Tomorrow is our last of the 2019-2020 school year… thank you, Jesus, hallelujah! What a year it’s been. After nearly 7 months teaching in a sweet classroom, we moved to remote learning from home due to the coronavirus pandemic. Learning has been impacted, there is no denying that. How much students will retain from these traumatically chaotic months is questionable.. and then you throw on top of that the infamous summer slide, a phenomenon where students lose significant amounts of reading and math. A 2015 NWEA Study suggests older students lose more than younger ones. As a special educator of middle school students, I’m not going to lie: September is looking scarier by the minute. But all hope is not lost! My students are keeping their school devices over the summer break, so I’m recommending two free websites to help slow that summer slide: Epic! and Prodigy Math Game.
Disclaimer
Relationships have been established with both websites recommended. I am a Master Teacher in Epic’s Ambassador Program for the 2019-2020 school year and a Global Ambassador in Prodigy’s Champions Club. I have included affiliate sign up links within this post where I may receive compensations at no additional cost to you. You are not obligated to use these links but when you do, it supports my blog and small business. I am intentional with the services and products I link, only sharing those that I personally use and love. Epic and Prodigy are no exception!
Slow the Slide with Epic! Books
Access to high-interest books is critical. When children are given the ability to choose their reading material, reading achievement is at a high: comprehension is better, fluency improves, vocabulary increases. That’s why I choose Epic! My students LOVE the variety of books on this site. Normally, it’s free during the school day when in the classroom, with an option to pay for afterschool home access. Obviously, COVID-19 changed things.
The Epic! team has allowed free remote access whether at home or school since March 2020. Starting July 1, all families previously signed up for Remote Student Access (RSA) will enjoy a brand new service, Epic Free. Epic Free offers every student 2 hours of weekly reading in a limited library of high-quality educational books over the summer months.
If you are new to Epic and don’t have an account, itโs not too late! You can invite families to Remote Student Access now through June 30, 2020. After that date, invite families to Epic Free using the same instructions as RSA. Learn how to get started here.
Slow the Slide with Prodigy Math Game
According to a 2016 article by Harvardโs Graduate School of Education, students lose about 2.6 months of math learning over the summer. Brookings Institution‘s 2017 article reported that โdeclines were sharper for math than for reading.โ Ouch! Luckily, Prodigy Math Game is a student favorite and this summer, they’re on a mission to keep kids learning with friendly competition.
If you’re unfamiliar with the site, Prodigy is an engaging, curriculum-aligned math gaming platform for grades 1-8. Students create avatars that travel different worlds to challenge monsters in battle. Students win battles answering a series of adaptive math questions. They can then level up their avatar while collecting pets and other game rewards. As a teacher and parent, you can monitor student progress, download usage reports, accuracy levels, and so much more!
There are your standard game challenges, but every season Prodigy releases a time-sensitive, limited-edition quest. This summer, Prodigy is challenging all players to work together and answer a grand total of 500 million questions before going back to school in the fall. Wow! It’s a win-win situation: kids will receive a special in-game reward if they are successful and they’ll keep their math skills sharp over the break, avoiding that summer slide. What’s not to love?! The game plays well on several different devices (desktops, Chromebooks, iPad). Sign up is free, easy, and available here.
And there you have it! I am not one to force students into anything buuuuuuut I hope the options provided make them want to get involved. What do you do with your classes to slow the summer slide? I’d love to hear in the comments below.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: The following links offer informational graphics on the impact of summer slide on academic achievement:
- Summer by the Numbers, National Summer Learning Association
- The Achievement Gap, National Summer Learning Association
- Kids Who Read Beat Summer Slide, First Book
