My Experience with Summer Reading as a Student
I’ll never forget my first summer reading assignment. Up until my junior year of high school, I went to school online. I begged my parents to let me go to a real school, and I got enrolled at a local charter school. Then I received my summer reading assignment. Now, I have always loved reading. Ever since I figured out how to do it, I would read anything that stood still long enough. During the summer when my brother was outside riding his bike or playing basketball I would always be up in my room, curled up in a big armchair, reading a book. I probably read 30 books each summer. So at first, I was excited to read Ethan Frome, the Junior summer reading text. That’s when I discovered the truth about summer reading.
You see, I procrastinated all summer reading that book. It sat on my nightstand until the week before school started, and I only picked it up because of my growing anxiety about it. Then, I wrote the assigned essay. When I got to school the VERY first thing we did was discuss the novel. As the teacher asked question after question, my confidence in my understanding of the novel drained. I wanted to cry because I realized that even though I had understood the story, I did not have the answers my teacher was looking for. I received a D on that essay, and it affected my grade in that class for the semester. More importantly, it affected my belief in myself.
Now, I did grow up to be a Language Arts teacher, so things turned out all right for me in the end. But I was a skilled reader, an independent reader, an avid reader. I didn’t have a job, other than babysitting duties and theatre camp (oh yeah, I was that kid) and my parents were able to purchase the book for me.
A staggering number of our students do not have those luxuries.
My Experience with Summer Reading as a Teacher
My second teaching assignment in my career was in a small town in Massachusetts. I got hired about a week before school started, and learned about the summer reading only a couple of days before kids came back. Every high school student was to read One of Us is Lying, which is a highly engaging young adult novel. The plan was to jigsaw some nonfiction articles about lying and then have students write an in-class essay about lying as a writing benchmark and the first grade in our gradebook.
I asked my students “How many of you have finished the summer reading book?” Of my 100 students, maybe 5 had read it. So, I postponed my essay until later in the week, showed a book trailer, read the first few chapters as a class, and even took the time to make a murder mystery game so that students would have all of the basic pieces of the novel.
That weekend, I ended up grading 100 essays on a novel that just about no one (but me) had read. It was miserable, to say the least.
As I discovered throughout that school year, there were many legitimate reasons why students did not do the reading:
- Don’t have access to books at home
- Didn’t like reading, especially a novel about a pretty superficial topic
- Had a summer job and other family duties leaving them with little time to read
- Were not independent readers
- Had parents who couldn’t or weren’t sure how to support them
- Were not living in a safe environment or didn’t have a place to read
These issues affect students experiencing poverty the most, and these days that’s a larger and larger portion of our kiddos. It was then that I really started to question this practice. Let me dive into some of the sad truths about summer reading, and what we as teachers and school leaders can do to make it work for ALL students.
The Ugly Truth
1. Not every student is an independent reader ( even in the secondary grades)
So many of the students I work with are reading below grade level. They lack the grit and the active reading skills required to tackle a text, and often with assigned reading little support or scaffolding is provided to students. Parents may be around to help and are capable of doing it. Other parents might not have the skills themselves to support their student. Even more parents might not even know their student has student reading, or not have time to check up on their student’s progress.
2. Many students don’t have time to read or access to books
So many students, especially students experiencing poverty, don’t have time to read. My students often work multiple summer jobs to help their families pay rent. They are caring for younger siblings while their parents work. If they have moved around a lot, they may not have ever had many books in their home. They might not know how to get a library card or they can’t get to the library. These circumstances are all outside of a student’s control, even if they WANT to do the reading.
3. It forces students to read ( and how many kids love doing things they are forced to do?)
I LOVE reading, in case that wasn’t clear. But Ethan Frome? Edith Wharton’s a great writer, but the last thing I wanted to read about on summer break was a story about a depressed couple who failed to complete a suicide attempt in the middle of winter ( spoilers, sorry). The following year, I was assigned Atlas Shrugged. Yikes. The point is, I read a multitude of books that I actually enjoyed – from Lord of The Rings to The Kite Runner to a biography on Jackie Kennedy. Who is motivated to do reading they are being FORCED to do, with little accountability until school starts again? Even if students do complete the reading, what quality of reading are they doing? Likely not the depth to which they would read with teacher supports during the school year.
4. It doesn’t give kids a break.
As teachers, we NEED those breaks. Summer vacation is a time to relax, recharge, unplug, spend time on our hobbies, explore new places, sleep in… Don’t kids deserve the same break?
5.Assigning a Grade for Summer Reading Sets Students Up to Fail
Assigning a grade for student reading starts a lot of students off with a grade deficit. Imagine having a D or an F right out of the gate, just because you didn’t read a book (for any of the reasons listed above) or understand what your teacher wanted you to? Even if students can read the text they, like Student-Luci, may not be able to demonstrate mastery on the assigned task. When students feel like a failure already on the first day of school, they shut down quickly. Contrary to popular belief, having a giant potential F looming over them does not actually motivate students to engage with work.
Fixes for a Successful Summer Reading Program
Just to be clear, I am NOT advocating for getting rid of summer reading entirely! Reading, especially at the early ages, is critical for development. I am, however, advocating that we don’t force it on students and then provide little support for them to do it. This practice benefits students with resources and penalizes students without. Here are some ways we can cultivate a successful equitable summer reading program:
1. Offer student choice, and talk about summer reading extensively before the end of the year
Instead of telling students what to read, offer a range of choices. Talk about them in class and let students choose what interests them. Or you could host a Book Speed Dating Event! Make sure each student can check out the book – whether from the school library, your classroom novels, or the public library.
2. Create a summer reading challenge
Give students punch cards or a graphic organizer where they can record the books they read ( maybe they take a short quiz on each book or answer a question to prove they read it. Offer a drawing upon the return to school for prizes.
3. Make the task asked of students at the beginning of the year an achievable one, even if students didn’t read the book
The following year, we crafted an essay prompt that centered around the importance of characters to reveal a theme. Students could use any text they’d read OR, if they hadn’t , a movie they had seen.
4. Gift students a book you chose for them
This one is tough, and I don’t advocate for teachers spending money out of their own pockets. However, seeking donations from local used bookstores and the library, or even taking a small budget to thrift stores can provide you with enough books to select one for each of your students. You can write a short note or verbally tell them why you chose it for them. Many students, believe it or not, have very few to zero books of their own.
5. Provide scaffolding resources for students and parents
Offering scaffolded resources like a reading guide, comprehension questions, audiobooks, related videos, etc. can support students and also show parents how they can help out at home. Depending on your community, you might hold a summer reading informational meeting for parents.
6. Host events throughout the summer to support literacy
I know the last thing we want to do as teachers is have extra work over the summer. But one or two events, like a Poetry Night, Family Bingo, or Book Swap Meet get the whole community involved and are a great way to engage with students and their families.
7. Encourage students to explore their interests instead of (or in addition to) reading
There are so many wonderful summer opportunities for students. Of course there are all kinds of STEM, theater, sports, etc. camps. Many organizations also offer virtual opportunities and libraries always have fun stuff going on! If your department does some research, you can set students up with some great opportunities where they will get to explore their interests and gain valuable non-school experiences.
8. Partner with your local library or small businesses
Millennials will remember those awesome Pizza Hut coupons you could earn from reading books. A local arcade in my hometown offered a $5 bag of game coins for students who turned in a summer reading punch card. Most libraries offer programs like this, too! Explore potential partnerships that incentivize summer reading.
In Conclusion…
Establishing a successful summer reading program takes time. It’s not going to happen overnight by any means. But I hope that this gives you some ideas on how we can make summer reading more equitable and meaningful for our students.
How does your school handle summer reading?
