Summer Reading Information
Strategic reading is an essential skill which students must practice in order to improve. Reading during the summer months helps combat the summer attrition of reading level, comprehension ability and even bolsters chances of successful high school completion.
To help students develop the skill of strategic reading and to assist students in not only maintaining but increasing their academic abilities, Weymouth students entering grades 9-12 are required to read two books during the summer and to fill out an assessment form with a Parent/Guardian signature for each title.
One of the books must be selected from the student's grade-level list, found below. The other may be a free choice book with parent/guardian approval.
Weymouth High School hopes that each student chooses to read more than the minimum required two books. Many of these titles are too wonderful to miss and can be borrowed from the Tufts Public Library. Furthermore, we hope that families take the time to read together and discuss these titles. You can find and reserve public library books at the Old Colony Library Network.
The assessment forms will be collected during the first two weeks of school by the student’s first period teacher. Upon successful completion of the summer reading assignment, students will be awarded a pass they may turn in to any of their teachers for credit to be determined by that teacher. Students failing to complete the assignment, or only partially completing the assignment, will not receive credit.
Students entering into Advanced Placement classes, because of summer reading requirements in their respective programs, will be exempt from this requirement. It is expected Advanced Placement students will be reading over the summer in order to prepare themselves for their rigorous Advanced Placement courses. Any summer reading done for AP courses will be evaluated and assessed by the respective AP teachers.
Students with diagnosed special needs in reading may read books or use books on tape to fulfill their requirement. Parents are encouraged to read books aloud to reluctant readers.
We hope that parents will help their sons and daughters with their selections and even read along with them to encourage discussion and provide guidance.
Happy summer reading!
Summer Reading Lists
Resources:
On Summer Loss By: John Hopkins University, Center for Summer Learning
Research demonstrates that all students experience significant learning losses in procedural and factual knowledge during the summer months.
Studies also show that the magnitude of summer learning loss varies significantly by grade level, subject matter, and family income. Most importantly, research identifies the cumulative effect of summer learning differences as a primary cause of widening in-school achievement gaps between students by family income. A recent study by Harris Cooper, professor of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri, estimates that summer loss for all students equals about one month on a grade-level equivalent scale.
For more of this article link to: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/395?theme=print
Kids Who Read Books Over the Summer Do Better in the Fall By: Debra Viadero
Having elementary school pupils read four or five books during the summer can prevent the reading achievement losses that normally occur over those months, a study suggests.
Published last month in the Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, the findings are based on surveys and test data on 1,600 students in 18 elementary schools in an unnamed suburban district in the Middle Atlantic region.
Regardless of race, socioeconomic level, or previous achievement, researcher Jimmy S. Kim found, children who read more books fared better on reading-comprehension tests in the fall than their peers who had read one or no books over the summer.
For more of this article link to: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/378?theme=print