10 Tips For Promoting Your Summer Reading Program

We recently had the chance to chat with Christina Dorr about her suggestions for helping students stay engaged with reading during the summer. Check out her tips below and download the infographic here: 10 Tips For Promoting Your Summer Reading Program.  

It’s summertime, and the reading should be easy!  That’s right easy, not heavy, not burdensome, but fun!  And what’s fun for one reader, sure isn’t the same for the next.  With extra time, no assignments, and plenty of freedom, kids and teens should be able to delve into whatever interests them and help cement a reading habit.  Whether kids are into sports, are away at camp, picking up a summer job, sleeping late, volunteering, vacationing, listening to music, playing with friends, traveling, whatever, summer should be a time to tap into passions.  And that includes developing some passions for reading.

We have a right to worry about the summer reading slump, Will students backslide if they don’t keep up with their reading during the summer? How this will affect students’ return to school in the fall? How will librarians and teachers handle the catch-up time it takes to get kids and teens back on the academic path? The best way to address these concerns is to encourage free, voluminous reading on any topic, in any genre, at  any reading level over the summer. It should be without the baggage of recommended reading lists, follow-up activities, or overly structured guidance beyond recommending books that you know your readers will love. If you doubt me, check out researcher Stephen Krashen’s writing on free choice and free reading time or Donalyn Miller’s work on recommending titles.

Here’s a few guidelines I’ve found that work over the years:

·   Summer check out. Either lend a number of books to students at the beginning of the summer, or open the library periodically for student visits. Be sure to talk with you administrator about securing access to the building before you plan on this one. I’ve done this at one school with a high percentage of low socioeconomic kids with great results in enthusiasm, and with the added boost of a rise in reading scores from the end of one school year to the beginning of the next. If you try either, be sure to advertise well!

·   Mix it up! Book lists of all subjects, genre, format, and reading level should be made available during the summer. Too often we assume that, when given the choice, kids will only select fiction titles.y. But I’ve had students who were fascinated with the Holocaust, or wanted to learn to play the drums, or would read anything in a graphic format. And reading levels vary widely, so be sure to include plenty of variety! !

·   Clubs and discussion groups. The first year I was a middle school librarian, I was overseeing our book club’s last meeting of the year when one of the members asked,“Well, aren’t we going to continue over the summer?!” To which I replied, “ Of course we are!” And the local branch of the public library became the location for our summer meetings.  If you can’t arrange a face-to-face club, do it virtually via a blog or online chat. I’ve found sometimes one way works better than the other, just depending on participants.

·   Use your resources! Tap into the services of the public library and other organizations.  Of course, the public library holds reading clubs, contests, programming, incentives, etc. and you should absolutely encourage students to participate. My local library also offers volunteer opportunities for tweens and teens. Many of my students take advantage of this. But don’t stop with the public library; tap into programming and services from museums, zoos, parks, conservatories, YMC’s, theaters, or whatever community outlets feed the passions of your students. Find out what opportunities they offer kids, as well as what materials (including book lists) they can share with you to offer your  your students. You never know what will light a fire for a child.

·   Giveaways. I often attend workshops and conferences that provide advance readers’ copies of books, and I bring extra bags (and even suitcases) to load up and bring back to school. Sometimes I give them away as part of special events, sometimes I give specific titles to kids I know would love (or need) them, and other books I save as a just-before-summer treat. And don’t forget to offer kids weeded books.  Funny how books that have been available to kids all year, that they could have checked out anytime, suddenly become gems when they are repurposed as giveaways.

·   Make the most of technology. Encourage students to take advantage of audiobooks and interactive books.  Yes, this does count as reading! And electronic publications are often especially enticing to reluctant readers, who are frequently struggling readers, as well. They are low-pressure, high-support formats that are easy to get pulled into.

·   Optimize downtime. Make kids aware of the opportunities to squeeze in some reading during the summer that they may not have thought of.  I often hear kids say, “I won’t have time to read this summer. I’m going to (fill-in the blank).” Remind them that travel includes lots of downtime that a book perfectly complements. Or that soccer practice comes with waiting time between games that could be spent sharpening their skills through a book about soccer. Or that time on the beach is the perfect opportunity to get a tan and devour a juicy novel. There are so many moments that a great book of their choice fits into.

·   Connect with authors.  We’ve had an awesome year filled with nine author visits (only one was planned and the other morphed into opportunities for us). Before the end of the school year, connect kids to authors through video clips of their favorite writers  talking about their books; give kids authors’ Instagram or Twitter information; check out local author visits and encourage participation. When they feel connected to an author, they’ll wait eagerly for their next book to come out and want to read it.

·   Be open and available. Share your summer reading plans. Kids are interested in who you are, what you do, what your passions are, and what you love to read. Share it with them!  Recommend your personal favorites. Let them know what you plan to read this summer and when you plan to slip in that reading time. They will listen and remember.

·   Keep it fun! Summer reading should be enjoyable, just like everything else about summer! Keep it light, keep it free-choice, provide students with resources and opportunities. You may be surprised what grows!

It’s natural to feel concerned that students will fall behind with their reading during the summer months. But by encouraging them to explore their interests and passions, and by giving them opportunities to select the titles that draw them in the most, you can keep them flipping the pages all summer long!