By Kristen LeFevers
Students at four schools received some new, special books to enjoy over the summer while they are away from the classroom.
This year, Read Aloud West Virginia offered its Summer Book Binge to schools in Greenbrier, Jackson, and Kanawha counties. The program is based on a Tennessee study showing that giving children about half a dozen freely chosen, high-interest books prevents summer learning loss better than summer school.
In Greenbrier County, Crichton Elementary students from preschool through fifth grade browsed a sample set of books this spring. Teachers were encouraged to help students find books they would enjoy. Students were able to hold and examine the books before filling out their order forms.
Students received their books at a Memorial Day assembly after a ceremony to honor students’ accomplishments and local veterans.
“It was a moving and reverent ceremony recognizing veterans in the Quinwood community,” said Read Aloud Executive Director Dawn Miller. “The parents’ and grandparents’ presence really shows students that the time they spend reading is important and valued. And it is always good for adults to be reminded what an important influence they are.”
Students walked up one at a time and received a blue Read Aloud tote bag containing their specially chosen books, each plated with the child’s name, an important feature of the project stressing book ownership.
The process was repeated in other schools. In Jackson County that same week, the Jackson County Community Foundation, which funded the project, dressed the Gilmore Elementary School assembly room with festive beach accessories, highlighting the fun, buoyant atmosphere of summer reading.
Jackson County Community Foundation Executive Director Misty Hamon put together a colorful balloon arch for students to walk through as their names were called to receive their personalized Read Aloud book bags.
About 150 third- through fifth-graders at Gilmore and Cottageville Elementary, like their peers in the other counties, browsed sample books ahead of time and chose six books they wanted for the summer, then walked up one at a time to receive their special order.
“We’ve had so much support from the Community Foundation,” said Read Aloud of Jackson County Chapter President Janet McCauley.
“The Foundation really made this book distribution into a special event for these kids,” Miller added, “exactly the message kids need to get from the adults around them.”
“‘I got all the books I wanted!’” McCauley recalled hearing more than one student say. “The kids were so excited and pleased to get their books. It was so, so personalized for them. If they choose their own books, they’re more likely to read them.”
The summer reading fun didn’t stop there, however.
“The state office [Read Aloud West Virginia] are very frugal and are able to order some of their books from their distributors for cheaper than they expected, and get extra copies,” McCauley shared. In this instance, that frugality led to “leftovers,” or extra copies that McCauley was able to present at other schools throughout Jackson County.
“All of the leftover books have been distributed in the county,” McCauley said. “I guess you could call it a book tasting or a mini book binge.”
McCauley distributed the leftover copies at elementary schools in Fairplain, Evans, Kenna, and Ripley. Students were able to pick three books of their own.
“Read Aloud is so good at stretching their money, and other students were able to benefit from the leftovers,” McCauley said.
At Chesapeake Elementary School in Kanawha County, preschoolers through fifth grade followed a similar process, thanks to a grant from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation. At an assembly at the end of the school year, students applauded each child as their name was called to receive their books. That distribution is part of a larger project with Chesapeake that will include another book give away in the fall.
By preventing summer learning loss, Read Aloud helps students to succeed in school and throughout life. Researchers have documented that children who are not exposed to enjoyable books and other summer learning opportunities will lose reading skill during the summer. They gain again when they go back to school, but over time these losses accumulate, so that by 12th grade, children can be a year or more behind their peers and their potential in reading skill, which affects everything else – including school and job prospects.
Giving children books that they are motivated to read during the summer prevents this summer learning loss. As children spend time with books, they practice skills they learned in school. They also build vocabulary and background knowledge, an important ingredient in reading comprehension at any age. They also discover that they enjoy it.
Read Aloud’s first Summer Book Binge was held at Crichton Elementary School in 2016, and within two years, reading scores there rose noticeably, exactly as the Tennessee research predicted.
Read Aloud West Virginia will be looking for opportunities to introduce the Summer Book Binge into other schools across the state in the coming year.
Kristen LeFevers is a graduate of Marshall University and lives in Huntington.