READOCITY AIDS SUMMER LEARNING

This summer, children and teens throughout Massachusetts can take on summer reading in an innovative way through the free Summer Smart Reading Challenge.

In its second year, the program is a partnership between Mass Literacy, a nonprofit, and the education technology startup Readocity to help kids develop a love of reading while warding off summer learning loss.

“Summer is a great time to stretch the reading muscles in young readers,” said Vidya Joshi, founder of Readocity. “That’s because it can prevent summer learning loss which can cause children to lose up to three months of what they learned during the school year.”

The challenge uses technology to get kids excited about reading. Families will have free access to the online tool Readocity during the summer, which provides readers with an online platform to set reading goals, track their progress and discover what to read next. Parents will also receive weekly literacy tips to foster discussions with their kids about what they have read.

Students entering grades K-12 can participate in the challenge on their own or through their school. Both the individual child and the school that logs the most reading minutes will be featured in an article in the Herald. The school that logs the most reading minutes on average per student will also receive a $1,000 grant from Mass Literacy for their school library.

Readocity’s Chief Literacy Adviser Andrew Johnson said one of the best things parents and teachers can do is to help children fall in love with books.

“The amount of reading students do has been linked to increases in word identification, vocabulary, comprehension and conceptual knowledge,” said Johnson. “The research is very clear: free voluntary reading is very effective and important.”

The challenge runs from July 1 through Aug. 24. Sign up today at www.readocity.com/summersmart.