Published in the South China Morning Post, June 23 as "Summer reading helps literacy"
Re: "Encourage your child to read over the summer break," June 17.
I refer to the article, "Between the lines: encourage your child to read over the summer break" (June 17).
For many students, the problem is not the "learning loss" that takes place during the summer; it is the loss in literacy development that takes place during the school year. Research consistently shows that we improve in literacy by doing large amounts of interesting reading for pleasure. This is often not possible during the school year, because of the pressure of school work and exams.
In one of our studies, we examined the case of a high-school student whose reading scores declined during the school year, but rose substantially during each summer break. It was her summer reading that was responsible for her improvement during her high-school years.
Her mother (co-author of our study) joked that it might be a good idea to keep her daughter at home during the school year in order to increase her improvement on tests of reading.
Stephen Krashen
Our study: Lin, S-Y, Shin, F., & Krashen, S. 2007. Sophia’s choice: Summer reading. Knowledge Quest 35(4). Available at: http://skrashen.blogspot.tw/2013/06/sophias-choice-summer-reading-lin-shin.html
Original article: http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1534125/between-lines-encourage-your-child-read-over-summer-break
Re: "Encourage your child to read over the summer break," June 17.
I refer to the article, "Between the lines: encourage your child to read over the summer break" (June 17).
For many students, the problem is not the "learning loss" that takes place during the summer; it is the loss in literacy development that takes place during the school year. Research consistently shows that we improve in literacy by doing large amounts of interesting reading for pleasure. This is often not possible during the school year, because of the pressure of school work and exams.
In one of our studies, we examined the case of a high-school student whose reading scores declined during the school year, but rose substantially during each summer break. It was her summer reading that was responsible for her improvement during her high-school years.
Her mother (co-author of our study) joked that it might be a good idea to keep her daughter at home during the school year in order to increase her improvement on tests of reading.
Stephen Krashen
Our study: Lin, S-Y, Shin, F., & Krashen, S. 2007. Sophia’s choice: Summer reading. Knowledge Quest 35(4). Available at: http://skrashen.blogspot.tw/2013/06/sophias-choice-summer-reading-lin-shin.html
Original article: http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1534125/between-lines-encourage-your-child-read-over-summer-break
Summer are not bad if it means advancing your children's learning skill and knowledge. School Supplies
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