The Many Benefits of Sustained Silent Reading
The benefits of classroom reading are many. Children (especially young children) have a natural love of reading. However, we at the middle school often see students who either struggle with texts or are turned off to reading. A great way of regenerating that interest is through sustained silent reading in your classroom.
This topic has been hotly debated recently in the International Reading Association newsletter. I’m not trying to enter this debate. This article will simply describe what we in our school have observed and detail what we’ve done in our classes that has worked for our students.
First off, let your students choose what they read, whether it is a book, magazine, or whatever. It makes a huge difference in peaking their interest. Teachers already give (and require) plenty of specific readings through activities, literature, and in textbooks. Students need the opportunity to read about what interests them, and this can occur when you allow them to choose what they want to read. By all means, continue with your regular activities, but find a way to give your students time (in class is best) to read on their own.
It is very important for you as the teacher to model reading to your students. Read the entire time your students are reading too. Don’t let this time be wasted on grading papers, checking email, or doing any other administrivia. If you want your students to take the time seriously, show them you are taking the time yourself and are enjoying the activity. Regardless of what the kids may say to you, they will imitate your behaviors in your class. You have this great opportunity to be a positive role model!
Just as in practicing writing and their skills through the week, you as the teacher need to schedule in time for sustained silent reading. When I’m covering a piece of literature, for example, my class may read in a variety of ways. We may read aloud, I may read to the class, or we may play ‘popcorn’ around the room as students choose others. You probably have other out-loud reading activities you use too. These are great, and I always recommend them. But you should always give students time to read silently too. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but I do recommend at least ten minutes, though not more than twenty. Think in terms of attention spans: plenty of time to become engaged in the text, read for a bit, and yet stay focused. Obviously some students could lose themselves in a book for hours on end, but not all kids have such a long attention span. Start with ten minutes and work upward, adding a few minutes each time.
In addition to literature we all cover in class, I also set up a regular library time so students can select their own books. We’ll stay in the library for, again, about twenty minutes. I give students between ten and fifteen minutes to look over the shelves and ‘try on’ a book. Its like trying on clothing. This trial version is very important so students can start deciding if this is the book for them. If it doesn’t hook them in the first ten minutes, I suggest they try again. I’ll try to make suggestions based on what I think the students’ interests are. Sometimes we talk about what they like, what their interests are. Students are not required to check out a book, but they must ‘try out’ at least one book at each visit.
We designate each Friday after our vocabulary quiz for sustained silent reading. Students may read their library book, another book of their choice, or even a magazine from the rack in my room (I typically collect old magazines from everywhere and keep them in a large rack in class). Old magazines include the old stand bys – Reader’s Digest, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated. But I also gather Teen magazines, food and cooking, gardening, hunting and fishing, and video game magazines, among others. This way there are a large variety of topics for students to choose from.
The bookshelves in my room also have old reference materials and some outdated textbooks I’ve scrounged from other teachers. Some of your students will enjoy looking through drafting texts, recipe books, or science books, and you’d be surprised at the number of kids who love maps in social studies, history, or geography text books.
I’ve noticed a difference, especially in the attitudes of my students toward reading. Students given choices through the year were more engaged in the assigned readings through the year. Often, students (especially struggling students or low readers) have told me they enjoy reading, or they’ve found a topic or author they want to read more about, or the readings I did assign were some of the only ones they actually read (that year or in several years). Comments like that last one are bittersweet, because though I’m glad the student has regained the interest in reading, I’m sorry it took so long and the student was turned off in the first place. Sustained silent reading and allowing students to choose their own texts can be very powerful and beneficial to your students. You can be the teacher who makes a difference to your students.
