Small Strokes Big Oaks

We all know that students experience a significant loss of their learning over the summer months, and to curb that loss, at least in the literacy department, many schools assign summer reading to students.  As an English teacher, I do believe that summer reading is vital to a students’ success in school.  It is painfully apparent in my classes from the very beginning of the year which students are readers and which are not.  Students who read are often better with grammar, writing, access to information, and are more curious and willing to explore an assignment rather than do the bare minimum and turn it in.

However, I do believe that there is a right way and a wrong way to do summer reading.  I don’t know about you, but when I get a break from teaching or taking classes of my own, I want to read something that is “easy” to read and that I don’t have to analyze.  It’s being able to read so-called beach reads during the summer months that reminds me how fun reading can be.  So, why is it that some schools and teachers assign deep, heavy texts that require quite a bit of analysis and maybe even some research to understand them? 

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m all for challenging my students to expand their boundaries, whether that means challenging them to read difficult texts or analyze difficult topics and form opinions.  However, I do not believe that this kind of challenge needs to happen over the summer months, and should especially not happen without a teacher present.  When students are challenged beyond their means or capacity for understanding without someone to guide them through the learning process, this can develop frustration for the text, and, by extension, a frustration for reading.  As teachers, we need to keep in mind that summer reading should be light and fun, or, at least, easy to understand.  It should help keep students’ literacy skills they’ve learned over the year, not necessarily push them further.

Personally, I’m a big fan of what my school decided to do this year for summer reading.  They assigned the graphic novel, Maus, for the entire district.  With this book, students will have access to a different kind of text, but still one they can understand and enjoy without the help of their teachers.  This book also tackles the difficult topic of the Holocaust and, by extension, themes of racism, which will be important to discuss once school begins again in the fall.

What are your thoughts on summer reading?  What do your schools do for the summer months?