READ Up: Stop the Summer Slide

To succeed in school and life, children and young adults need ongoing opportunities to learn and practice essential skills. This is especially true during the summer months.
National Summer Learning Association

A child's mind doesn't take a vacation; it is always eager to learn

Students can lose up to three months of reading skills during the summer break. It’s called the summer slide. The slide begins the first week students are out of school. Poor summer reading habits can produce a three-year achievement gap by fifth grade!

Summer learning loss is a real problem with an easy solution

The READ Up: Stop the Summer SlideSM program helps reverse summer reading loss by providing opportunities for children to continue to read throughout the summer months. READ Up helps families, caregivers, and children keep reading aloud part of their daily summer routines.

READ Up events are for children from birth to age 8 and their parents or caregivers. Partnering with local groups offering summer events for children, READ Up organizers provide reading activities and free books to children. Organizers also provide parents and caregivers tips and take-home materials to help encourage young readers. And at many READ Up events trained volunteers model how to read aloud effectively during a story time with the children.

Learn more about serving children in your community with READ Up: Stop the Summer Slide.

 

Why summer reading matters.

Why summer reading matters.

  • School-age children can lose three months of reading skills in just one summer.
  • Studies have shown students begin to lose reading skills the first week they are out of school.
  • Summertime reading maintains and strengthens critical brain development.

Additional Resources

Read Together 20 Minutes Every Day 8x8 PRINT.pdf

Read Together 20 Minutes Every Day 8x8 Spanish PRINT.pdf

Reading Tracker 4x11 Bookmark #1 Bertie PRINT.pdf

Reading Tracker 4x11 Bookmark #2 Bertie 4x11 PRINT.pdf