Summer Reading Red Flags

If you and your child are working through a summer reading program, it is such a great opportunity for you as a parent to take stock of their learning skills. Are they reading on level, remembering what they read, and (most important) having fun doing it? If any of these areas are lagging this summer, it may be time to take action to help them catch up.

The benefits of reading for fun (instead of just for school) are far-reaching. Studies show that kids who read for fun have stronger language skills even through adulthood. Plus, they have more vivid imaginations, increased concentration, and stronger cognitive abilities than peers who do not read for pleasure.

Particularly for summer reading, kids who participate in a summer reading program score higher on reading achievement tests all year long than kids who do not read during school breaks.

So as a parent, what summer reading red flags should you be watching for?

#1: They Fight Reading

A lack of motivation for reading is very common among kids of all ages. Reading has become synonymous with school, and for many kids who aren’t strong, it also brings up feelings of stress. If getting your child to even do summer reading is a fight, it could be because:

• It is just hard and they need to build endurance to try hard things and stay focused
• They are struggling with the basics of decoding words, so there is no “fun” or meaning from what they’re reading
• The books themselves are too abstract; they have no prior knowledge to relate them to in order to create mental images and connections with the texts
• There is a lack of comprehension that keeps them from fully experiencing the story

There are lots of unique possibilities, but summer is a great time to try to pinpoint why your child is so resistant to pleasure reading. If you want some help narrowing it down, our brain skills assessment can give an inside look into the way their brain works. It’ll reveal any weak areas that may be causing disconnects when it comes to reading.

#2: They Don’t Remember What They Read

Does your child ever come to you saying they finished a book and, when you ask them what it was about, just give general answers or even just shrug?

Low comprehension skills in kids can make reading much harder and more burdensome than it needs to be. And this red flag area causes more stress and frustration down the road in school as kids are required to “read to learn” instead of “learn to read.”

Training comprehension skills by strengthening imagination, visualization, auditory processing, and long-term memory can help your kids become more confident readers (for fun or school)!

#3: They Frequently Ask for Help on the Same Words

Does your child ask for your help on a word, then a few minutes (or days) later come back with the exact same question? This is a sign that their memory “bucket” may be springing a leak!

Kids who need to be told things multiple times for it to stick often struggle with reading. They figure out a word, but then they need to do the hard work of figuring it out every single time it re-appears.

Strengthening cognitive skills goes a LONG way for helping kids become more confident at recognizing words, or figuring them out more quickly if they do get stuck!

#4: They Struggle to Decode Unfamiliar Words

If your child gets to a word they don’t know, what do they do? Stop and struggle? Skip it? Ask for help? Developing strategies to attack unfamiliar words is a critical reading skill that many kids struggle with.

In our ReadRx training program, we get back to the basics of sounds and codes, gradually building in complexity to help kids of all ages become more confident in their decoding skills. Kids often improve greatly in their ability to accurately read unfamiliar words, as well as recognize common patterns or spellings!

#5: They Don’t “Experience” the Story Beyond the Words on the Page

The ability to take what you read and connect it to life experiences, movies, other books, and prior knowledge takes a lot of brain power. But for kids, this is an essential skill if we are going to help them build a love for reading! No one likes to just scan dry words on a page. Instead, books should transform into an experience where they feel like they are part of the story and can imagine the settings and characters.

If your child doesn’t do this—if reading is simply words on a page for them—helping build their imagination and visual processing can go a long way. Work with your child to create mental images to help bring stories to life, and expose them to as many experiences as possible so they have more to draw from!

Do You Have a Plan if They Continue to Struggle?

Reading struggles often don’t just go away. In fact, most kids develop a greater skill gap the longer they have to wait to receive interventions. If you’re noticing some of these red flags this summer, there’s a good chance these struggles may hold them back from success in the school year ahead.

Give us a call today, and we’d love to help you create a plan to make sure your child is set up to succeed in reading and learning!