Reading During the Summer
As you’re packing up your locker and heading off to summer break, you may notice your bag a little lighter this year because you’re not carrying books home for summer reading assignments! High school English classes have eliminated summer reading assignments by giving students more choice and ownership of their learning as we move towards more personalized learning.
We want to encourage all students and families to read EVERY DAY, ALL YEAR ROUND! So set aside some time to read this summer!
Why Read Every Day, All Year?
You’ll discover a lot of added benefits such as…
- stress reduction
- improved cognitive function
- increased vocabulary
- improved writing skills
It doesn’t matter what you read as long as…
- it’s in English
- it’s a bit more challenging
- it’s interesting and make you WANT to read
By reading daily, it all adds up to greater knowledge and confidence.
What Can You Do to Get Started?
Here are some reading recommendation to get you started:
- College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers
- Summer Reading: Book Lists and Tips for Every Age
- Great Books from High School Summer Reading Lists
- Not-Your-Typical (High School) Summer Reading List
Additionally, any student in middle or high school that used Achieve3000 or NoRedInk in their English class this year will continue to have access to those programs through the summer. These programs are a great way to have guided practice in reading and grammar. Plus, NoRedInk offers targeted English language practice for the SAT and ACT.
How to Encourage Our Children to Read?
If we foster a love for reading in our children, it is inevitable that they will naturally take ownership of their learning. Reading will expose them to all different kinds of interesting subject matter. They will inquire about topics and seek information to gain the knowledge they need.
We must work together in becoming positive reading role models and show them the enjoyment we have when we read. Additionally, we must remember to talk to our children about their reading as well as our own reading to spark in depth conversation about literature.
Take a minute and look…
The article was written by Kathleen Abel. Kathy is an Arizona (USA) native who has been teaching high school English for sixteen years, with the last six at AIS. She loves reading and cats and reading to cats, and can pretty much always be found with a book in her hand (or on her phone in her hand). You can tweet your favorite books and stories to her at @kabel_ais.
