There are no substitutes for good summer reading!
Summer reading is a great opportunity. Children and teens may
- read long and leisurely.
- follow their interests.
- explore new ideas and genres.
How might you encourage reading and thinking?
- Build reading time into each family member’s schedule.
- Avoid showing movies based on well-known children’s and young adult literature, or read the book before showing the movie. Kids don’t want to read a book if they’ve “already seen the movie six times.”
- Listen to and discuss audiobooks during car trips rather than watch movies. Listening actively uses the imagination; watching a movie is passive.
- Have reading materials available at home. Subscribe to newspapers and magazines; use the Summit library and get a library card for access to the public libraries and the NC Live database.
- Limit screen time to one or two hours each day. Follow the advice of the experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Make reading and thinking a part of family life. Talk about what you read and see in the news and movies. Research what you want to know more about; fact check information you question.
Download this book discussion handout.
Summer reading makes a difference. Reading and discussing well-chosen books will
- increase vocabulary.
- reinforce higher-level comprehension skills.
- reduce summer learning loss.
- show kids that parents think reading & thinking are important.
