When I was in school, we used to get summer projects. Some of them I disliked, and some I loved. In India, the summer is hot. I thought that the projects kept us occupied, entertained, and gave us goals to accomplish by the end of the summer. In comparison, my son gets no summer projects. Often, he forgets some of the principles taught the year before. This year, we plan to give him some math and English practice so he keeps up. It is nothing too heavy, just a few minutes every day to keep the concepts fresh in his mind.
Some research and interesting articles on the same:
http://www.reading.org/General/Publications/ReadingToday/RTY-0804-summer.aspx
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/summer/research.htm
Questions for you:
- Do you think there is a learning gap over the summer?
- What are some ways you bridge the learning gap?
- What activities work and what don't?
Please share your thoughts and ideas. Tomorrow night, we participate in a #GNO event talking about this issue. Carson Dellosa is sponsoring the discussion.
Thank you! I look forward to your answers in the comments.
——
Aparna Vashisht
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Tags: learning, summer, summer learning gap
Awesome post. I so good to see someone taking the time to share this information
worth reading
There is definitely a learning gap over the summer. Currently at NMHS, we have summer reading assignments over the summer that students are responible for in Language Arts. In September the students are assessed on these readings. I will admit that we fall short in the other content areas and this is something that we’ll have to address in the future. Another possibility is to work with parents and make them aware of vaious resources in each respective content area that students could utilize to keep sharp. Some examples can be found at the following sites:
http://delicious.com/Esheninger/student_resources
http://delicious.com/Esheninger/student_resources+student_resources_math
http://delicious.com/Esheninger/open_courseware
Thanks Eric! Those are great resources. First step is to make more parents aware of the learning gap and work with educators to develop a plan.
Learning takes time. Learning takes practice. No time given, no practice, no learning.
Yes, there is a learning gap over the summer. Every teacher I know spends much of September re-teaching skills that were taught the year before.
My son’s first grade teacher had backpacks of science, math or other subject-based activities for kids to take home over weekends or school breaks. Other teachers have him reading lists or, since math was his weak subject, fun math activities to do at home or in the community. It took a while, but his math improved.
For activities to work they must be engaging, different from normal school work (no worksheets!!) and greatly encouraged, not exactly optional but not exactly required, either.
Thank you Deven! Those are great ideas. I agree, the extra activities need to be different than normal school work.
Thanks Jerry! cool resources on your summer page.
I always felt that there was a learning gap during summer. I feel that parents should incorporate fun learning experiences for their children. We used to have E & E Weekends. One day was for Education and the other Entertainment. Many times the Entertainment was educational. Trips to historical sites, museums and libraries are some ways to keep the educational fires burning. Participating in local library reading programs is a great way for children to read more.
Summer page:http://cybraryman.com/summer.html
Summer School page: http://cybraryman.com/summerschool.html