Introduction The school in which this project took place, Papatoetoe Central, was concerned about research evidence that indicated students’ reading achievement dropped after long summer breaks. This drop in achievement, known as “the summer effect”, has been reported in schools in New Zealand and internationally (Alexander, Entwisle, & Olson, 2007; Allington & McGill-Franzen, 2010; McNaughton, Jesson, & Kolose, 2012). Papatoetoe Central, a decile 4 school, is situated in a low income urban area in South Auckland; its student population comprises 9 percent Māori, 14 percent Pasifika, 51 percent Indian, and 18 percent Chinese, with the remainder European New Zealanders and other ethnicities. A high number of students have home languages other