How to Use Prodigy to Fight Summer Learning Loss
Nothing quite compares to that feeling of accomplishment at the end of every school year.
You tirelessly deliver skill-building content to students every day — and as the year wraps up, you get to see all your hard work paid off.
So, why do students seem underprepared when they return the following school year?
One study on summer learning loss found that over the summer, students lost an average of nearly 40% on their school year gains — especially in math.
Plus, online and hybrid learning means that some students might need more math practice than usual.
Luckily, Prodigy learning doesn't stop when the school year does! Students can play Prodigy Math Game all summer long, which can help encourage summer learning and improve their math skills.
“During the summer, I want my students to keep practicing math skills. It takes a fun, gamified environment to help them want to do so. Prodigy provides that! By keeping students motivated, Prodigy encourages summer math practice and prevents the dreaded summer slide.”
Melissa H., teacher
Here’s how you can use Prodigy to encourage summer learning in four easy steps:
1. Print and send home parent letters before summer starts
Tell parents about Prodigy’s awesome benefits and get your class ready to play this summer! We’ve made it easier than ever to invite parents to join Prodigy in just a few clicks. Either:
- Download a set of customized parent letters with student login information for easy printing or emailing
- Send parent emails inviting them to sign up for a free Prodigy parent account right from your teacher dashboard
Here’s how:
- Log in to your Prodigy teacher account.
- Select a classroom and go to your Students tab
- Select Get Parent Letters to download PDF letters in English or Spanish
- Select Invite Parents and enter parent email addresses for each student without a parent already attached
When parents join Prodigy, they’ll get access to a monthly report card of their child’s progress, plus more ways to motivate and reward at-home math practice.
It's a great way to make sure classroom learning is connected with at-home play all summer long.
New to Prodigy? No problem! Sign up for your free teacher account today to get started.
2. Review your Progress Report
Check student progress for the school year by grade level and strand content. When you’ve selected your classroom, go to your Reports tab and choose the Progress report.
View your Progress Report for a full breakdown on how students are performing in each math domain. You can use this information to decide which skills your students will need to practice more over the summer, to prepare for the next grade level.
3. Create Assessments throughout the summer based on common gaps in your Progress Report
Within your classroom, go to the Assessments tool.
The Assessments tool lets you create a summer schedule for your students, choosing which math skills they’ll be practicing when they log into Prodigy at home, or even when traveling on summer vacations!
At the top of your screen, click the Create button and select the second option: Plans.
Select a domain for your Plan.
Choose a skill, then select your desired date range during the summer months. We’ll tell you how long it should take for students to finish your Plan, so you can choose an appropriate date range based on how much you expect them to play Prodigy.
Keep making Plans for every math skill you want to target. Make Plans for the entire summer ahead of time, or add new Plans throughout the summer as you go.
Now you can feel confident knowing students will work on important math skills and enter the new school year ready to keep learning!
“Prodigy’s Plans tool helps me decide exactly what the students should be working on for a specified period of time. Over the summer it is helpful to keep them on level with what they’ve learned so that when they come back in the fall, they will not have had so much learning loss.”
Jody P., teacher
4. Get your students excited about Summerfest!
Once your Plans are ready, make sure students look forward to playing all summer by hyping up the Prodigy's in-game festival, Summerfest!
Summerfest will include tons of fun summer-festival themed features to keep kids engaged for hours, plus exclusive new items they'll only be able to collect during Summerfest! As soon as it launches, students get automatic access when they log in to play.
Tell your class to stay tuned for summer decor, new summer items and much more! Summerfest brings a whole new level of fun to the game that students won’t want to miss.
“Playing Prodigy during the summer is a great way for kids to keep being confronted with the math they learned that year. It would absolutely help with beginning of the year review.”
— Crystal B., 4th grade teacher
To start fighting summer learning loss with Prodigy Math, create or log into your free teacher account now! 👇
