BROWNING SCHOOL SUMMER READING LISTS 2023: Lower School

Dear Uprising 1st through 4th Grade Families, 

Children acquire new skills throughout the school year, but they can lose ground if learning stops during the summer break. Fortunately, learning never has to stop. Children who read throughout the summer gain skills and develop a better understanding of language and the world around them. Please encourage them to experience the joy of reading, the doorway to all other learning. 

Key things to remember in supporting your child are: 

• Allow your child to choose the books he reads.  Studies have shown the benefits of choice in reading development. Expose your child to a wide variety of reading materials, but let him be the final decision-maker. 
• Do not worry if your child chooses some books “below” his reading level or reads a book over again.  This will reinforce decoding and comprehension skills.  Given choice and positive encouragement, your child will also choose more challenging books. 
• Make available all kinds of reading materials, including magazines, picture books (at any age!), chapter books, nonfiction, and, yes, even appropriate comic books and graphic novels.  Remember, you want them to love reading - they will branch out and try many things. 
• Encourage and support your child’s participation in the public library summer reading program and other reading incentive programs available at bookstores. 
• Be a role model for your child by reading yourself, provide lots of positive encouragement and interest in their reading, and set aside time each day for the family to read. 
• Reading is most effective when adults provide guidance and make sure that kids understand what they’re reading.  Ask questions about what your child is reading – who, what, where, when, why and how; summarize or ask your child to summarize; and reread hard-to-understand passages. Essentially, make reading a more interactive process to boost fluency and comprehension. 
• Audiobooks are a great way to read on the go, at home, or relaxing on the beach Audiobooks are a great entrance to reading for those children who are reluctant. It can also be a way to enjoy a story as a family where discussions on the plot, characters, and setting arise organically.

          The Browning Summer Reading List represents a variety of reading levels and interests. The intent is to give you and your child some assistance with making reading choices.  Use the list as a guide, but do not feel limited to these choices.