Local schools use creative methods to help students retain critical reading skills

The Brookings Institute says more students are likely to lose skills because of the pandemic than they would during summer break

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — As students start coming back to the classroom, some teachers are trying to help catch their students up to speed in critical reading skills.

Some studies suggest students may have lost more knowledge during the pandemic than they would during summer vacation.

The Brookings Institute says children across the country are more likely to lose some important reading skills they picked up earlier in the year.

The National Center on Improving Literacy says it’s up to schools and parents to keep children up to speed when reading, and make sure they are still learning important skills for their age group.

“Skills like phonics and phonological awareness, teaching them how to make meaning from what they’re reading, teaching them vocabulary words and what words mean, those skills we know are really important for children to be successful readers,” said Sarah Saykos, the Deputy Director for the National Center on Improving Literacy.

One school that tried to curb these declining trends is the Montessori School of Columbia, who had to get creative with how they kept their students engaged.

“We definitely had to adapt kind of on the fly, all of our materials are in print,” said Sidney Little, the Lead Elementary Teacher at the Montessori School of Columbia.

By having virtual meetings with students and their teachers keeping tabs on reading, students not only got to enjoy several new books, but also retained key reading skills.

“I’ve actually started reading more because of all the excess time I have,” said Cullen Maas, a seventh grader at the Montessori School of Columbia.

Some students say the interactive nature of the online lessons kept them on track during the summer.

“It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be to read online, because we’d have different chapters to read, and we would talk about it,” said Lucy Kisner-Drennan, an sixth grader at the Montessori School of Columbia.

Some teachers said they were impressed with the students once they came back August 17.

“Honestly, they’ve come back with a willingness and a motivation to hop back in and progress even further,” Little said.