"What I did on my summer vacation." These seven words top the paper of millions of elementary school children throughout the United States every September. I love reading the bulletin boards lining the halls of the school in which I work each fall. Teachers creatively display the writings of their new students' summer experiences with pictures of flowers, cutouts of animals and autumn leaves. These first attempts at writing, after a three-month break from the rigor of academics, display the creativity and hard work of students who read, wrote and had an enriched academic environment over the summer. Also on display are the work of students who took the summer off academically, struggling writers and students who have learning deficits in reading and writing.

Sadly, 60 percent of primary students find this task a challenge; 15-20 percent struggle significantly writing about their summer experiences; and 2-5 percent of children find the task impossible. The good news: at the end of the school year, 85-90 percent of all school children will be able to read grade level text independently with proper instruction.

I took an academic break every summer of my youth. I rode my bike around town, played baseball, swam at the pool and basically lived the leisurely life of a 7-year-old. I suffered for my scholastic laziness. I remember being asked to put my name on the upper right corner of a worksheet by my teacher on the first day of second grade. I couldn't remember how to spell my last name - embarrassing! Remembering my academic struggles as a child, I swore to ensure my child and grandchildren embrace learning throughout their summer.

I love summer and embrace the opportunity to spend time with my grandchildren. Rory graduated kindergarten this spring and Quin will enter kindergarten this fall. Both girls spend a night with us each week and during this time we play hard, swim, bake, garden, read, write and create. Last Wednesday we took an adventure to downtown Coeur d'Alene. Stops included Mrs. Honeypeeps Sweet Shop, Fort Sherman Play Ground at City Park, a quick dip in the ice-cold water of Lake Coeur d'Alene and a final stop at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.

The girl's granny, my wife, offered both children the opportunity to pick five books from the shelves and Quin picked her books quickly. The first book she discovered was about foxes so she decided each book must have a fox on the cover. Rory took more time. She purposefully read each cover, examined the artwork for contextual clues about the content of the text and chose books she thought were interesting based on her knowledge of the subject matter.

The exploration of subject matter is the difference between a kindergartener and a preschooler. Both girls enjoy books and are excited about reading. The difference is, Rory knows how to read and can discern the difference between a book she might be interested in and one which cover looks intriguing. This baseline knowledge is essential to understanding the world in which we live.

When a child does not have the baseline knowledge required to be successful in school or loses the information over the summer due to lack of exposure the child suffers. Not just for the upcoming school year, but for the rest of his or her life. When a child enters kindergarten, first or second grade deficient of the skills necessary to read at grade-level, the child begins the year behind other children and must have remediation to catch-up. If the child is not offered the necessary accommodations, the child falls further behind and catching-up becomes difficult and time-consuming. This becomes a problem as a child progresses through each grade and creates a greater divide.

Students who learn to read early continue to improve in reading or get richer, and students who do not learn to read early get poorer or become increasingly distanced from those rich in reading ability.

How can a parent prevent this from happening? Reading, writing, reciting the alphabet and exploring the world with one's child are important skills required to keep a child prepared for the informational world during the summer months. To begin with, a parent should understand the skills required for a child to become a skilled reader. There are seven factors that influence reading development in students. These factors are:

1. Development of phonemic awareness and the alphabetic principle - a phoneme is a speech sound. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that spoken language is composed of phonemes and involves the ability to blend, segment and manipulate phonemes in the spoken words. The alphabetic principle is simply understanding each letter of the alphabet in the lower and upper case forms.

2. Ability to decode words - decoding involves converting the printed word into its spoken form.

3. Automaticity with enough words - proficient readers recognize and obtain meaning from words rapidly, effortlessly and unconsciously.

4. Acquisition of vocabulary along with the application of reading comprehension strategies. Vocabulary knowledge is fundamental to reading comprehension; one cannot understand text without knowing what most of the words mean. There are two types of word knowledge: definitional knowledge and contextual knowledge. Definitional knowledge is similar to the information included in the dictionary definition. Contextual knowledge comes from exposure to a word in multiple contexts from different perspectives.

5. Extensive reading of both narrative and expository test. Narrative text is usually text written to entertain while expository text is usually written to communicate information.

6. Maintaining the motivation to learn. Reading should be enjoyable for a child. Choose books focusing on the child's interest and continually support reading as important.

7. Adequate teacher preparation and materials. As a parent, you are the teacher of your child. Have books readily available in your home, turn off the television and create family time around reading. Play reading games, read out loud and offer quiet time for reading independently.

The seven factors for reading development offer a brief understanding of the skills necessary to become a proficient reader. I know this information is a bit heady and offered in teacher-speak. In the next few weeks, I will decode the professional lingo and give practical advice to increase the reading and writing skills for your child. Next week we will explore each factor more deeply, offer information for older readers who struggle and suggest information for illiterate adults. Keep reading!

Information in this column is derived from the book, "Teaching Reading; Sourcebook for Kindergarten through Eight Grade."

Bill Rutherford is a psychotherapist, public speaker, elementary school counselor, adjunct college psychology instructor and executive chef, and owner of Rutherford Education Group. Please email him at [email protected].