Promoting Summer Reading

by Jack Humphrey

      Middle grades students will more likely sharpen their reading skills over the summer if the idea of summer reading is stressed during the last few weeks prior to the summer vacation. The following are suggestions for librarians, teachers, and principals to encourage summer reading:

• Contact the nearest public library to learn about summer reading opportunities.
• Have eighth graders who participated in last summer’s public library program present the benefits of participating in that program to all students, either in their classrooms or in the school library.

• Show students how to develop a summer reading plan, including a list of books to be read and dates for finishing the books.

• Have students and principal present to incoming students from elementary schools the list of books, information about summer public library programs, and the importance of reading.
• Ask the art teacher to have students produce posters promoting summer reading, and display them throughout the school.
• Provide booktalks to students for a large number of books, have them list titles and authors, and encourage them to read the books during the summer.
• Display copies of newspapers, and promote their summer use by "newspaper- talks," similar to booktalks. For example, read from various sections of the newspaper and explain how students can keep up with current events by daily reading of the newspaper, either at home or in a public library.
• In the fall, ask students to prepare a list of the books, magazines, and newspapers that they read over the summer and to share information about them with other students.