Some Books Are More Equal Than Others http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/opinion/sunday/how-to-choose-summer-reading-for-students.html?_r=2 speaks to the question: How important are summer reading assignments and what should they look like?
The article stated that for newly fluent readers, usually age 8 or 9, any reading is indeed good reading. But for students in middle school and high school, reading selection does matter in terms of their acquiring both word recognition and world knowledge.
I applaud the sentiment that “allow students to explore literature in the summer as a pleasure and return to school curious about the world around them, not weary from having written about books they could not fully understand, or smug from having earned credit for an essay on a book they could have easily comprehended in fourth grade.”
The following are a few suggestions that keep literature and pleasure in the same arena
Helpful hints for Summer reading for children:
~ Give children direction in choosing books.
~ Encourage reading without use of the post-it-notes.
~ Support children reading challenging books during the summer, without the mandate to fully understand the book.
~ Encourage children to read nonfiction books that support acquiring world knowledge. Becoming excited by current events and history is the byproduct.
