Summer reading is required of practically every student in grades K-12. In recent years, more summer reading lists have been modified to including newly-released titles and/or those that may be of higher interest to students. Just as frequently, though, we see required reading lists that contain an overwhelming number of classic titles. Now, we all know that there will be students each year who say that they hate reading. However, a more frequent complaint among my high school students is that they hate reading
because of the titles assigned to them in the summer. My question for you is this:
Is summer reading a beneficial program that ensures students are thinking critically while out of school for several months, or does it have more of a detrimental effect on students developing a lifelong love of reading and literature?
Also to think about, would the overall goal of summer reading be better served if students were allowed to choose their own titles to read over the summer (with certain guidelines, of course, such as reading level or number of pages)?
Summer reading would certainly be better for some students if they were allowed to choose their own titles. Most of those students really do not need encouragement to read though. Detrimental effect is probably a bit harsh, but it definitely does not help develop a lifelong love of reading. A majority of the students wait until the very last minute to read just enough to do whatever project goes along with the reading. That really should not be considered a way of fostering critical thinking skills. I love reading and I have always wanted my son to love it as well. I wish I could say his summer reading has helped in some way, but it has not. He only sees it as a chore.
ReplyDeleteDeanna, I would be interested to hear how summer reading is approached in your school system. Past schools that I have worked at have required students to complete assignments based on summer reading both during the summer and once they return to school (as in, on the first day of school!). I can only speak from experience with 8th graders and high school students, but many of the assignments did require them to take information read in the books and apply it in a way that I would absolutely consider critical thinking.
DeleteI believe summer reading is necessary to keep brains in "working order" during the summer. Many students (and parents) like a reading guide over the summer to have as a road map into the next year. Avid readers are going to read no matter the material so I do not think that it is detrimental to them to have specific books over the summer. Having a list to entice those reluctant readers might just "hook" them into just the right book. Those reluctant readers are a hard shell to crack with or without a summer reading list. A good teacher is going to take that summer reading list and develop wonderful reading themes throughout the school year. The books on the list just give the students a little taste of what is to come during the upcoming school year!
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteAs far as summer reading is concerned, I think a better approach would be to target specific student's reading levels in order to ensure that they can actually comprehend the assigned books. This would take a little more effort on the teachers and administration, but the reality is that we have students that are seniors in high school that are reading on a ninth grade level. Summer reading lists would be irrelevant at that point, because the students do not have the ability to assimilate the information.
Also, as far as the way the reading lists are constructed, I think it is great that newly released titles are mixed in with the more classical literature. Modern writers are constantly changing our thoughts and perception, and could help students to think in a more worldly manner. I like your idea of the students choosing titles for themselves (with appropriate guidelines of course). It would allow the student to have more control over their choice of education and therefore possibly more interested in the assignment.
Hello Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI am a firm believer in summer reading for high school students. It is a great way for students to keep their brains (somewhat) in "school-mode". I know when I was high school it also encompassed writing several analytical papers based on the novels. This requirement (as much as I disliked it at the time), I believe, helped to keep my writing skills sharpened during the summer. I also think it is great that many summer reading lists are including a few newer titles; however, I think the newer titles should be limited. There are many times (even now) that I am able to reference back to many of the classics that I read during summer reading, that I would have never read on my own (The Oedipus Cycle, 1984, A Man For All Seasons, Watership Down, and many more). I do not think that summer reading harms a student's love for reading. Students who love tor read (like myself) will continue to read after the days of summer reading are long gone. Summer reading, in my opinion, is just like any assigned homework in that some students will find a way to complain about it adversely affecting them. Thank you for sharing this great post!
I can only speak from experience as a student and parent on this topic. As a senior, I had a summer reading list that read like a list of ingredients on a box of hamburger helper. I wasn't familiar with any of the titles and only vaguely familiar with some of the authors. The topics were strange and uninteresting to me so there was no desire to dig into the readings. The only reason I completed the requirements was the fear of failing a test on my first day of my senior year! It was my LAST summer before becoming and "adult" and I had to do schoolwork?
ReplyDeleteAs a parent of a 12 year old who had a reading list the summer before 7th grade, I have to ask the question why? Why can't our kids enjoy summers without schoolwork looming over their heads? Their summers are already shorter than ours were when we were kids. If some of their summer enjoyment comes from reading, let them choose their own books!
I would say that I did not benefited at all from my summer reading and neither has my son. We work hard all year and a break from all the "required" reading helps to rejuvenate the mind!
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI am visiting your blog this week as part of Dr. Strange's EDM510-802 class. I hope you are enjoying Dr. Z in EDM510-801. That sounds like an interesting assignment you were working on. Those are good questions about summer reading. My son is in elementary school and he is allowed to pick his summer reading selections from a list of about 25 books. He is an avid reader and enjoys going to the library, selecting a book off of the list, and reading it over the summer. Great job on your post.
Feel free to visit my blog Anastasia Martin EDM 510 Blog, and see what we are up to in Dr. Strange's 802 section.
I am with Lynn on this. I think summer reading is over done. I am an English teacher and I despise summer reading. Students need time to read what they want. While I can understand that teachers need to make sure the students don't stop learning, we (as teachers) can still make it fun.
ReplyDeleteI think the main point is to keep their brains active! Reading is good, but I would rather them read something they WANT to read and do a small blog or presentation on it. No need for 5 or 6 novels! Over kill!
I believe that summer reading is extremely important. I think summer reading sets the tone for the school year. As a case in point, my students are assigned a book during the summer and are held accountable for it. Students are required to turn in a book report on the summer reading within the first two days of school. In addition, I try to choose a book that is interesting for the students. Choosing a book is really important because if the students do not like the book, they will quickly put it down.
ReplyDeleteThere has been such a good discussion based on your question. I agree that summer assigned reading is important because kids should make it a habit to read all the time. I do not think that assigned summer reading will be done unless the students are held accountable, like they are in Rease's school. I do believe that there should be a long list of books to choose from. The summer reading list that I have experienced with my children in the past years have not had enough choices on them to be interesting to all students that are forced to read from them. I think what you meant by detrimental is that students will learn to dislike reading when they are forced to read something that does not interest them. Summer is supposed to be fun and so should the summer reading. Another problem with a short list is that when you go to the local library, in our small community, the top choice books are already checked out. If there were more choices this would not be as big of a problem. In conclusion, I support summer reading and think it is a good idea if the students are given a lot of choices and also have to turn in a report on their book.
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica! I think this is a great question to ask. From my personal experience of summer reading in high school, I hated it. Every summer I had four books to read and they were all classics. My English teacher was different than most and required her students to keep a journal making comments every few pages in the book. That is probably the reason I hated it the most. I would always put it off until the last couple of weeks of summer and usually never finished all four books. If we could have read books that were popular at the time or had some kind of choice about what we read, I think it would have made it 100% better and I probably would have enjoyed it. I hope teachers do things differently these days.
ReplyDelete