Reading Over the Summer

Depending on the student, some love reading and some would rather do many other things. No matter the student, reading is something that needs to be implemented more, whether it’s for pleasure or credit. 

Teachers don’t make their students read for no good reason, in fact they have plenty of good reasons. From both experience and common knowledge, teachers know that reading has multiple benefits. Some of the benefits include: 

• Introducing new words to one’s vocabulary
• Broadening creativity
• Developing usage of context clues
• Teaching critical thinking
• Boosting mood
• Calming the nerves
• Etc.

Whether teachers require or encourage students to read, they’ve done the right thing. While summer breaks consist of relaxing, hanging out with friends, eating ice cream, working and going on trips, it’s important that student’s minds stay focused and sharp for their return to school in the fall. When students read, they are keeping their mind conditioned for further development. 

If a teacher never requires summer reading, it’s up to the parents and guardians to instill it into daily or weekly routine for the betterment of the student. On the other hand, maybe a teacher did assign reading. Parents can help out their children by offering some sort of reward for participating in summer reading, and staying on track with their school work even over summer break. 

Rewards can be anything that the parent deems practical, here are a few ideas:

• A weekly allowance.
• Ice cream after dinner.
• An end of summer trip.
• More screen time. 
• A shopping trip.
• A weekly minigolf session.
• Etc.

The whole point is to encourage children to read more, even if it is not required of them. Reading doesn’t have to be looked at as boring. There are so many different genres for students to choose from. It’s important for them to find a book that is of interest to them because it will give them the urge to read more, compared to something that they have no interest in at all. 

Parents can take their children to the local book store, or order something digitally for their kindles or iPads at the convenience of their fingertips. The great news is that a lot of titles come in a paperback, or a digital version. This makes accessing books so much easier! 

This blog has covered why reading is important, and how to incentivize children to read more over summer break! 

Who has a good book recommendation?!