Summer Reading: How to Prevent the Slide Without the Stress

Every summer, parents face a version of the same dilemma: how do you keep your child's reading skills sharp without turning July into school part two? The good news is that preventing the summer slide doesn't have to mean worksheets and frustration. Here's a relaxed, research-informed approach to summer reading.

What Is the Summer Slide?

The "summer slide" refers to the loss of academic skills that can occur when learning is put on pause over the summer. For typically developing readers, the impact is real but can be overcome in the fall when school begins again. But for struggling readers, summer learning loss can be significant and cumulative over multiple years.

Make Reading Enjoyable First

One thing we love to suggest to parents is to help your child find reading material they actually want to read. Graphic novels, joke books, sports stats, how-to guides, and audiobooks all count towards a reading goal. The goal this summer is maintaining a reading habit, and that habit is helped by having fun reading materials on hand. 

Read Together

Family reading time is amazing for kids! Like it or not, kids are always watching us and modeling their behaviour based on what we do. Whether you're reading aloud, listening to an audiobook on a road trip, or just sitting near each other with your own books, family reading time sends a powerful message that reading is something your family values. It also removes the performance pressure that can make independent reading stressful for struggling readers.

Keep It Short and Consistent

Fifteen to twenty minutes of daily reading is much more effective than a long, random session once a week. Consistency is the key to growth! Build reading into a natural part of your family's daily rhythm. Read before bed, after lunch, and/or on the way somewhere. We like to use pockets of time when we would normally be waiting to read. We just keep our books handy to grab on the way out the door or in the car.  

If Your Child Is Behind

If your child is significantly behind grade level, summer is an ideal time for targeted intervention. A structured literacy program over 6-8 weeks can produce meaningful gains that set them up for a stronger fall. Halifax Learning's summer program has been proven to get kids back on the right track for fall!

Feeling concerned about your child's reading over the summer? Halifax Learning's Summer BOOST program offers intensive, evidence-based intervention for students of all ages. Check out our summer page to learn more!