Summer Slide or Learning Loss: Is it real?

The summer slide is a term used when children lose the knowledge they gained during school over the summer break. Summer slide loss can happen as early as Kindergarten and First grade. However, reading development occurs in the first few years and is when children learn to read, especially foundational reading, when their brain can map print orthographically. So, what does orthographic mapping mean? It is the mental process all readers use to become fluent readers and is a core component of the Science of Reading. Through orthographic mapping, students employ their brain's oral language processing portion to link known sounds (phonemes) with a word's visual letters (spellings). In short, students map the sounds to letters. These words become sight words by connecting these elements and understanding the meaning behind each association. Reading regularly during summer helps maintain and improve reading skills such as phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency.

• Statistics - Over two-thirds of the reading achievement gap in 9th grade can be traced back to cumulative summer learning loss during the elementary years.

• Students may lose up to two months of reading proficiency over the summer, a substantial setback that can accumulate over time.

• Mastery of math skills erodes by 84% of students between the 5th and 6th grades.

• By the time they reach 5th grade, students affected by summer learning loss can lag behind their peers by 2.5 to 3 years.

• Lack of summer learning - 50% of the reading achievement gap is attributable to unequal access to summer learning programs.

  
  

• Tips - Encouraging regular reading with magazines, library visits, and fun book lists.

• Providing engaging spelling and language activities, like word games and interactive learning tools.

• Strengthening vocabulary through creative exercises like word trees and matching games.

• Exploring hands-on learning with educational crafts and activities.

• Using audiobooks and summer reading programs to maintain literacy skills. Your local library offers digital books, or Learning Ally offers an audiobook subscription for parents and educators. https://learningally.org/Solutions-for-School/K-12/Audiobook-Solution

  
  

The goal is to help kids retain their skills while having fun with interactive educational activities over the summer. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist your child in strengthening their reading or math skills during this time.