Seeking a Solution for Summer Reading Loss

Abstract

The study was carried out to determine whether Turkish primary school 1st graders experienced reading loss during the summer holidays and whether giving book support to disadvantaged students during the summer holidays was effective in preventing this loss. The research was conducted with 26 students at a rural primary school. The pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used, and while the experimental group including 12 students carried out reading activities during the summer holiday as part of the ‘Telafide Ben De Varım’ (I Am in for the Remedial) program, the control group consisting of 14 students did not participate in any summer reading. In the study, the “Error Analysis Inventory” prepared by Akyol (2020) based on Harris and Sipay (1990), Ekwall and Shanker (1988) and May (1986) was used as the data collection tool. With the Error Analysis Inventory consisting of Comprehension Scale, Setting Scale, and Articulation Scale, three types of reading levels are measured: anxiety level, instructional level and independent level. The results of the pre-test administered before the start of the summer vacation using this inventory revealed that the students in both groups generally showed poor reading performance and their average reading level was at the “anxiety” level. The post-test administered after the opening of the schools showed that the level of the control group did not change, while the experimental group increased to the “instructional” level. As a result of book reading activities, the reading level scores of the experimental group increased significantly compared to before the intervention, while there was a significant decrease in the control group. Based on these findings, the importance of providing book support to students living in disadvantaged areas to prevent summer reading loss and increasing book reading during the summer is strongly recommended.