The PRES Press
Principal's Monthly Newsletter, June 2018
A Message from Principal Amy Fishkin
Fifth Grade Moving Up Ceremony
All-School Moving Up Assembly
Avoid the Summer Slide
Summer slide is the phrase to describe the backwards slide or loss of skills students experience if they do not keep up their reading and math skills over the summer. It is possible for students to regress 2-3 months over the summer if they do not practice their reading and math skills. Reading for as little as 20 minutes per day will help to prevent the summer slide and may even help your child make reading progress and return to school in September in good shape!
Your child has worked very hard to get to where he/she is in reading today. Let’s not let the summer break get in the way of all that progress. To foster growth over the summer here are some strategies for your child to practice with your support.
Tricky Word Strategies:
- Does that word make sense in the sentence? Try to re-read and think about it.
- What word would make sense in this sentence?
- Get your mouth ready… What letter do you see at the beginning? What sound does that letter make?
- What word would make sense that begins with that letter/sound?
- Is there anything in the picture that might help you with this word?
- Read the sentence again to see if that make sense.
- Try skipping the word to see if the rest of the sentence will help you figure it out. Then go back and reread.
Fluency and Expression:
- Model fluent reading by reading aloud to your child
- Read together with your child – You read a page, your child reads a page.
- Repeated reading of a familiar text noting how the child sounds
- Echo Reading (leader reads a section and group or child repeats the same section)
- Read poems and sing songs
- Preview a text for tricky words
- Match your voice to a character’s personality or feelings
Reading Comprehension Strategies:
- What do you think is going to happen next?
- How do you think your character feels?
- Why do you think the character…?
- What kind of person do you think the character is and why?
Here is a great article from the International Literacy Association with tips for reducing the summer reading slide: Ten Tips For Reducing The Summer Slide