2. Literacy Educators have TWO Goals:
To teach our students To teach our students
to read to want to read
Kasten and Wilfong (2005)
3. Q: What is Independent Reading?
A: Time spent silently reading self-selected
texts
TWO GOALS of Independent Reading:
1. To promote positive attitudes toward reading
(Heathington, 1979; Manning, Lewis, & Lewis, 2010; Midgley, 1993; Mizelle, 1997)
2. To provide students with the reading practice
they need to become proficient (Allington, 1977, 2009;
Gambrell, 2009)
5. Time spent reading predicts gains
in achievement between second
and fifth grade
Studentswho scored in the 90th
percentile:
Spent nearly 5 times as many minutes per
day reading than those scoring in the 50th
percentile
Over 200 times more than students who
scored in the tenth percentile
Time spent reading predicts achievement in
comprehension, vocabulary, and reading
speed
6. Teachers can influence the
amount of time students spend
reading outside of school!
How?
1. Reading aloud
2. Providing independent reading time
during school hours
8. Overall, Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) has a
consistent and positive effect on reading
attitudes!
Early studies showed that Later reviews support earlier
SSR is neither more nor claims that providing SSR
less effective than time for students to read
other approaches to self-selected texts
reading
facilitated development
Also… when compared of positive attitudes
to other approaches,
the findings for benefits toward reading
to higher-level reading
skills for SSR were
inconclusive
9. One Decade,
Two Major Reports
Teaching Children to Read (NRP)
To Read or Not to Read (NEA, 2007)
10. Teaching Children to Read
Reported a lack of research support for
independent reading
Challenged the practice of providing classroom
time for SSR
NRP concluded that there were insufficient
numbers of scientifically based research studies
In spite of this, NRP acknowledged that good
readers read the most and poor readers read
the least
The more children read, the better their fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension
11. To Read or Not to Read
(NEA)
Conducted studies to determine
American reading habits
Unsettling findings:
1. Americans are spending less
time reading
2. Reading comprehension skills
are declining
CONCLUSIONS:
Pleasure reading correlates
strongly with academic
achievement
Individuals who engage in
reading for pleasure are
better readers and writers
than nonreaders
Children and teenagers who
read regularly scored better
on reading tests
12. Startling Statistics:
Nearly half of Americans ages 18-24
reported reading no books for pleasure
From 1984-2004, the percentage of 13-
year-olds who reported that they “read
for fun” declined from 35%-30%
For 17-year-olds the decline was from 31%
to 22%
Asindividuals read less, they read less well
resulting in lower academic achievement
13. Recent Studies
Manning, Lewis, & Lewis (2010)
Reutzel, Fawson, and Smith (2008)
Kuhn and Schwanenflugel (2009)
Allington (2009)
14. Effects of ScSR with GROR
Scaffolded Silent Reading And Guided Repeated Oral Reading
Silent reading Both practices
Wide reading
Independent-level
tended toward
texts tedium and
Varied genres decreased
Teacher monitors and enjoyment of
interacts with individual
students reading
Book response
assignments
15. Effects of
Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction
(FORI) and Wide Reading
Oral reading rather than silent reading
Has implications for independent reading
Students read and re-read a single text each
week in the FORI group
Wide-reading group read and re-read three
different texts
Wide-reading group demonstrated greater
fluency than FORI group and had more
positive self concept as readers
Increased reading practice matters more
than which technique is used to foster
expanded reading activity
16. The Use of Software Programs
to Manage Reading
Accelerated Reader and Reading Counts
Both programs assess students’ level and allow students
to choose and read books at that level
After reading, students complete a computerized
comprehension quiz
FINDINGS:
Schools that use reading management programs have
more books in their libraries and allow more time for
sustained silent reading
Caution:
More empirical evidence is needed to support the
effects of reading management programs
17. Research-Informed Visions of
Independent Reading in the
Classroom
Allington (2009)
Hiebert & Reutzel, (2010)
Kelly & Clausen-Grace (2006)
Reutzel et al., (2008)
Samuels & Wu (2003)
18. Teacher Scaffolding for Effective Practice and Engaged
Successful Reading Practice Reading
The stamina of readers Engaged reading is
when students actively
can be supported by use cognitive processes
effective and strategies while
independent, silent reading
reading practice Not all children are
Students should be engaged in real
taught to select reading during
appropriate texts independent reading
time, especially
Teachers should hold struggling readers
book conferences Teachers should:
Three phases: Help students choose
Read and Relax appropriate books
Reflect and Respond Allow time for social
interaction about books
Rap
19. Time Devoted to Independent
Reading in School
The time spent reading in school has been
low over the last 30 years
Some research has suggested that
students should spend 90 minutes
engaged in independent reading during
the school day
Time spent reading and writing should be
greater than time devoted to instruction
20. Appropriate Levels of Text
Not all students are capable of
selecting appropriate text
Reading easy texts promotes
reading engagement and
achievement to a greater extent
than does reading more difficult
texts
Struggling readers may need a
steady diet of “high-success”
reading experiences with books
they can read with at least 99%
accuracy
Teacher guiding may be
necessary to ensure struggling
readers are choosing the right
level text
21. Social Interactions
Around Books
During Independent
Reading
Social interaction promotes
achievement, higher-level
cognition, and desire to read
Students who have
opportunities to interact socially
with peers during literacy
activities are more motivated to
read
Students who engage in
frequent discussions about
reading with friends and family
are more motivated read and
have higher reading
achievement
22. To Sum Up:
IF:
Students to read appropriate texts
Students have more time to read in school
Students have meaningful interaction
when it comes to reading
THEN:
o Students will achieve higher reading
scores
o Students will LOVE reading!
23. The End!
This concludes Kathryn
Dusel’s portion of the jigsaw
wiki for Module Two of EDU
740
