Question
[1] As a kid, one of my favorite parts about the end-of-year wind-down, beside the prospect of the approaching vacation, was receiving a list of assigned summer readings. I wasn't always thrilled with the collected titles, but as a student, I took the assignment seriously. It was like a part-challenge, part-book club.
Typically, my classmates would fall into one of three groups: eager to read, indifferent to the assignment, or miserable about the whole thing. I can't imagine that this has changed much since I was in school. Regardless of how students or their parents and teachers may feel about summer reading, they cannot deny that summer reading creates positive results.
After ten long months of school, most students are ready for a break from math packets, vocabulary quizzes, and, yes, reading. They see summer as a chance to recharge after a challenging school year. But when students neglect to read all summer, they're not recharging their brains, they're draining them.
Think of reading like a special type of exercise for the brain. Our brains work every day simply by interpreting all of the information around us, such as sights and sounds. But reading has specific benefits because it requires so much of our brains' focus and energy. When we don't exercise regularly, our muscles can become weakened and atrophied. 1 This makes it twice as difficult to build those muscles back up again. Reading is no different.
[5] Summer reading is critical for students to retain 2 the skills and information they gained over the prior school year. You may have heard the term "summer slide" - when academic knowledge is forgotten during the two-month break from school. Reading is one of the few proven methods of maintaining and improving learned skills, like vocabulary and critical-thinking.
Students who don't read over the summer are at risk of falling behind their classmates who do read. Research shows that the summer slide may account for a loss of two months of school in reading skills. This means that students and teachers have to spend more time at the beginning of the year to make up what was lost, which can be tedious and may actually discourage some students. That's why reading every day, especially over the summer, is important.
Another benefit of summer reading is learning new things. Regardless of which books students are required to read, they will unquestionably learn something new whether that's a list of words to expand their vocabulary, a series of scientific facts, or a historical event they previously knew little about. The new information students amass from summer reading not only expands their minds but sparks their interest. Students may be compelled to further their knowledge on the internet or at their local public library.
This type of self-motivated learning is crucial to cultivating a curious mind. To quote Rimma Sagitova's paper on self-education, "A successful learner in the modern society should be able to integrate 3 knowledge from different sources... in order to be competitive in an increasingly globalized labor market." In other words, independent learning ensures future success outside of the classroom, and reading is fundamental to self-education.
Reading fiction has also been shown to increase empathy, or the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, according to a 2006 study conducted by cognitive psychologist Keith Oatley and associates. Empathy is a key tool in one's personal and professional relationships, but it is often difficult to instruct because it is uniquely felt by individuals. Reading fiction allows one to "step into the shoes" of another, accessing their private thoughts and experiences, which helps develop a sense of empathy. By assigning fiction to students over the summer, schools can acquaint students with books that they might not have otherwise picked up, providing them with insight 4 into unfamiliar points of view. [10] Sometimes kids need encouragement to read, and assigned summer reading can be that incentive. Some schools even allow students to choose which books they read from an assigned list for their summer assignment. Allowing students to choose the books they bring home for the summer - whether that's a fantasy novel or a memoir means students will be more likely to read and grow from their summer assignments. And isn't that the whole point of summer reading?
Question: Which statement best conveys the central idea of the article?
A. Summer reading helps students preserve and expand their knowledge and skills.
B. Students benefit from summer reading only if given a choice on what to read.
C. Students who resent reading are unlikely to benefit from summer reading.
D. Summer reading is more effective than reading during the school year.
Typically, my classmates would fall into one of three groups: eager to read, indifferent to the assignment, or miserable about the whole thing. I can't imagine that this has changed much since I was in school. Regardless of how students or their parents and teachers may feel about summer reading, they cannot deny that summer reading creates positive results.
After ten long months of school, most students are ready for a break from math packets, vocabulary quizzes, and, yes, reading. They see summer as a chance to recharge after a challenging school year. But when students neglect to read all summer, they're not recharging their brains, they're draining them.
Think of reading like a special type of exercise for the brain. Our brains work every day simply by interpreting all of the information around us, such as sights and sounds. But reading has specific benefits because it requires so much of our brains' focus and energy. When we don't exercise regularly, our muscles can become weakened and atrophied. 1 This makes it twice as difficult to build those muscles back up again. Reading is no different.
[5] Summer reading is critical for students to retain 2 the skills and information they gained over the prior school year. You may have heard the term "summer slide" - when academic knowledge is forgotten during the two-month break from school. Reading is one of the few proven methods of maintaining and improving learned skills, like vocabulary and critical-thinking.
Students who don't read over the summer are at risk of falling behind their classmates who do read. Research shows that the summer slide may account for a loss of two months of school in reading skills. This means that students and teachers have to spend more time at the beginning of the year to make up what was lost, which can be tedious and may actually discourage some students. That's why reading every day, especially over the summer, is important.
Another benefit of summer reading is learning new things. Regardless of which books students are required to read, they will unquestionably learn something new whether that's a list of words to expand their vocabulary, a series of scientific facts, or a historical event they previously knew little about. The new information students amass from summer reading not only expands their minds but sparks their interest. Students may be compelled to further their knowledge on the internet or at their local public library.
This type of self-motivated learning is crucial to cultivating a curious mind. To quote Rimma Sagitova's paper on self-education, "A successful learner in the modern society should be able to integrate 3 knowledge from different sources... in order to be competitive in an increasingly globalized labor market." In other words, independent learning ensures future success outside of the classroom, and reading is fundamental to self-education.
Reading fiction has also been shown to increase empathy, or the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, according to a 2006 study conducted by cognitive psychologist Keith Oatley and associates. Empathy is a key tool in one's personal and professional relationships, but it is often difficult to instruct because it is uniquely felt by individuals. Reading fiction allows one to "step into the shoes" of another, accessing their private thoughts and experiences, which helps develop a sense of empathy. By assigning fiction to students over the summer, schools can acquaint students with books that they might not have otherwise picked up, providing them with insight 4 into unfamiliar points of view. [10] Sometimes kids need encouragement to read, and assigned summer reading can be that incentive. Some schools even allow students to choose which books they read from an assigned list for their summer assignment. Allowing students to choose the books they bring home for the summer - whether that's a fantasy novel or a memoir means students will be more likely to read and grow from their summer assignments. And isn't that the whole point of summer reading?
Question: Which statement best conveys the central idea of the article?
A. Summer reading helps students preserve and expand their knowledge and skills.
B. Students benefit from summer reading only if given a choice on what to read.
C. Students who resent reading are unlikely to benefit from summer reading.
D. Summer reading is more effective than reading during the school year.
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
A. Summer reading helps students preserve and expand their knowledge and skills.