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How to prevent the summer slide | Summer challenge for students

How to prevent the summer slide | Summer challenge for students

Article

Summer is the ideal time to rest and recharge before moving on to a new school year. However, it’s also a great time to reinforce what was learned throughout the year. Don’t hesitate to suggest a few fun educational activities for your students and their parents to try during their time off. Alloprof is here to help! We’ve created a fun summer challenge sheet that kids can colour in as they complete small, stimulating learning activities during summer break!

Grade
1-6
Table of contents
Definition

The summer slide refers to students losing or forgetting some of the knowledge they gained during the school year. When the new school year starts, many teachers notice that some students no longer have a good grasp of concepts they learned the previous year. These setbacks can add up over the years and impact a child’s academic success. However, this phenomenon can be prevented or minimized with a supportive family environment and engaging activities. All the more reason to team up with your students’ parents!

Did you know?

Students most affected by this phenomenon are allophone children, children with learning disorders, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The socio-environmental realities of these students can directly influence their learning.

How to Encourage Summer-Long Learning

Learning can happen anywhere, not just in the classroom! Without implying that they should try to fill your shoes during the summer, you can give parents some fun and simple activity ideas that will help their kids practise and retain what they’ve learned in school.

Encourage parents to choose activities adapted to their child’s interests and grade level. You should also think about how you can meet the specific needs of kids from disadvantaged backgrounds or whose first language is not English or French—perhaps by giving them some additional printable tools, for instance. In this way, you can help ensure that every child has an equal chance at realizing their potential and starting the school year off on the right foot.

Tips and tools

Here are a few simple things you can do at the end of the school year to prevent the summer slide.

  • Give your students or their parents a copy of Alloprof’s My Summer Challenge Colouring Page. 
  • Send an email to all parents with interesting activity suggestions related to the subject you teach. Don’t hesitate to send them our summer slide article for parents: 5 tips to help your child avoid the summer slide
  • Share your summer plans with the class and be specific about the activities you’ll be doing! It might inspire a few kids to do the same. 
  • Talk about a few places offering free summer activities in your area or neighbourhood.

My Summer Challenge Colouring Page

This colouring page is a fun way to inspire parents and kids to try some educational activities during summer vacation and prevent the dreaded summer slide!

Instructions 
Each time a student does one of the activities, they can colour in the corresponding element on the drawing. By the end of the summer, they’ll have a beautiful, colourful poster to display.

A preview of the colouring page.
Download the Colouring Page

Additional Resources

Découvrez d’autres ressources pour vous inspirer et pour mieux accompagner vos élèves en fin d’année scolaire.

References

Comité régional pour la valorisation de l’éducation. (s.d.). La glissade de l’été : qu’est-ce que c’est? (URL)

Partenaires pour la réussite éducative dans les Laurentides. (novembre 2022). La Glissade de l’été, c’est quoi? (URL)

Quirion, René-Charles. (16 septembre, 2024). Pour contrer le décrochage, il faut aider les jeunes à lire mieux, selon une experte. La Presse. (URL)

Réseau québécois pour la réussite éducative. (s.d.). La Glissade de l’été. (URL)

Réseau réussite Montréal. (mai, 2021). La glissade de l’été. (URL)