Have you ever been bored during summer? Do you ever find yourself looking on Google for activities to do in summer? Reading might be the solution to your problems. Statistics show that over 60% of Edison Intermediate School students do not read for leisure in the summertime. However, reading is scientifically proven to be relaxing and beneficial for people of all ages.
Students that frequently read in the summer do not suffer from the “summer slide.” The summer slide is the loss of academic skills over long breaks. Research shows that 78% of students are affected by the summer slide. This includes two months of reading skills and two and a half months of math skills lost.
Many students do not read in the summer and refuse to do it when their parents and teachers request them to. But, many students agree that they dislike reading because their teachers urge them to. Eighth grade student Maya Greenberg stated, “Teachers telling me to read makes me much more unmotivated. But when my friends tell me to read certain books it makes me want to read.”
Roughly 37% of sixth graders, 23% of seventh graders and 69% of eighth graders read outside of school. This shows that as you grow up and gain new hobbies reading becomes more common in students. Most adults and teachers read frequently because they know the positive effects that it has! Statistics show that reading reduces stress very heavily (Piedmont Healthcare).
Language Arts teachers tend to read more than other teachers so they can recommend books to their students and add young adult books to the curriculum. EIS teachers don’t usually assign summer reading, but many honor class teachers do. Teachers have different opinions about whether assigning reading is motivating or not. Sixth and eighth grade Language Arts teacher Mrs. Ciampa stated, “Requiring students to read over is less desiring for them, but if you give them recommendations or set them a goal they could feel more motivated to read.”
If you would like book recommendations for the summer, you can check out this link for the latest young adult novels of 2024. If you want a list of classics that every teen should read, go to this link.
