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What would happen if..

An athlete stopped training during June, July, and August? Would she be ready to run a marathon in September?

A musician stopped practicing during June, July, and August? Would he be ready to play a concert in September?

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Well…..

Probably not. Yet, we expect kids to be able to “take a break” during the summer, and jump right back in the saddle in September.

Which leads us to the issue of how we can provide a break from the rigors of school and some needed relaxation time, without suffering “brain drain or summer slide.”

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Summer Learning Opportunities

How to Prevent Summer

Brain Drain

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What do kids stand to lose? Academic Knowledge

• First described in 1906, more than a century ago– (White, Heyns, Cooper, Alexander)

• The well-documented phenomenon in which kids forget much of what they’ve learned over the summer

• All students experience some, especially in math

• It is too often accepted as the status quo, but it’s a problem we can solve. Raising awareness is the first step

Summer loss research brief: Summer Can Set Kids on the Right – or Wrong – Course

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The Need for High-Quality Summer Learning Programs

• Elementary students lose most in spelling and math skills.

• Average loss in math over the summer is about 2.6 months of grade level equivalency.

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The Need for High-Quality Summer Learning Programs

• Low-income youth are disproportionately impacted by losses in reading (2-3 months loss)

• Cumulative summer learning losses may explain as much as 50%-67%of the widening of the achievement gap

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Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com

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Reflecting on Summer

• What did you experience in summers?

• What should kids experience in the summer?

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How families can mitigate summer loss

• Time is at a premium, so try to work a little creative and fun learning into every summer day

• Preview the places that you’re going to visit, and talk about the concepts and ideas that your family will be introduced to

• Keep it engaging for both you and your child

• Talk about what’s happening in the news• When you go places, talk about what you’re

seeing

How to Make the Most of Summer: What Parents Can Do to Keep Kids Sharp Over the Summer

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What about summer math loss?

• Guess if you can – Have your child think of a number between

a stated range and try to guess the number by asking questions

• What are my chances?– Flip a coin

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Math Websites• Advice for Parents - from Math.com • Cool Math for Parents has some suggestions for helping with homework

and suggestions to help little ones get ready for Kindergarten. • Drilling Multiplication Tables of 2, 3, 10, and 5 - teaching guide from

HomeschoolMath • FunBrain - [this link opens on a new page] links to many math games • Helping Children Learn at Home - math and science tips for young children • Helping Kids to Thrive on Math - for teachers and parents from Math Cats • Helping Your Child Learn Math • Helping your child learn math - A parent's guide • How to Teach the Multiplication Tables to Your Child - from wikiHow • Learning Times Tables - advice for parents and teachers from Cool Math

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Math Websites• Literacy and numeracy tip sheets for parents - suggestions from the Peel school district in

Ontario, Canada • Little Scientists - tips for teaching children math and science through hands-on experience • Math and Young Children - a list of links classified by age level • Math for Elementary School Kids - from Teach R Kids • Math for the Fun of It • Math, Science, And Girls - Can We Close The Gender Gap? From the National Network for Child

Care's Connections Newsletter. • Math Tricks to Learn the Facts - from the About network • Math Worksheets - from ABC Teach • Multiplication Idea Bank - from Math Cats • Talk About Math - a guide to raising children who can do math [several videos are included] • Teaching Math to Young Children - This is one of a series of web pages to help students

understand math, and to help parents teach their children math. • Teach multiplication - resources from Multiplication.com

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COUNTING• Count everything! Count toys, kitchen utensils, and items of clothing as they come out of the

dryer. Help your child count by pointing to and moving the objects as you say each number out loud. Count forwards and backwards from different starting places. Use household items to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.

• Sing counting songs and read counting books. Every culture has counting songs, such as "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" and "Ten Little Monkeys", which make learning to count – both forwards and backwards – fun for children. Counting books also capture children's imagination, by using pictures of interesting things to count and to add.

• Discover the many ways in which numbers are used inside and outside your home. Take your child on a "number hunt" in your home or neighbourhood. Point out how numbers are used on the television set, the microwave, and the telephone. Spot numbers in books and newspapers. Look for numbers on signs in your neighbourhood. Encourage your child to tell you whenever he or she discovers a new way in which numbers are used.

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COUNTING• Ask your child to help you solve everyday number problems. "We need six tomatoes to

make our sauce for dinner, and we have only two. How many more do we need to buy?" "You have two pillows in your room and your sister has two pillows in her room. How many pillowcases do I need to wash?" "Two guests are coming to eat dinner with us. How many plates will we need?"

• Practice "skip counting". Together, count by 2's and 5's. Ask your child how far he or she can count by 10's. Roll two dice, one to determine a starting number and the other to determine the counting interval. Ask your child to try counting backwards from 10, 20, or even 100.

• Make up games using dice and playing cards. Try rolling dice and adding or multiplying the numbers that come up. Add up the totals until you reach a target number, like 100. Play the game backwards to practise subtraction.

• Play "Broken Calculator". Pretend that the number 8 key on the calculator is broken. Without it, how can you make the number 18 appear on the screen? (Sample answers: 20 – 2, 15 + 3). Ask other questions using different "broken" keys.

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• Number of the Day– Pick a number for each day. Ask your children to

think up different ways to make that number.

• How Much Is On The Floor– Estimate how many things there are to put away– Count the items as you put them away– Compare the estimate and the actual number

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• What’s Fair?– Put food out that is to be shared– Ask the children to figure out how many there

are and how many people to share with (fractions)

– Divide the food into equal parts

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• When should we leave?– Set a time that you want to get to a certain

place– Ask your children to tell you the current time

and the time you want to leave– Figure out the elapsed time

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Summer Learning

• Public Libraries• Road Trips• Creating Books

– Family Memoir– Local Heroes– Personal Journal– Language Experience

• Book Clubs• Destination Reading Beach Reading• Learning Links• Multimedia• Websites• Activities for Families to Adapt

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PUBLIC LIBRARIES• More than 95 percent of public libraries offer

summer reading programs

• Libraries are ideal places for families to continue their reading habits over the summer months

• Library summer reading programs began in the 1890s as a way to encourage school children, particularly those in urban areas and not needed for farm work, to read during their summer vacation, use the library, and develop the habit of reading

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ROAD TRIPS• If you’re taking a trip, read books about the

destination in advance• Audio books in the car • Serialized books (read aloud in the car or on CD)

allow an opportunity to talk about what happens next, the plot, what to expect from the genre, and characters

• Build in time for relaxed reading on vacation days

• Undertake pre-trip reading about the destination. This helps build background knowledge and excitement

• After the trip, children can reflect on their experiences by writing or building scrapbooks, for example

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READING INCENTIVES• Rewards don’t have to be costly• Extra computer time

– Celebrations or trips to fun places (like the park or a picnic)

• This type of activity is great for teaching kids the value of working towards something over time– With consistent work and keeping your

eyes on the goal, there will be a large end-of-summer reward

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Roadblock: The Reluctant Reader

• Get the Basics in PlaceLay down the law. Read books over the summer or else. Though there's no option about whether or not he reads over the summer, inform him that he's got plenty of choices when it comes to topics to read about.

• Give him a target. Children should read at least five or six books to maintain any strides they made in reading during the school year. Determine how many pages your child can read in twenty minutes and make that number their daily target. Steadily increase the number over the summer until he's reading at least thirty minutes a day.

• Gather your resources. Search the Internet, the library, and neighborhood bookstores for books. Keep your eyes peeled for kid-catching titles at garage sales, consignment shops, secondhand-book fairs, and flea markets.

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CREATE YOUR OWN BOOKS

• Take your child and your camera to the zoo (or a sketchpad and crayons), go home and create an “Our Trip to the Zoo” Book. Try writing a book with your child about something they are really interested in.

• Take a walk around the neighborhood and write down all the signs you see. Arrange the words and phrases into a poem.

• Sit in a location for a period of time and record the sounds you hear (birds chirping, horns honking.) Add descriptive words and write in the form of a poem to create Sound Poems.

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CREATE A FAMILY MEMOIR

Write a Family Memoir Book. If during the summer you will see relatives you don’t often see (or even if you see relatives every day), take the opportunity to have your child interview the relatives. Ask about favorite childhood memories, favorite stories about other relatives, fondest family memory, favorite recipes, family traditions, biggest surprise in their life, most cherished possession, and advice to the next generation. Create a book from the stories.

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CREATE A LOCAL HEROES BOOK

• Create a book about Local Heroes. Interview people in your neighborhood that are heroic for one reason or another (community service personnel, veteran, community volunteer, community leader, person who triumphed over difficult circumstances…) Compile stories into a book.

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CREATE A JOURNAL

• Look for opportunities to suggest your child write about specific things in a journal--“Why I’m mad at mommy” or “why we need a dog” essays, favorite things lists, gift wish lists, Things I REALLY want to do this summer…

• Provide your child with fun writing paper, a nice notebook, interesting writing and drawing materials.

• Encourage your child to read and write about what he knows and has experienced. What is he an expert in? Build on what he knows.

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LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE• Use a Language Experience Approach in which you

take dictation from the child. • This often helps the child get past the stumbling

block of physically writing or typing. It allows their thoughts to flow more freely. Can be done using pen or computer. If done on computer, use large font so child can see the words as you say/type them.

• To construct the book, use a photo album, a scrapbook, construction paper and yarn, or go to www.makingbooks.com for other ideas.

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ROADBLOCK for #1• My child HATES to write. What can I do?

– Begin by trying to figure out what aspect of writing is causing him difficulty and frustration. Is it the actual physical act of writing? Is it a lack of confidence in his abilities? Is he a perfectionist and can’t stand the thought of having mistakes on his paper? Does he see writing as a chore with no real purpose? Just can’t ever think of anything to write about?

– Possible solutions to some of these roadblocks: fine motor development activities, special (fun) writing tools, a special writing place, positive feedback to even small attempts, tapping into interests (write about what he knows), making writing meaningful and purposeful, LEA, connections to TV shows and books…

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BOOK CLUB

• Several local bookstores and libraries offer book clubs so you may want to check into joining those.

• Form your own book club--It can be as simple as having a group of kids meet once in a while to talk about a book they read.

• The group needs to– Agree on a book (by author or genre)– Agree on timeline for completing the book & meeting

schedule/location

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DESTINATION READING

READING AND RIDING (but not at the same time)

• Hop on your bikes and ride to the local park or forest preserve. Find a nice spot to eat and read. Make this a regular habit.

• Listen to books on CD/tape while riding in the car. Stop the tape and have each person tell what they think will happen next. After the book is finished, have each person tell what they think should happen in the sequel. Talk about characters that reminded you of people you know. Select who should star as that character in the movie.

• Two Words: Car Games! Find objects in alphabetical order along the road, find something that starts with a, b, c, etc.—take poetic license with x; write down words from road signs and billboards. Arrange into a poem. Or make up a story related to the billboard. Drive past an interesting town name? Make up stories about how the town got its name. Listen to music and write the next verse of the song.

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BEACH READING

• Check out a book from the library on building sand castles and head to the beach to see what you can create.

• Collect seashells, take them home, wash them, and glue them onto paper to create characters and scenes. Write a story to accompany.

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LEARNING LINKS• Immerse yourself and your child in the study of

something you’re both really interested in. Love baseball? How about reading some biographies of players? Or historical fiction that involves baseball? Or the new book Ballparks: The Story of America’s Baseball Fields. Or the Baseball Historical Fiction Mystery Series Barnstormers? So, read a variety of genre around the topic of interest.

• Interested in Science? Try some of the activities at www.yucky.discovery.com such as the revoltin’ recipes and icky experiments. Check out biographies of famous and not so famous scientists from the library or bookstore about. Read about women inventors. Read about unusual inventions.

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Learning Links• Check out the local museum websites (some are

included on the website page, or just do an internet search). Find out what the exhibits will be this summer and read up on the topic before visiting the museum.

• Get a jump start on topics in the curriculum for next year. Will your child be studying the Constitution or issues around Freedom next year? Consider a visit to the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum in downtown Chicago. http://www.freedommuseum.us/

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USE MULTIMEDIA

• Use Video and audio from the Library of Congress and www.museumca.org to activate a child’s interest in a topic.

• Often, once a child SEES videos and photos or HEARS interesting recordings that capture him, he wants to know more about the topic.

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Recommended Websites Roxanne Owens, Ph.D. , DePaul University

• www.wefli.org– Web-enhanced Family Literacy Initiative. Includes hotlinks

for literacy websites; Video and Audio Podcasts for parents and teachers (PodCramUniversity™); downloadable activity and tip sheets for parents to use with their children.

– There are two video podcasts that provide details about stages of writing development as well as an explanation of the connections between the 4 literacy processes (listening, speaking, reading, writing). These podcasts also include Frequently Asked Questions parents submitted regarding children’s literacy development. (Supporting Your Young Writer, Part I and Part II)

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WEBSITES

• www.familyeducation.com– Info about age groups, activities for families, Summer

Learning Link• www.readingrockets.org

– Info and links for summer reading projects• www.familyfun.com

– Arts, Crafts, and other summer activity suggestions• www.museumca.org/picturethis/secret/html

– Visual Literacy Activities for older kids• http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/earlit.htm

– Links to several good literacy resources

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Websites

• http://www.embracingthechild.org– Highlights books, authors, and topics

• www.justreadfamilies.org– Literacy Activities for the summer

• www.teachersandfamilies.com– Practical tips for building better readers

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WEBSITES FOR CHILDREN TO USE

• www.makingbooks.com Formats for creating various books

• www.brainpopjr.com Go to writing link• www.gigglepoetry.com Poetry website for children• www.magneticpoetry.com• www.funbrain.com Educational activities• www.starfall.com Educational activities• www.colorincolardo.org

– Bilingual site to support reading/writing development• www.meddybemps.com

– Writing activities and other learning opportunities for preschool through adult

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Websites• http://www.storylineonline.net/

– Famous people read stories to children. There are links to writing activities.

• http://www.literactive.com/Home/index.asp– Need to register, but registration is free. Has literature and

writing connection activities.• www.uptoten.com

– Activities for kids under ten• http://longwood.cs.ucf.edu/~MidLink/

– Accepts submission of student work for publication• http://www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/index2.htm

– Accept submission of student poetry

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WEBSITES with Book Recommendations

• Book Recommendations for boys: http://www.guysread.com• Book Recommendations by themes and curricular areas:• http://www.carolhurst.com• The Children’s Literature Web Guide

http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html• The Children’s Book Council http://www.cbcbooks.org• Book Recommendations by Topic

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/hot_topics.htm• General Book Recommendations www.nancykeane.com www.kidsread.com www.scholastic.com/summerreading

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ACTIVITIES Families to Adapt

• These are sites for teachers, but they have lesson plans that parents can adapt quite easily.

• http://www.education-world.com/– Links to many summer reading lists and activities

• www.atozteacherstuff.com• www.abcteach.com (Has fun border papers to print and

writing prompts)• www.sitesforteachers.com• www.teacherscorner.net• http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp

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READ READ READ READ READ!

• And finally, Read to your child. Read with your child. Read near your child. Talk to your child about what you’re reading. Talk to her about what she’s reading.

• Accept that your child may want to read a wide variety of materials, some of which you deem not challenging enough or just plain too easy for her. You can compromise.

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And most important of all…

Have a HAPPY and RELAXING SUMMER

enjoying literacy experiences together with

your child