Prevent Summer Learning Loss

Now that summer break has begun, it is critical to engage children with fun activities to prevent summer learning loss. Summer learning loss, or ‘the slide,’ presents a significant problem for students when the new school year starts and can hinder overall academic achievement.

The best approach to prevent summer learning loss is to leverage fun activities that engage learning skills without feeling like a school projects. Exciting and engaging learning activities include field trips (virtual field trips count), reading page-turning best-sellers, setting up a lemonade stand, writing a play or short story and much more. These activities engage critical skills, but your child will think of them as exciting things to do during their three month vacation from academia.

Hands-on Resources to Pique Curiosity

• 10 of the Best Virtual Field Trips: A trip to the Colosseum in Rome? A behind-the-scenes look at the Hershey’s factory? Curious students will find a lot to explore in these virtual field trips and tours featured by eSchool News.
• Gearing Up for a Summer of Making Connecting and Learning by Doing: DIY projects are perfect for inquisitive students. This New York Times Learning Network guest lesson by Edutopia blogger Suzie Boss highlights a few places to find upcoming activities, including the Summer of Making and Connecting project.
• Reading Resources for Teens from New York Public Library: Reading is an effective way to prevent summer slide. New York Public Library produced this list of teen-specific reading resources. For younger students and ELLs, Colorin Colorado has a comprehensive list of resources for parents.
• Stop the Summer Slide in Math: These easy-to-use, PDF activity guides from Touch Math are a great way to keep younger kids’ current in math. Another resource, from Education.com, Help Your Teen Avoid the Summer Math Slide provides plenty of age-appropriate math learning ideas for teens.
• Writing Activities for all Students: ReadWriteThink’s after-school writing activities work great all summer long, and there’s something here for students in any grade. For your aspiring fiction novelist, author of “Writing Fiction: A Hands-on Guide for Teens” Heather Wright, has compiled a 70+ list of writing prompts and starters.

DIY Ideas for Parents

• 10 Ways to Prevent the Summer Slide, MetroFamily Magazine
• Ask Dr. Lynch: Preventing the Summer Slide, Education World
• 8 Ideas for Preventing the Summer Slide, MakeTakeTeach.com

CONTINUE READING Resources to Prevent Summer Slide: Virtual Field Trips, DIY Projects and Summer Reading for more information on preventing summer learning loss.

READ MORE about 4 Best Reading Apps To Help Track Summer Progress

 

Matt Davis is an Editorial Assistant at Edutopia.