We asked you last summer to stay tuned for big news from RIF, and we’re ready to share. Thanks to a U.S. Department of Education Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant in 2012, we began the RIF Read for Success research study to test a model aimed at reducing summer reading loss in children from economically disadvantaged communities. The results made us cheer!

The Problem

Most of us cannot imagine a world without books, without bedtime stories or nursery rhymes, without that wonderful sensation of being read to or reading to others. But study after study confirms that the very memories so many of us hold dear are not typical for millions of Americans. In fact, it’s just the opposite—reading ability, reading materials, reading motivation, and subsequent achievement in school and beyond boils down to harsh economics: For children and families from impoverished communities, two out of three have no books in the home. With 16 million children living in poverty in the United States, too many young Americans are growing up without the basic tools to achieve literacy levels that provide the foundation for future success. Every day, 8,000 students drop out of high school, and nearly half of the adults in our country read at or below a basic level needed to complete everyday activities. Children who don’t learn to read well become adults who can’t read well, and who can’t fully contribute to society.

Beyond the sheer economic impact of low literacy levels, thousands of children each year are missing out on everything that comes with reading well—dreaming big, feeling confident, and achieving more.

Over the summer months, all students are at risk of losing some of what they learned during the school year. When school is in session, all children learn, even if not to the same levels; they all have access to teachers, books, and learning resources. But when school lets out for the summer, poorer children don’t have access to those resources. They don’t go on field trips to the museum or zoo; they don’t go to summer camp or the beach or the mountains; they are not likely to have the very basic materials at home that would support their learning. While they may learn as well as their peers during the school year, the amount of learning they lose over the summer can put them three years behind their peers at the end of fifth grade, and four years behind at the end of high school.

Our Findings

Research tells us that, on average, more than 80% of students from economically disadvantaged communities lose reading skills over the summer. In our study, while our goal was to cut that reading loss in half, to 40%, we actually saw students in our program make significant gains in reading!

On average, 57% of students in the program improved their reading proficiency over the summer – instead of 80% of children showing loss.

Nearly half of third graders made gains! Third grade is commonly known as the time when students move from learning to read into reading to learn. This means that young readers who haven’t mastered reading by the end of third grade are increasingly likely to be lost in more difficult content and vocabulary in the years that follow, as classwork on reading and writing about friends and pets changes to complicated subjects in biology, chemistry, U.S. history, algebra. Not having the skills to rise to the challenge is a factor for many among the 8,000 high schoolers who drop out each day.

Students who began with the lowest reading proficiency made the greatest gains, even those performing below the 10^th percentile.

Strong readers improved, too. Read for Success works for children at all levels!

Some students also improved in science and math. Though our study did not track state tests in our 41 school systems, some schools told us that their students showed improvements in science and math assessments. When asked why, school officials said that they attributed those gains to RIF, to our lots and lots and lots of books and enrichment opportunities.

How Did We Do It?

We launched a research study in 2012 to see how schools and communities in some of the poorest, and often most rural, parts of the country could address summer learning loss. As part of the study, we distributed over 760,000 books to 33,000 children from 173 schools across 16 states. The program included science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) themed books for classrooms and media centers, as well as books for children to select and keep for themselves. We also provided training for teachers on how to use the classroom books to support their lessons, and gave special resources to parents to help them support their children at home. Finally, every school was given funds to use for further enrichment: hosting an author, bringing a traveling planetarium or zoo to the area, growing and harvesting a school garden, and other amazing projects – sometimes suggested by the students themselves! Learn more about the model here.

What’s Next?

Access to high-quality books

Giving children access to high-quality books that they can choose on their own is a critical part of our model. Children who choose books that interest them and that are on their own level are more motivated and empowered to read and learn even more! In our study, new books in the classroom and media center collections allowed teachers to integrate and connect different topics or subject areas (like history, math, and science) through stories and wonderful illustrations and photographs suited to elementary school children. These books allowed teachers to apply the concepts that children had learned in their curriculum. For example, in one second grade classroom, students reading about Rachel Carson, the founder of the environmental movement, wondered how old she would be today. Reading a book about her sparked their curiosity and led them on a mathematical journey. That day, the students learned how to do multiple-digit subtraction, even though, as one little girl told me on my visit, “We’re not old enough to do that but we figured it out.”

Teaching through texts

Not only are the books included centered on STEAM themes, most are characterized as informational texts, supporting other school subjects like history or science, and largely non-fiction. These kinds of books set the stage for the areas of learning that students will encounter in third grade, when they switch from learning to read to reading to learn. Doing certain activities, like the ones we create for our Multicultural Book Collection each year, can extend and reinforce learning beyond the book into all kinds of subjects. Children learn by doing, and these activities provide opportunities to do just that.

Schools can use RIF Read for Success

Some schools in our program have found funding to continue the program or have looked for their own ways to extend our model as far as possible. In Pamlico County, North Carolina, for example, Superintendent Wanda Dawson enlisted the entire community to ensure every student from kindergarten to fifth grade would receive books to take home over the summer. Other schools are using Title I money to provide books for family time.

We need to do more research

While this study has shown great results, we still have questions to answer. As always, we will be digging deeper to find out more about the best ways to help children with books. And we promise we’ll keep you updated.

One last thought!

Our RIF staff, including the expert advisors and training team, all feel that some of the best work we have ever done has been in the implementation of this study. The children, families, teachers, and staff of the 173 schools have been delightful to work with and a pleasure to serve. We are so grateful that the U.S. Department of Education, through its Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant, has allowed us the wonderful opportunity to add to the body of knowledge about summer learning loss, and we all feel fortunate to have been a part of this endeavor.

Andrea Beaty is a computer scientist/technical writer turned author of books for children, whose books Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer have been on the New York Times Best Sellers list for over six months.

On this visit, we brought Andrea to three elementary schools to speak with 1500 RIF kids about science, math, engineering, American history, and books! We were also joined by Senator Richard Burr’s district representative Janet Bradbury and the Fort Bragg Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Emily Marsh.

If you don’t know these books yet, you owe it to yourself and the children in your life to check them out or add to your personal family library!

Thanks again, Andrea!

This summer, we partnered with 21 Boys and Girls Clubs in Delaware for an eight-week summer reading program serving 1,515 children!

Through a research project, we were able to donate 8,800 books and activities. A Summer Reading Kick-Off featured parent and community volunteers to read with and to children, with Sallie Mae volunteers reading to children during the week-long kick off from May 12 to May 16. These pictures were taken at the Dagsboro Boys and Girls Club back-to-school RIF celebration, featuring Betty Harmon’s team of 250 kids from Rehoboth Beach, Oak Orchard, Georgetown, and Dagsboro clubs. Each child received a RIF bag, a t-shirt, and, of course, BOOKS!

Anthony Boswell, Chief Operating Officer of Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware noted, “Research clearly indicates that when kids don’t read appropriately leveled books over the summer months, they can lose comprehension skills. I am excited that we can help our kids improve their reading. This is one of the best things we can do to improve their future opportunities.”

Because children often associate reading with school and work, a major goal was to encourage the children to enjoy reading, and to spark an interest the information within the covers of a book. Parents, very supportive from the beginning, were eager for this kind of addition to the Boys and Girls Club programming!

Who says science is boring?

Certainly not the elementary school children we are working with across the country through our Summer Reading Success Program, funded by an Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. In our program, as well as in the annual book collection that we started in 2007 with Macy’s support, we have focused our efforts on identifying ways in which science, technology, engineering, the arts, mathematics (STEAM), and other content areas can be introduced through books for children. After listening to teachers and parents and studying the research on reading with and to children, we have embraced three basic tenets about literacy and learning:

• Literacy — reading and writing — is a vehicle for any content teachers and parents want to teach.
• Content knowledge, with its specific vocabulary, needs to be taught and re-taught in a context.
• Most children are fascinated from birth by the world around them.

Why not?

Why not take what we know about literacy, STEAM topics, children’s learning, summer learning loss, and recent research on the critical need for access to interesting books and choice in reading and apply it?  Why not take advantage of young children’s natural curiosity and excitement about their environment and identify books that lend themselves to STEAM-related activities that teachers and parents can do with their children? Why not provide students, parents, classrooms, and teachers with good and interesting books that reinforce these concepts in developmentally-appropriate ways, with opportunities for doing and observing? STEAM content knowledge and vocabulary are critical to build a foundation for success later in school. What better way than to introduce them through lots of good books?

What we’re doing

Through Summer Reading Success, we are working with teachers and students in 173 schools in 41 school systems across 16 states.

Over the past two years, we have distributed 762,080 books to over 3,000 classrooms and 33,000 children in a research project focused on stopping summer learning loss for children in areas of high poverty. Our annual classroom book collections of 40 carefully reviewed and selected titles, paired with activities for teachers, parents, and volunteers, connect to the classroom curriculum and help teachers extend and support learning in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. At the end of the school year, schools hold a Summer Reading Kick-off event during which participating second, third, and fourth graders choose eight paperbacks out of a broad selection of STEAM-themed books matched to their reading levels. Children have the opportunity to select the books that interest them, and then keep those books to read and share at home.

How it’s going

“We’re watching the migration patterns of whales. Did you know you can track them? And you can figure out how many miles they travel and then mark that on a map? Want to watch, Dr. Judy?”

This was my welcome from second graders in a place so rural that neither my cell phone nor my GPS could get service. These children were using the books and materials RIF had supplied to their teacher – and they wanted to tell me about it from the second I walked through the door.

Children and families in the 173 schools in our Summer Reading Success program are finding creative ways to combat summer learning loss. Research tells us that children can lose one to three months of reading ability over the summer, which can add up to four years of loss by the time a student graduates from high school. We’re working to curb that deficit and set up children for success. The results of our study will be in by the end of this year, but preliminary findings are already promising — as are reports from principals, teachers, superintendents, and parents. Stay tuned!

As one principal wrote about our project, “To put books into the hands of children is critical; to put lots of new books – with content connections, beautiful illustrations, and strong vocabulary, at the children’s reading and interest levels – for children to then choose, read over the summer, and own, is brilliant.” We happily and humbly accept that compliment! And we thank families, schools, and the U.S. Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant for helping us make that happen.

Oral histories provide the richest literacy experiences we can share with our children. While creating deeper connections with family and baking in sweet memories, simply talking increases vocabulary and strengthens oral language skills in children.

So let’s get cooking– and talking! What are your favorite family recipes? Black History Month and Valentine’s Day are the perfect time to pass the culinary love through the family.

If you don’t have a favorite, check out Tea Cakes for Tosh by Kelly Starling Lyons, a delicious read from our newest multicultural book collection that tells the story of a family recipe passed down from before the days of Emancipation, yet as important today as then. The story behind grandma’s tea cake recipe is recounted from generation to generation. It’s a tradition every family can relate to.

My mother always made Swedish Spritz Valentine’s cookies with her little cookie press. My sisters and I helped her decorate them, eating as many as we decorated. To this day, every single Valentine’s, my daughter and I do the same thing. Enjoy!

Swedish Spritz Cookies
1 1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 t almond
4 c sifted all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder

Directions:
Thoroughly cream butter and sugar
Add egg vanilla and almond; beat well
Sift flour and baking powder togeher; add to creamed mixture, mix unitl smooth
Force cookie through a cookie press on an ungreased cookie sheet
Decorate with whatever you like
Bake at 400 for 7-8 minutes
Cool on rack; decorate with powedered sugar icing if desired.