The cumulative long-term effect on students who do not read during the summer months is staggering. They can lose up to three months of reading progress but have no fear! The Cobb County School District partners with the Cobb County Public Library and Smyrna Public Library systems to engage students in reading just for fun over the summer.

Students at KSE are already enrolled in the Cobb Summer Reading Challenge which is facilitated through Beanstack. The challenge begins June 1st and runs through July 31st.  The goal is to have each child read at least 20 minutes a day and set a goal for at least 15 hours this summer. 

Students can log minutes read with a physical book, or minutes spent listening to an audiobook. Researchers at the University of California Berkeley found that the brain responses of individuals who read a print book and then listened to an audiobook were almost identical in stimulating the same cognitive and emotional areas (Yorio, 2019). This is wonderful information to be armed with as the Cobb County School District has a great resource called Sora for e-books and audiobooks.  

King Springs Elementary students have multiple ways to access all of this information and their Beanstack accounts can be combined with their public library accounts. Review the attached documents and encourage your children to take advantage of all of the adventures they can take without leaving their seats!

-SM