Supplemental Summer Literacy Instruction: Implications for Preventing Summer Reading Loss

Summer reading loss is a prevalent problem that occurs primarily for students who are not exposed to or encouraged to read at home or in summer programs when school is out. This problem prevails among early readers from low-income backgrounds. This study provided 31 six and seven-year-old children with a structured guided reading program through an existing community summer program (e.g., YMCA). Specifically, camp counselors were trained to deliver scripted guided reading instruction daily in ability groups consistent with student age. Researchers were able to establish the need for reading instruction to, at minimum, prevent summer reading loss by administering the Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) prior to intervention. Further, weekly oral reading fluency assessments were completed for all participants throughout the 9-week reading program. Results suggest that both six and seven-year-old children performed consistently across the summer program, without any summer reading loss measured. The implications for practitioners and researchers from this simple, efficient summer reading program are discussed.