As school administrators gear up for the upcoming back-to-school season, the focus is on providing teachers with the support they need to prepare students for success in the new academic year. One critical challenge is addressing the learning loss or stagnation students may have experienced over the summer break.

This article explores the importance of utilizing back-to-school decodable books to combat summer learning loss and stagnation and set students up for accelerated achievement during the new school year.

The Cost of Not Reading During Summer Break

A large body of research on summer reading indicates that learning can stagnate during the summer for some students, even more so for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, with potentially up to two months of learning loss (Alexander, Entwisle, & Olson, 2007). This is especially true when students lack opportunities or time for learning during summer or do not have access to high-quality books. 

With this learning loss or stagnation,9 in 10 teachers report spending at least three weeks re-teaching lessons at the start of the school year to ensure students have the prerequisite skills needed for the current school year.

 The estimated cost of reteaching forgotten material after the summer can be as high as $1,500 per student yearly. 

This re-teaching phase consumes valuable instructional time at the beginning of the school year. It could be better spent building relationships and routines and ensuring they are ready to tackle the challenges of a new academic year.

The Solution: Accelerate Summer Learning Loss Recovery with Decodable Books

Implementing decodable books into literacy instruction ensures a smooth transition back to school and a more effective allocation of time and financial resources.

Decodable books offer several benefits that make them an ideal tool for combating summer learning loss and accelerating reading achievement:

• Build Foundational Skills: Students need guided practice in reading words not only in isolation but also in connected text. Decodable books are designed to reinforce phonics and reading skills in a meaningful way, which is crucial for accelerating academic achievement. By focusing on phonetic patterns students are learning or have already learned, these books help students strengthen decoding skills, enabling them to tackle new words with confidence.
  
  
• Boost Confidence: Decodable books allow students to apply learned phonics skills in a supportive and authentic context, helping them experience success while reading.
  
  
• Enhance Engagement: With engaging stories and relatable characters, Just Right Reader decodable books get students excited about reading. They foster a positive mindset towards learning at the start of the school year, helping students associate reading with enjoyment and success.
  
  

Our Complete Guide to Decodables gives you an in-depth look at decodable books and why they are critical for teaching reading. 

From Recovery to Continuous Learning: Implementing Take-Everywhere Decodable Packs in Your District

Integrating  Just Right Reader Take-Everywhere Decodable Packs into your back-to-school curriculum provides students with immediate opportunities to practice and refine their decoding skills, which may not have been utilized over the summer.

Summer Learning Loss Recovery 

Back-to-School Skill Review Packs are crafted to revisit the previous year's grade-level material, helping students recapture any knowledge lost over the summer and setting them on a path to academic achievement.

Year-Round Literacy Success

Purchase5 or 11Take-Everywhere Decodable Packs to support continuous achievement throughout the school year. This approach ensures that students can access consistent, personalized phonics practice, promoting accelerated academic progress.These packs are specially curated for each student based on assessment data. 

By integrating Just Right Reader Science of Reading Decodables into your back-to-school literacy initiatives, you provide teachers and students with:

• High-quality instructional materials backed by Science of Reading research

• Packs of engaging decodable books carefully curated to meet the unique needs of each student based on district assessment data

• Comprehensive support and resources from Just Right Reader

Families also actively engage in their child's literacy journey by scanning a QR code on each decodable that links to a video phonics lesson in multiple languages. Learn more about our phonics videos for multilingual families. 

OurTake-Everywhere Decodable Packs Feature:

• Science of Reading decodables personalized for each student based on district reading assessment data.

• Writing pages to reinforce decoding and writing skills.

• Evidence-based activities that motivate students to read and keep reading.

• QR codes to access fun phonics lessons in multiple languages to support students and families reading at home.

• Backpacks for students to take their reading everywhere.