If you are anything like me, you wait until the last minute to do - well anything really. When it came to assignments like summer reading, I usually waited until a few days before school began to pick up those dusty tomes. Don't get me wrong, I began each summer with the best intentions, but chilling out on the lake with my friends at summer camp definitely trumped getting deep into Huck Finn or The Awakening. What ended up happening was that I was half way through the book once school began and tried to fake my way through the first set of class discussions and of course the dreaded first essay of the year. This caused me stress, set me behind the others in my class and introduced me to my new English teachers as a slacker or even worse, a less than A student. I knew I had it in me to read these books; read deeply between the lines and come up with intelligent analysis, but the lazy - summer is too short to waste it on reading side always won out. LA kids, in my defense, I grew up in Buffalo where we had snow from October through May - leaving us little outside time without five pairs of pants, a hat and two pairs of gloves. Still, it was no excuse and if I could do high school all over again, besides having more confidence and caring less about what people thought of me, I would certainly change my attitude towards summer reading.
WHY DO TEACHERS ASSIGN IT IN THE FIRST PLACE??? Excellent question and to be honest, it is something that English teachers sit around and discuss in schools across the country. Here are a few reasons why summer reading is important: 1) It keeps up your skills over the summer when you aren't forced to think. 2) Reading, if you haven't figured out already, is an excellent way to improve your vocabulary skills.
3) Throughout the school year you are assigned books to read along with chapters in history class, problems in math class and lab reports in science class. Summer reading is a chance for you to appreciate the beauty of literature without all the other traffic going through your brain.
4) When students come to class on the first day, it is an excellent starting point for class discussions as well as a barometer for teachers to see where your skill level is right from the start.
5) We love to torture you! (No - we don't, really - I swear.)
For those of you who are looking at the upcoming labor day weekend as the last gasp of summer vacation - it is not too late. Take about thirty minutes a day in a quiet spot and get reading. That gives you eight days and four hours total to get as much reading done as possible. You may find when you schedule out thirty minute blocks, that you are more focused on the task at hand AND, surprisingly enough, time may fly because the book is actually good?!
What if you are a struggling reader and although you have tried to read this stupid, boring book that your teacher forced you to read, you keep reading the same sentence twenty times and can't get into it? 1) Talk to your teacher right away and let them know about your struggles. Chances are they will have some strategies to help you get through your reading. 2) Check online to see if there are any discussion boards about the novel - you may get inspired by other student reviews or fun student films based on the book found on youtube. 3) Do NOT rent the movie and think you are going to get away with not reading the book. Your teacher will know. Your teacher will know and they will not be impressed with what they perceive as laziness. They will be impressed with you being proactive in seeking help - so ask for it! I will have plenty of posts on reading struggles and how to surpass them so keep up with the blog and enjoy the rest of your summer vacation!
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