Required Reading: The Pros and Cons. I didn’t know how to read until I was seven years old.
This is a fact that sticks out no matter how far removed I am, and one that I’ve carried with me into adulthood. I can distinctly remember being in kindergarten, around 5 or 6, and feeling the miserable isolation that comes with not being able to read Hop On Pop out loud. I can’t distinctly remember if there was mockery or teasing involved, but it seems likely. Early into 1st grade, however, everything suddenly clicked. What had seemed impossible now came as easily as breathing. Required reading. Letter: A case against required summer homework : page 2. Champaign high schools now require summer reading. Down to the wire for required summer reading.
North Shore high school students didn’t have to worry about what to read at the beach this summer.
Their schools provided a summer reading list. And with schools scheduled to reopen in a few weeks, many students are heading to public libraries to catch up. Local libraries get copies of the lists, often post them on their websites and make sure they have multiple copies — and formats — of the required reading. “As early as May, we have parents and students asking for the list,” said Kim Claire, young adult librarian at the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library. “We usually have wait lists for every book (on the list),” Claire said. c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.summerlearning.org/resource/collection/CB94AEC5-9C97-496F-B230-1BECDFC2DF8B/Research_Brief_03_-_Kim.pdf. Susan Kim: Kids and Summer Reading.
Last week, researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville announced that they had completed a three-year study on children and reading.
The study was based on the observation that students who don't read during the summer show distinct disadvantages compared to those who do. Summer vacation is, after all, three months long; and reading, like any skill (especially when you're young), is something you apparently use or lose. According to The National Summer Learning Association, to not read at all during the summer is akin to missing two entire months of school: still one more disadvantage in the long list faced primarily by kids from low-income households. The research team discovered that simply providing children with twelve free books over the summer resulted in higher test scores after three years -- indicating that for a mere fifty bucks a head, this program might very well kick the pants off traditional summer school in terms of cost effectiveness.
Summer Reading, Part Five: The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. Recently I went to my local library with an odd request: Did the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature still exist, or had it been replaced by the Internet?
The reference librarian looked me over and sighed. It may still exist, she said, but the library hasn't purchased it since 2001 and few people have ever used it, or asked where it was kept. Once a massive multi-volume record of articles published by magazines and organized by subject, it's easy to see how this valuable research tool had been replaced by search engines, but it saddened me. It's one thing to do a Google search on the name Muhammad Ali and get 2.6 million results in 0.13 seconds but it would take you much longer, and more key words, to get, say, a specific selection of magazine articles from 1967 regarding his refusal to register for the draft during Vietnam. You'd still have to hunt those articles down but you'd have a better idea of what was recorded at the time in one quick glance. newspapers newsweeklies tabloids. Library grows bookworms with summer programs » News. TERRE HAUTE — Sisters Krista and Hailey Kane were busy selecting new books to check out at the Vigo County Public Library one very hot day last week.
They are participating in the Summer Reading Club. Krista, age 10, said her goal is to read 30 books this summer, while Hailey, 8, has a goal of 40 books. The Sugar Creek Consolidated students say they enjoy mysteries and myths. Their grandmother, Patty Kane, said she takes them to the library about once a week. “They have a love of books and I want to encourage that,” she said.
While summer vacation is nearing the halfway point, it’s not too late to sign up for the Summer Reading Club, said Carolyn Clark, assistant librarian in the Young People’s Department. The last day to sign up is July 27 at the West Branch and July 28 at the main branch. Summer reading feeds brain, soul » Life » Traverse City Record-Eagle. TRAVERSE CITY -- There's only one thing scarier to Nick Johnson than a Stephen King book: reading ANY book during the summer.
Summer Reading. No matter what type of academic calendar a state or school district adopts, children attend school every year for an average of 180 days.
During that time, educators, librarians and parents work hard to ensure that young people develop the reading skills necessary for success in school and in life. Then summer break comes, children leave the formal learning environment of the classroom and, instead of progressing, many begin to slip in their reading abilities. This issue of summer loss is not a new one. Without the structure of school, strong readers can flatline and struggling readers can fall off the chart. Low-income children are especially susceptible because they often go home to text-free environments. What can you do? PLA - Evaluating Summer Reading Programs: Suggested Improvements. By Joe Matthews on May 10, 2013 Summer reading programs (SRPs) have been a staple for many, if not most, public libraries since the turn of the twentieth century.
Their popularity attests to the continuing value of encouraging reading among primary and secondary grade children in communities across the nation. Summer Reading Programs Boost Student Achievement, Study Says.