I just read this article and I want to share it with everyone who cares about children and their success.
One Equally Effective but Lower-Cost Option to Summer School by
Richard L. Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen demonstrates the importance of children reading during the summer. That's it. If kids read self-selected books during the summer they don't lose ground.
"...children from low-income families reliably lose reading skills every summer
while middle-class children actually gain a bit between June and September!...
- Reading growth did not differ between the two groups (rich and poor
children) during the school year.
- By ninth grade, however, the reading achievement gap was about three years
wide (ninth vs. sixth grade).
- Most of the reading achievement gap at ninth grade was due to the
differential effects of summer vacation on children from families with different
levels of wealth".
"Just improving poor children’s access to books they can read and want to read
may seem too simple an idea for improving reading achievement. But the evidence
is clear. When children from low-income families are given the opportunity to
select books for summer reading they will read those books during the summer
months."
On April 24th, we kicked off our first ever Poem in Your Pocket Day.
Prior to this day...
- All kindergartners practiced reciting/reading popular nursery rhymes and chose one to carry.
- First graders chose a poem with which they were already familiar to carry in their pockets.
- Students in grades 2-5 either copied a poem from a poetry book or wrote an original poem to carry.
On the big day...
- All the bus drivers recited a poem about a school bus to all the students upon arriving at school.
- First graders visited kindergarten classrooms to recite their poems.
- In music, first graders set their poems to rhythm with percussion instruments.
- Students who visit the resource room, wrote original haiku.
- "The parents/family members in the Family Room made poems about ice cream and positive ways to tell your child they are loved."
- At least one student memorized her poem to recite to the class.
- Poems were read amongst friends, recited to classes, and traded.
I heard rumors of "flash mob" poem recitations and poems being read in the lunchroom.
I'd say for a first ever event, Poem-in-your-Pocket Day was a huge success.
