Reading Day, Independent Reading, and Silent Sustained Reading

Elizabeth and Stan got me to thinking. Here's some research about silent-sustained reading, which could also be called "quiet reading time:"

The Importance of SSR

SSR first was proposed over forty years ago by Lyman C. Hunt, Jr. of the University of Vermont in the 1960s (Trelease 2001). Robert and Marlene McCracken, reading experts, formulated the following recommendations to structure SSR programs:

1. Children should read aloud to themselves for a limited amount of time.
2. Each student should select his own book magazine or newspaper.
3. The teacher or parent must read also in order to lead by example. This cannot be stressed too strongly.
4. No reports are required of the student. No records are kept (Trelease 2001; McCracken, 1971).

In 1985, Anderson et al. released a national report, Becoming a Nation of Readers recommending that SSR be implemented into all American classrooms. The report explained that priority needed to be given to independent reading, for the more time students spent reading the greater their reading proficiency (Kirby 2003). Anderson et al. (1985) states “independent reading is more effective in developing reading ability than the skill and drill workbooks and practice sheets normally associated with a basal reading program” (75–76). Originally SSR called for a school-wide daily reading time for teachers and students in which reading material was not monitored nor were students evaluated on their reading. Manning-Dowd (1985) reviewed research on SSR and concluded that SSR has a positive effect on reading comprehension and reading attitudes at all grade levels.

Pilgreen (2000) explains the importance of SSR, and explains eight crucial features needed to set up and properly maintain a sustained silent reading program in an educational setting. They include:

1. Access. Students need access to traditional and nontraditional reading materials—books, magazines, newspapers, and other reading materials—in the classroom and at home.
2. Appeal. Students need to be surrounded with appealing and provocative reading material that they want to read.
3. Conducive environment. Students should have a comfortable place in which to read.
4. Encouragement. Teachers and students need a variety of ways to share and discuss what they are reading.
5. Staff training. SSR is not a passive process; teachers must be motivated “to learn strategies for linking students with books, highlighting the importance of having all of the participating adults ‘buy into’ the concept of free reading” (14).
6. Non-accountability. SSR involves no required tasks or follow-up language work. Learners read without the concern of having to write a book report or make a presentation.
7. Follow-up activities. Are carefully designed to keep students excited and engaged readers.
8. Distributed time to read. Students need time to read. Setting up independent reading on a daily basis is most effective so that reading becomes a habit and not just an academic exercise.

Trelease (2001) explains that the benefits of SSR are many and vary:

but in its simplest form SSR allows a person to read long enough and far enough so the act of reading becomes automatic . . . Because it is supposed to be informal and free of grades, SSR also can provide students with a new perspective on reading—as a form of recreation (chapter 5, 2).

Although there is no magic cure for students in high school, “it can result in positive attitudinal changes toward the library, voluntary reading, assigned reading, and the importance of reading. This affects the amount students read and thus their facility with the process” (chapter 5, 2). Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding (1988) studied 155 fifth graders who kept activity logs of their out-of-school activities. They found that among all the ways children spend their time outside of school, reading books is the best predictor of several measures of reading achievement, including gains in reading achievement between second and fifth grade.

The Importance of Recreational Reading

Research has demonstrated time and time again, that consistent exposure to high-quality literature will expand a child’s world and be reflected in their vocabulary (Kambarian 2001; Robbins and Ehri 1994). Students who engage in reading on a daily basis may demonstrate a carry over effect and increase their knowledge across the board in all academic areas (Kambarian 2001). Trelease (2001) explains that when the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) compared the reading skills of 210,000 students from thirty-two countries it found the highest scores (regardless of income level) among children who were read to by their teachers and children who read the most pages for daily pleasure (chapter 5, 1).

Krashen (2003; 1993) argues that there is consistent evidence that those who have more access to books read more and students who have more time for recreational reading demonstrate more academic gains in reading than “comparison students” (2003, 16) and that a lack of reading practice results in a decline in reading ability (1993). Free voluntary reading improves vocabulary, reading comprehension, grammar, and writing among first-language acquirers as well as among second-language acquirers (Cho and Krashen 2001). Cho and Krashen explain that:

reading itself appears to be the most powerful motivator for encouraging additional reading: those who participate in sustained silent reading (SSR) programs show clear increases in the amount of free reading they do outside of school (Pilgreen and Krashen, 1993) and the effect appears to last years after the SSR program ends (Greaney and Clarke 1975). (2001, 170).

This underscores the pedagogical importance of allowing students to have the following:

• the ability to choose from a wide variety of reading material,
• time to read in-class on a daily basis (sixty minutes maximum),
• timely, supportive, and interactive feedback from teachers,
• teachers who will employ motivational strategies that excite students about books, and
• teachers who will ensure that students are provided with reading material appropriately challenging for their reading level.

Notice that all of the above is quite independent of AR. AR offers a quick and easy instantaneous record keeping component for teachers which make their lives easier. In fact, “many districts have corrupted what was designed as essentially a bookkeeping system, converted it to part of the reading program, and encouraged students to read for points tied to report card grades” (Pavonetti, Brimmer, and Cipielewski 2002/2003, 309).

Classroom Application

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR). Students read for a limited (10-15 minutes) on self-selected material with no changing of reading materials permitted during that time. The teacher models voluntary reading at the same time. No reports are required and no records are kept.

Modified Silent Sustained Reading. One example of a modified USSR is called WEB (Wonderfully Exciting Books), allowing the students to self select their reading material and read for a designated time period each day. (Routman, 1991) Upon finishing the book, the student has a peer conference (with specific questions) and completes a project to share with the class. The teacher also confers with the student. The student uses a WEB recording sheet to log the process.

Reading Workshop. Reading Workshop (Atwell, 1987; Reif, 1992) is a very structured approach to free voluntary reading based on three principles: time, ownership and response. Students are given time daily in the classroom for silent, independent reading. Unlike USSR, it is not a limited 10-15 minute block of time. Reading Workshop lasts a minimum of 30 minutes. Ownership allows students to choose titles. In response to their reading, students make a connection between reading and writing through the use of dialogue journals.

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In my own classroom, my preferred way to incorporate "reading time" was through reading workshop (Atwell, 1987; Reif, 1992). We would have at least 30 minutes of reading time at least two or three times a week, if not more, and this was also part of a reading/writing workshop classroom, so students chose whether they read or wrote.

In my experience, silent sustained reading only works if the teacher reads his or her own book with the students. If the teacher is too busy to read (moving around the room, talking, doing other things), then the students don't see SSR as valued time. They tend to goof off. If I read, the students ALWAYS read. These times were some of the most joyful of my career. All of those years I tried to get students to be quiet and they wouldn't! To be in a room with 30-35 sophomores and seniors reading is one of my greatest memories. What more could I ask for?

I felt like this turned them into real readers--hopefully, life-long readers. Few of them had read a book that they chose since sixth grade!

Stan asked about literature circles. There is so much info, but here's a brief description.