Ways to interpret and apply summer reading research in public libraries. Presented by Emily Brown on Sept. 26, 2011 at the RI Children's Services summer reading wrap-up meeting at the Cranston Public Library.

1. Scaffolding Summer Reading

2. Me! Public Children’s Librarian for 3 years School Librarian for 1 year Consultant for Providence Community Library this summer

3. Research Programs have changed little since the 1970s Is that because they are working? What are we trying to accomplish? Increasing reading test scores? Reading promotion and helping children succeed in school

4. Heyn Study (1978) Children who read at least 6 books over the summer perform better in school. However, when researchers look at children’s reading test scores at the beginning and the end of the summer, they do not find a greater increase among children who participate in public library summer reading programs.

5. The Dominican Study (2010) “[S]tudents who participated in summer reading programs increased their scores by 4 Lexile points on the Scholastic Reading Inventory, while students who didn’t participate increased their scores by 15 points.”

6. The Dominican Study (2010) “However, even at the end of the summer, students who participated in summer reading programs were still 52 Lexile points ahead of their peers who didn’t take part.”

7. Reading Assessments Examples of informal assessments from the state of Florida

8. Reading Assessments Informal assessments include vocabulary lists.

9. Reading Assessments Balanced Reading Website Bibliography High Interest Publishing’s 3 Minute Reading Assessment (basically, an elaborate version of the five finger rule)

10. Why? We’re not reading instructors. It’s hard to measure children’s reading. It takes more than a few weeks of reading to change children’s performance. Access to books does not equal a successful reading experience. Summer reading programs mostly reach kids who already read a lot.

11. Kim Study (2008) “Children who received books but no instruction did not make greater spring-to-fall gains in reading achievement than the control group, even though the books were matched to their interests and reading skills.” Children who implemented reading comprehension strategies with their parents did make gains.

12. McTague Study (2011) “We tried to assure long-term results by focusing on immersing students in books. To do this, students were surrounded with literature and taught how to choose and use it. Then, they were asked to apply their knowledge by actually shopping for books.” “[S]tudents' self-perceptions as readers changed so dramatically that attitudes toward reading improved during a several month period after the program had ended.”

13. Reading Attitude Assessment “The Garfield”

14. Other Assessments Reading Attitude Surveys and Focus Groups At the beginning At the end Three months later Demographics of the participating population Gender Age Geographic area Languages spoken

15. Strategies to Reach out to non-users. Provide social interactions around books. Promote habitual reading. Encourage children to identify as readers and members of the library.

16. 1. Reach out to non-users. Working with agencies. Involving children in marketing.

17. Newport Public Library Libraries visit agencies and sign children up for the summer reading program.

18. Denver Public Library Art contest based on summer reading theme

19. 2. Provide social interactions around books.

20. New York Public Library Online social networking site

21. Other Social Sites for Kids Scholastic “Stacks” Read for the Record Educational chatting

22. Other Social Sites for Kids Star Doll’s Mortal Kiss site Quizilla List of 10 sites from NPR Club Penguin Whyville Pottermore

23. 3. Promote habitual reading Simplicity of reporting Accountability Incentive to continue reading all summer

24. Warwick Public Library Children keep track of the number of days on which they read, instead of titles or minutes.

25. Oliver Wolcott Library Make record-keeping into a game.

26. Free Library of Philadelphia Make record-keeping into a game.

27. Derian Public Library Extend the reading experience with activities

28. 4. Encourage children to identify as readers and members of the library. Help them “see themselves” in the library space.

29. Cumberland Public Library Display space for children’s collections.

30. Cumberland Public Library Pictures of children with their work

31. Cumberland Public Library A map of places children visited during the summer.

32. East Smithfield Public Library Summer Reading “headquarters” where everything is DIY.

33. East Smithfield Public Library It’s like an office!

34. Thank You! Paula Dugan Babs Wells Susan LePore Debra Cohen Cheryl Space