Children often lose academic knowledge and skills over the summer vacation. It is widely known that children who read consistently over the summer months will at least maintain their skills or grow even more while children who do not read often lose essential reading skills.

One study by Johns Hopkins Center for Summer Learning states, "lost instructional time is approximately two months or roughly 22 percent of the school year…It's common for teachers to spend at least a month re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer."

What can schools, teachers and parents do to curb summer reading loss?

Schools and teachers can contribute to children's continual engagement in literacy over the summer vacation before school ends. It is not enough to simply tell parents that it is important to read to children over the summer vacation.

Schools can host workshops for parents in the weeks before the start of summer vacation in which teachers discuss the critical need for summer reading and share reading tips with parents. It would be beneficial to involve the local public libraries so that parents can hear about library summer reading initiatives and to get parents to sign their children up for library cards.

Schools can also set required summer readings (three to five proven favorite books) that are accessible at the local public libraries or school libraries. Children can be held accountable at the beginning of the school year for reading the required books. Schools can also open their own libraries over the summer to facilitate student access to curriculum reading materials.

Some schools may want to initiate a variation of the Reading Millionaires programme (Rasinki & Padak, 2004), in which children can record the minutes read each day. Weekly logs can be submitted (PTA's can manage the summer programme). The school could display the cumulative total of minutes read. The school year would begin with a celebration of achieving the summer reading goal with recognition to individual students and grade levels that exceeded the goals set.

Parents can help their children maintain or improve their reading skills over summer break. Here are 14 tips recommended by authors Candyce and Tom Ihnot, that get children engaged in and excited about reading during the summer vacation.

1. Involve child in choosing appropriate material - Taking ownership increases motivation, so find books or magazines based on their hobbies and interests. Make sure the material is at a reading level that is challenging, but not frustrating.

2. Make a date with a librarian - Librarians will help locate books based on interests and reading ability. Check out your library for summer reading programs and a huge supply of great books.

3. Lead by example - Actions speak louder than words, so let your child see you reading the newspaper or curling up with a good book. For younger readers, go ahead and read together with you reading a page and them reading the next.

4. See reading everywhere - Show how important reading is in everyday life by asking them to read the recipe while you make something together or read signs as you go about your day.

5. Set goals, chart progress - Setting and meeting goals increases pride and confidence. To ensure understanding of what is being read, have your child create questions they can answer after reading. Keep a log of the questions and answers.

6. Learn, listen, and discuss - Asking good questions shows interest and helps the child read for meaning. Instead of "did you like the book?" use open ended questions like "which character did you like the best and why?" How would you describe the book to someone who didn't read it?"

7. Create a book-of-the-month for your child - Send them a book anonymously once a month. Kids love getting mail and will see it as a present instead of a chore. This is a great way for grandparents to get involved.

8. Read the book, then see the movie - Use the excitement of an upcoming movie to get them to read the book. Then see the movie and discuss the differences between the two versions. They'll quickly learn that books are better. This can be done with videos as well.

9. Bring books when you travel - Books are terrific because they are portable and don't need any batteries or wires. Audio books are also great for getting kids to see the value in the great stories found in books.

10. Give TV a timeout - According to a US Department of Education study, the average kindergarten student has spent more than 5,000 hours watching television. Cutting down on TV time will create more time for your child to tune into reading. Engage the captioning feature and reduce the volume so that children have access to and are encouraged to read the words on the screen.

11. Have a book share - Get a group of kids and adults to read a book of their choice and then get together and have everyone share their book and what they liked about it. Then swap books so everyone goes home with a different book.

12. Reach out for resources - There are plenty of wonderful reading programmes, book lists, and good ideas out there. Seek out teachers, librarians, community education, and the internet for ideas and assistance.

13. Write the author - Have the child write the author of a book they liked. This makes them feel special and more involved with books. Many authors will write back which really adds excitement to books.

14. Make it FUN - Kids like doing things that they enjoy and are good at. The more they read, the better they will get and the more they will want to read.

Your child does not need to engage in all of these reading tips at once. Begin by selecting the reading tips that are most meaningful and fun for you and your child.

Enjoy a literacy filled summer vacation!

Literacy Matters returns in September 2009