff notes though, for those that want to get right to the point!
Heyns (1978) explains the Summer Slump as the phenomenon of declining academic achievement during summer recess.
This chart, found in the book above, can show the effects of multiple years of the Summer Slump:
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| Cooper et al. 1996; Entwisle, Alexander, and Olson 1997 |
The top line represents the children who live in more affluent homes. You can see the research demonstrating that these children aren't really declining over the summer, as the line continues to steadily rise over the course of the years. These children are more likely to have literacy experiences over their summer that are contributing to the rise of their reading success.
The bottom line representes the students from more lower-income homes. Do you see how the line drops, in zig-zag fashion? Beginning in "KS" (Kinder-Spring) and moved to "1F" (First grade - Fall), there was a decline in reading development. The author points out that these children did not have the same kind of summer reading experiences that their counterparts, in the top line, may have had.
And now, look at 6S (Sixth grade - Spring). The kids from the more affluent families are reading at a mid-seventh grade level, and the children from the lower-income families are almost reading at fifth grade level.
The good news is that it only takes a few books each summer to overcome this Summer Slump!
Another research study in the book cited Kim (2004) who studied a school district-sponsored voluntary summer reading program for sixth grade students. She found the effects of reading four or five books over the summer months was "potential large enough to prevent a decline in reading achievement scores from spring to fall" (p.169).
Parents, we have lots of work to do. But trust me, it's easy. It's just reading and writing experiences that will heighten the love of literacy with our children.
There will be no worksheets. There will be no reports. There will be no formal assignments. There will be no requirements, other than reading and discussing great books in the company of our loved ones. What will there be? Choice. Lots and lots of choice. And, if we can work together, there will be access to lots and lots of great books.
Dav Pilkey, the author of Captain Underpants books reminds us, "What if all your reading material was selected by, or restricted by people who believed that they knew what was best for you. Wouldn't that be awful? Wouldn't you resent it? And isn't it possible that you might begin to associate books with bad things like drudgery and subjugation?" (Pilkey, 2012)
There are so many different activities you can do to help us defeat the Summer Slump! Please click on our page "Summer Literacy Activities" to see what would work for your family! Choose one, and see it through with your family. Don't forget to take pictures so when you write in to our blog, you can show our community what you've been up to! We're looking forward to hearing from you!
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References
Cahall, C., Horvath, K., McGill-Franzen, A., and Allington, R. (2013) No More Summer-Reading Loss. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Cooper, H., B. Nye, K. Charlton, J. Lindsay, and S. Greathouse. 1996. "The Effects of Summer Vacation on Achievement Test Scores: A Narrative and Meta-Analytic Review." Review of Educational Research 66 (3): 227-68.
Entwisle, W., K. Alexander, and L. Olson. 1997. Children, Schools, and Inequality. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Heyns, B. 1978. Summer Learning and the Effects of Schooling. New York: Academic Press.
Kim, J. 2004. "Summer Reading and the Ethnic Achievement Gap." Journal of Education of Students at Risk 9 (2): 169-89.
Pilkey, D. 2012. "What Should Kids Be Reading?" In What Kids Are Reading: The Book Reading Habits of Students in American Schools, 28. Wisconsin Rapids, WI: Renaissance Learning.
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