Dear Academic Approach Families & Colleagues:
With school e-learning ending and many long, warm days ahead with activities canceled, summer may feel more formless for students than it has in the past. The end of the school year doesn’t necessarily mean the end of learning though. We’ve touched before on the importance of engagement in learning while out of school. Research has shown that summer learning can be incredibly effective (matching the learning typically seen during the school year!), but only if students are engaged and attending. Students with low or inconsistent attendance in summer learning programs saw little or no impact.
This week, we’ll be focusing on the importance of academic enrichment over the summer. First, we’ll share some thoughts on math–which, as we’ve discussed, tends to be the subject where students fall the furthest behind while out of school.
Resources for Learning at Home
We’ve seen many great resources online for students working to improve their math skills.
- Youtube channel Numberphile was created by math lovers diving into their favorite topics. Most of the videos are accessible to high-school level students, though some go on to dive into higher-level math concepts. Their enthusiasm for the content will engage even the most math-phobic students.
- TedEd has lessons organized by content and grade level that include engaging videos on a variety of topics.
- WideOpenSchool is a great resource for accessing online learning in math over the summer. It’s also organized by content and grade, and you can find a variety of engaging activities from all over the internet vetted for families.
Opportunities for Learning with Academic Approach
We’re offering targeted programming to support students in identifying and filling gaps as they move into the next level of math in the fall. We’ll work with students on the key college-readiness skills that they may have missed while out of school, may have forgotten from last fall, or might encounter early next school year. As always, our curriculum and instruction are tied to the skills most predictive of college success in math.
Be well,
Matthew Pietrafetta, Ph.D., Founder & CEO
