8 Creative Strategies To Combat Summer Learning Loss For K-12 Students

You’ve likely heard the term learning loss. The phrase is tossed around with not-so-subtle nuances of alarm and stark images of children falling behind. But you may not know exactly what key stakeholder groups in education mean by learning loss.

Educators, policymakers, and families discuss summer learning loss, summer slide, Covid-related learning loss, absence-related learning loss, disrupted learning, unfinished learning, and missed instruction. It can be difficult to untangle what is meant by each of these terms.

The U.S. Department of Education uses the term summer slide to refer to a lack of education activities during the summer and refers to lost instructional time to specifically address the academic impact of Covid-19 on K-12 students.

Interestingly, assumptions of wholesale summer learning loss are not held up in research. A 2020 American Educational Research Journal study exploring achievement inequality found summer learning outcomes “vary dramatically from child to child.” Approximately half of students demonstrated summer learning loss while others showed learning gains. As students return to a home environment during a traditional school schedule, summer slide outcomes can vary based on factors including home and summer activities, parental involvement and expectations, and socioeconomic status.

In 2023, any anticipated summer slide has been complicated by Covid-related factors that were not a part of the equation before the pandemic. Regardless of which “the kids are behind” phrase you choose, it is clear that American students are not where they would have been or should be—academically, socially, emotionally—after three disrupted, formative years.

As we approach the end of July, there are many ways parents and families can combat summer slide and lost instructional time, and accelerate learning at home. The formula is simple: to gain more positive instructional outcomes, you need more intentional instructional time. Luckily, there are a variety of unexpected ways to achieve additional learning moments throughout the remainder of summer.

Organizations, resources, and strategies are available for families to keep children engaged and learning, and potentially even making gains, throughout the summer. Knowing each child presents a unique learner profile, let’s explore a suite of resources.

Literacy looms large on parents’ minds, and summer can elevate both reading skills and reading for pleasure. Numerous sites provide free online books for kids, although some require free trials, fees, or downloading a related app. Storyline Online, an award-winning nonprofit children’s literacy website, is accessible without a password or special software and is ad-free. Animated stories are read, with closed captioning available, by well-known actors. At this time, only two books are available in Spanish, but Storyline Online’s website notes it is working to offer more bilingual books. Fairly extensive accompanying guides offer curriculum-related activities for families and teachers to help extend engagement with a book and encourage readers to interact with their adults.

If you don’t know “Captain Underpants” and “Dog Man,” it is well past time for you to meet them. Dav Pilkey’s Fun Stuff website, including word challenges, can foster collaboration or competition around the dinner table. Scholastic offers free resources including coloring pages as well as story starters and speech bubble writing activities for Pilkey’s “Dog Man” series.

The National PTA, self-described as “the oldest and largest child advocacy association in America,” offers summer learning resources for families and encourages parents to communicate and engage frequently with their children’s schools. The PTA’s Our Children magazine and e-newsletter can help parents understand ways to support their children’s success. .

A rich array of well-crafted and carefully curated instructional materials are available for free on PBS LearningMedia. Parents and teachers have full access to standards-aligned videos, activities, and other resources for all grades, pre-K through 12. The expected curricula of math and reading are present, but subjects such as health and physical education, the arts, and world languages are also well represented. I just went down the rabbit hole, again, with videos on the birth of jazz from the Ken Burns in the Classroom collection, and they were incredible.

The National Summer Learning Association proposes summer opportunities at home and in your community. Numerous opportunities exist to help children use their imagination and problem-solving skills as parents intentionally sneak in fun, active ways to keep learning in motion. Have fun together as you create outlandish stories, build a fort or plant a garden, provide arts and crafts materials and let imaginations run, write a play and build puppets and a stage, and visit museums and state parks.

Dr. Tonya Price, a professor and extension specialist for 4-H Youth Development at Virginia Tech, offers a supremely simple and fun option in designating themed days of the week. Let children name the themes and direct their activities to include critical thinking and organizational skills.

Secondary learners can pursue activities to prepare for post-high school possibilities. The Department of Education suggests beating summer slide through part-time jobs and volunteer work, which offer unforeseen learning opportunities. In conjunction, students can develop their resumes, explore countless available college options, and investigate their interests and requisite job skills through College Board’s BigFuture career exploration and interest resources.

If you are an educator involved in your organization’s summer learning programs or a parent assessing your child’s summer options, the Wallace Foundation’s Summer Learning Recruitment Guide can help educators create or parents identify quality learning programs.

These suggested activities may not resemble traditional perceptions of summer school, but with attention and intentionality, valuable learning will occur. Of course, this home-led engagement does not have to be limited to summer and can be pursued year-round. Enjoy these activities with your children or favorite young people. We know that trusting relationships precede the highest learning outcomes. With activities such as these, parents and families have the opportunity to facilitate both.