School’s Out…Now What? 5 Fresh Ideas to Fight Summer Learning Loss

With 76% of teachers saying it’s “extremely important” to keep learning going over the summer months and 75% of parents wishing educators would tell them more about summer learning loss and how to prevent it, efforts to curb the summertime learning slump are rapidly abounding.

In response, we’ve compiled 5 activities you can share with your student’s parents.

1. Encourage students to create short presentations on their experiences at summer camp, on a family vacation, or simply as a way to summarize anything exciting that may have happened the week before.  Encourage students to use Microsoft PowerPoint or a simple Paint program on their home computer to help them tell their stories. Encourage students to share their pictures or present their experiences to their parents using images and text together.
2. Create an at-home Movie Book Club by making a list of books that have been turned into movies. Once students have read the book, have them watch the movie version. Encourage students to write and/or present a short review that compares the movie to the book. Once again, encourage students to illustrate their comparisons by incorporating computer graphics or having them create a poster using craft supplies. Examples of books that have been adapted to screenplays include: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, How to Train Your Dragon, Charlotte’s Web, The Princess Diaries, and the Count of Monte Cristo.
3. Have students create charts and graphs to represent and record simple tasks. Students can create their own chore chart to track their summertime chores and earnings using either a basic computer program or traditional craft supplies. Alternatively, students can be encouraged to create a basic chart or graph to record the weather over the course of a month, or any other small scale surveys or observations that can be cataloged in chart or graph form. Having students take the extra step of illustrating their charts with the use of images or creative elements helps students visualize and engage with their research and findings on a deeper level.
4. Create a Library Scavenger Hunt to help student practice their research skills while also discovering new books. Come up with a list of questions, such as “What is the age of our solar system?” or use more broad questions such as, “Find a joke that will make me laugh” and have students search through their local library or book store to find the answers to the scavenger hunt questions. Have students keep track of all the books they used and go over their findings once the scavenger hunt is complete. Students are likely to discover new books they will want to check out.
5. Encourage students to practice their French or second language skills by asking them to write grocery lists in their second language. If students aren’t familiar with the translated term for particular grocery list items, encourage them to search for the term in a French-English dictionary. Encourage students to take note of the French labels on their favorite snack products so they can begin to learn and discover new French words and translations for items they are familiar with in their native language.

What are some of the activities you recommend to help combat the summertime learning slump? Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and/or LinkedIn to share your insights!