With summer around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere, there is a looming fear in many teachers’ minds: the infamous “summer slide,” or what Scholastic describes as, “a regression in academic proficiency due to summer break.”
While students (and teachers!) should enjoy well-deserved vacation time, there is constant discussion among educators regarding how best to keep students engaged with reading and/or writing in ways that are enjoyable and promote literacy learning without inciting dread.
As we learned from a previous blog post, reading and writing are reciprocal skills that strengthen each other, and thus, it is important to encourage students to participate in both activities outside of school. While every student is different, and there are many subjective and environmental factors that may influence a student’s summer learning, there is a declining trend of general reading comprehension in the United States alone. A recent 2024 study from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) measured reading proficiency among 6th and 8th graders and found that “the average reading score for the nation at grade 8 was 2 points lower than 2022 and 5 points lower compared to 2019… [and] [c]ompared to the first reading assessment in 1992, the average score was not significantly different in 2024.” It’s clear that there continues to be a greater need than ever for emphasis on reading, and subsequently writing, outside of the classroom.
Write the World is a community for students and educators alike, and in that vein, we are dedicated to equipping educators with actionable tools and strategies that they can use with students in the classroom and beyond; we are motivated to foster a community of lifelong learners. That’s why, below, we’re sharing creative ideas to keep your students engaged in literacy this summer.
Most importantly, you can share many of these ideas with students asynchronously, before the school year ends, minimizing or eliminating your own summer workload. You might also discuss several of these activities at the beginning of a new school year, enhancing flexibility.
When I receive an enthusiastic book recommendation from someone I know, with their eyes wide as they exclaim, “You have to read this,” it is much more enticing than any online review or list. Everyone has a book they’ve read that has had a lasting impact on them, whether due to a surprising twist, profound plot, or complex, yet lovable, character.
Before the summer begins, give students a chance to pitch a book they’ve read to the class (it doesn’t matter how long ago they read it, or what genre it falls under), and explain why they loved it so much. Teachers can compile a recommendation checklist before the summer break and distribute it to students to check off as they read throughout the summer. Different students will connect with different books, and they can head into the summer with personalized recommendations from their peers.
Download this template as a PDF
While book clubs tend to attract a slightly older crowd than teen students, they are a great way to keep teens socially engaged in reading. Before the summer break, divide students into groups (or allow them to self-select), and encourage them to pick a book and a meeting date over the summer, with virtual flexibility.
Students might choose books from a list you’ve curated, or find their own regarding a specific topic or genre. They can record or transcribe their book discussion, or answer a series of pre-determined book discussion questions and submit their answers as a group to a classroom assignment platform like Canvas, or a Write the World private group. You could frame this activity as a required assignment, or as an option for extra credit to begin the school year. While there are operational aspects to this activity, it also incorporates socialization and community-building, rather than the typically isolating nature of summer homework, further supporting students’ development and sense of connection—especially important for students who may struggle during the summer months, without the routine and support of school.
Write the World offers numerous features for educators and students to use both in the classroom and in their own creative pursuits. One feature that could be particularly helpful for summer book discussions is the private writing group offering on the Write the World platform. Using these groups, teachers and teen writers can collaborate, brainstorm, draft, peer review, and publish in a more intimate space regarding any assigned summer reading book.
Furthermore, online reading groups can continue into the school year, offering a place to track students’ assignments and/or discussion posts about classroom books. Learn more about Write the World groups Write the World groups and navigate to this form to sign up for a group for your classroom. Of note, this feature will likely work best for teachers’ use with their incoming classes, since they’ll be working with those students come fall.
Whether you teach science, history, a language, or math, you can incorporate reading for pleasure into a summer project. If you normally assign a summer project in your subject area, perhaps encourage students to select a book, fiction or non-fiction, related to your content area to spark their intellectual curiosity. They could analyze the scientific implications or validity of a science fiction novel, read a memoir written by an author who speaks the language you will be teaching, or compare historical accuracies in a World War II fiction novel.
Alternatively, you could invite students to view a different type of media, such as a TV show, film, or documentary, and have them write a review about the work. Encouraging students to select a piece of work that they are genuinely curious about and excited to report on will spark their creative interest in the broader context of the subject you’ll be teaching them.
We hope these ideas provide tangible and fun ways to increase student engagement in reading over the summer, without inundating them with mindless homework that feels like a chore. By giving students some agency in their reading choices, encouraging community within their summer work, and perhaps implementing some Write the World features to support these efforts, you can combat summer slide while empowering student growth. Happy reading!