Relaxed schedules of summer give students much-needed downtime, but are they still reading?

Garland ISD is providing two opportunities to further kids’ reading skills. Reading with Rodney and On Your Mark, Get Set…Read! allow Sachse children to develop an interest in books.

According to a 2016 study conducted by YouGov and Scholastic, less than half (48 percent) of U.S. parents with school-age children have heard of the summer slide. The summer slide refers to the loss of skills while school is not in session. Reading, the study showed, is a crucial way to ensure that kids retain the information they learned.

“Summer reading is a great way for children to maintain the skills learned during the school year, but it is also a time to get acquainted with new types of reading materials,” said Duana Yates, third grade team leader at Armstrong Elementary. “Reading over the summer break can build life-long reading habits, and allows children to read for pleasure and just have fun with books. The more relaxed pace of summer makes it easy to read magazines, brochures about places of interest, recipes, craft or game instructions, and even explore online reading. Summer can be a great time to fall in love with the magic of reading.”

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Morgan Howard • [email protected]