Summer is a time of fun, sunshine, and opportunities for continued learning and exploration. For parents that may be less familiar with the educational impact of a long break, the “summer slide” is the term used to describe the toll that summer vacation can take on a child’s academic knowledge. It is estimated that children can lose between 20-30% of their reading and math gains from the school year due to lack of practice during the summer months. This is why as speech-language pathologists, we emphasize the importance of incorporating practice into everyday tasks.
1. Build on Existing Knowledge
Help your child make connections to their own experiences or concepts they have already mastered. Let’s use the story If You Give a Moose a Muffin as an example. Since the word “muffin” is in the title, it is a great opportunity for conversation about a familiar object. If your child has eaten a muffin, use that previously acquired knowledge to discuss the way a muffin looks, feels, or tastes, how to bake muffins, muffin flavors, and who they may have baked or eaten them with in the past. If they haven’t tried a muffin before, this is a great opportunity to introduce them to the topic and establish foundational knowledge to connect to stories in the future.
2. Make Predictions
How many times do you find yourself asking your child the age-old question, “What do you think will happen next?” as you are reading a story? This is a terrific way to prompt prediction and can be implemented as soon as your child picks up a book. Ask your child to look at the pictures or read the title and see if they can use those “clues” to guess what the story will be about. As the child is given the opportunity to guess what might happen before and throughout the story, they are developing the ability to make cause/effect connections, apply background knowledge to given situations, and understand why and how characters may change or stay the same through experiences and events. By participating in predicting, children develop the skills to think critically about the story content, anticipate what will happen next, and stay motivated to find out they were right!
3. Identify Key Points and Summarize the Story
Locating important information and providing a general overview of a topic are skills that apply to both school content and conversations. It might be easier to begin with a short passage and then increase the length of the text as your child begins to accurately identify the important points. You can also give your child the option of writing down the main idea, creating a poster, or having a verbal discussion; that way they have a choice in how they want to express their ideas!
Want to know where to find some local bookstores in your community? Check out our recommendations below!
Northern Virginia area:
o Old Town Books
o One More Page Books
o Hooray For Books!
Main Line Philadelphia area:
o Children’s Book World
o Main Point Books
o Character Development Books & Toys
Literacy skills are critical to your child’s success inside and outside of the classroom. So book it to the library and remember…you do not have to do this by “yourshelf.”
CONTACT US FOR A FREE PHONE CONSULTATION:
Northern Virginia: info@owlstherapy.com
(703) 470-6957
Philadelphia’s Main Line: philadelphia@owlstherapy.com
(610) 579-0914