GET KIDS EXCITED ABOUT SUMMER READING
While summer is a break from school, the Sylvan Learning Center of Fort Wayne doesn’t believe that the time off should also be a break from learning. A recent survey* from Sylvan Learning found that on average, kids spend significantly more of their free time playing outside (30%), playing video games (17%) and watching TV (18%) than reading (12%). Additionally, research** has shown that kids should read at least five books over the summer, yet 46 percent of tweens are reading four or fewer books according to their parents.
To help parents get kids excited to read this summer, Sylvan Learning of Fort Wayne has compiled the following summer reading list for tweens in grades four through eight, based on the most popular books on Sylvan’s Book Adventure website (www.bookadventure.com).
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid; 2. Harry Potter; 3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians; 4. The Hunger Games series; 5. Charlotte’s Web; 6. Hatchet; 7. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory; 8. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing; 9. Holes; 10. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
They also offer the following advice to help parents get their kids excited about reading this summer.
*Let Kids Choose: Instead of requiring kids to read the classics over the summer, let them choose a book they are interested in reading. According to parents surveyed, 65 percent said that letting the child choose the book helps get him or her interested in reading it.
*Rewards Can Work: So many of today’s popular tween books are also movies, and a trip to the movies can be a great reward for finishing a book. Forty percent of parents said watching the movie after the book helps get their kids excited about reading.
*Find out what their friends are reading: Forty-six percent of parents said their child gets interested in reading a book because their friends are reading it. According to parents, the most popular genres among tweens are: Humor (e.g. Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Fantasy (e.g. Harry Potter series, Percy Jackson series), Action Adventure (e.g. Holes, Hatchet), Science Fiction (e.g. A Wrinkle in Time, 1984) and Books Made Into Movies (e.g. Divergent series, The Giver).
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