Sustained Silent Reading Research Articles

A Case Study of a High School English‐Language Learner and His Reading

Mario, an adolescent English‐language learner and struggling reader, participated in a university‐sponsored summer literacy program. After the program, a follow‐up literacy assessment was conducted, and Mario was interviewed about his perceptions of and practices with literacy.The findings of this case study demonstrate the possibility that one‐on‐one tutoring, performing specific activities such as think‐alouds when reading, engaging in sustained silent reading for extended periods each day, writing in dialogue journals, and conducting inquiry projects can all influence the motivation and the reading effectiveness of an adolescent English‐language learner who struggles to read. Although it is not possible to make conclusive assertions that any of these activities are effective for all students, it is clear by that they had a positive influence on Mario as a reader.

Revelations from Three Consecutive Studies on Extensive Reading

This paper presents three consecutive studies on the effect of extensive reading on the development of reading and vocabulary for Taiwanese university non-English majors. Each study used a different approach, with subsequent studies adjusting the methodology in response to the results of the previous year. These results confirm other findings, using different subjects in other countries, that (1) extensive reading can be integrated into an EFL curriculum, termed in-class sustained silent reading, at the university level; (2) extensive reading is at least as effective and efficient as traditional instruction in acquiring English as a foreign language and is more effective than traditional instruction when the treatment duration is longer; (3) book access and self-selection of reading are two keys to the success of a sustained silent reading program.

Reading Kiosks: Literacy Empowerment for the Girl-Child

This paper reports on the Reading Kiosks English literacy project carried out in Opa-settlement, Ile-Ife in Nigeria. In all, 46 girls between the ages of 7 and 22 years took part in activities such as journal writing, shared reading, uninterrupted sustained silent reading, world literacy day celebration, story telling, retelling and writing, a reading festival, etc. The project reveals that, given the opportunity, girls are able to use available resources to achieve empowerment for both personal and national development. Since the gender gap in literacy and education is widespread, and especially marked in less developed countries of the world, and because the equity issue has significant economic, demographic and health implications, the paper is essentially concerned with the ways by which the girl-child can be empowered to achieve her full role in the community.

Tutoring Bilingual Students with an Automated Reading Tutor that Listens

Children from non-English-speaking homes are doubly disadvantaged when learning English in school. They enter school with less prior knowledge of English sounds, word meanings, and sentence structure, and they get little or no reinforcement of their learning outside of the classroom. This article compares the classroom standard practice of sustained silent reading with the Project LISTEN Reading Tutor which uses automated speech recognition to “listen” to children read aloud, providing both spoken and graphical feedback. Previous research with the Reading Tutor has focused primarily on native speaking populations. In this study 34 Hispanic students spent one month in the classroom and one month using the Reading Tutor for 25 minutes per day. The Reading Tutor condition produced significant learning gains in several measures of fluency. Effect sizes ranged from 0.55 to 1.27. These dramatic results from a one-month treatment indicate this technology may have much to offer English language learners.

R5: The Sustained Silent Reading Makeover That Transformed Readers

This article reports on a retooled Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) block in an intermediate classroom designed to meet the needs of all students. The authors discuss the benefits and obstacles to SSR and include the framework and classroom management tips that aided their successful implementation of an independent reading block. Students engaged in a structured format called R5 (read, relax, reflect, respond, and rap), which resulted in significant gains on informal and formal assessments of wide reading, metacognitive awareness, and comprehension. Furthermore, to motivate and engage readers, the authors suggest that teachers Consistently monitor and guide the reading habits of their students Build in opportunities for sharing ideas and discussions about text Promote the application of metacognitive strategies in the context of reading A review of the research on independent reading and SSR, classroom observations, and assessment findings are provided to illustrate the power of this thoughtful literacy block.

Classroom Interactive Practices for Developing L2 Literacy: A Microethnographic Study of Two Beginning Adult Learners of English

Using methods from conversation analysis, this microethnographic longitudinal case study traces the development of interactional competence which results from adult learners’ socialization into literacy events in a modified Sustained Silent Reading (mSSR) program. The investigation focuses on two learners who participated in the mSSR program in an ESOL classroom at an adult community college for three terms. The findings show how the two learners (with different first language educational backgrounds) follow different paths in acquiring interactional competence, moving from peripheral to more engaged participation in classroom literacy events through their socialization into three of these events: book selection, opening post-reading re-tellings, and completing and filing reading logs.

Removing the Silent From SSR: Voluntary Reading as Social Practice

This article describes a small-scale project designed to help engage reluctant adolescent readers in voluntary reading practice during sustained silent reading (SSR). Three teachers worked with a secondary school reading expert to identify and agree on elements of effective instructional conversations and then implemented these “book talks” with a small group of students about once a week over a school year. The talks focused on making explicit the practice of choosing and engaging in text, especially the features that made text memorable or enjoyable. Sample transcripts and interviews with teacher and student participants show how the conversations went in practice. The associated challenges are identified. For the teacher, they included the tension between achieving instructional aims and relinquishing control of the conversations and keeping a conversation alive and dominating it. Positive outcomes for students include “getting into reading.” They reported enjoying the experience, and three-quarters of them made progress in terms of the goals of SSR. Teachers reported focusing more on the purpose of SSR rather than the form and found they came to know their readers.

Is In-School Free Reading Good for Children? Why the National Reading Panel Report is (Still) Wrong

Prompted by Timothy Shanahan's and Steven Stahl's responses to his previous Kappan article, Mr. revisits his criticisms of the National Reading Panel report. N AN EARLIER Kappan article I reviewed the section of the National Reading Panel (NRP) report that dealt with fluency.1 I argued that the panel's review of the research on free in school missed a number of studies and made serious errors in reporting the studies it did include. I noted that of the studies showed between readers and that comparisons involved students who were already advanced and had already established a habit. I pointed out that the NRP did include long-term studies, which I found to be more supportive of silent (SSR) than short-term studies. Moreover, the NRP also included one study in which students were highly constrained in what they could The case for free reading, I argued, rests on more than experimental studies; case histories also provide compelling evidence for the power of reading. Contrary to the panel's findings, I concluded that the evidence in support of free in school was strong. Timothy Shanahan and the late Steven Stahl, both members of the NRP, attempted to respond to my criticisms in The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research.2 However, their chapters contain misrepresentations of my position, as well as inaccuracies in reporting the literature. I wish to set the record straight. Just letting kids Shanahan states my position as follows: Krashen (2001) argued that letting kids is better than (p. 245). This description is simply accurate. I discussed sustained silent reading and other in-school free programs. These programs include more than just letting kids read. They set aside time to make sure children have a chance to read, they provide access to good books, and they do things that encourage reading. I strongly suspect that just letting kids read is better than many kinds of instruction, but SSR does more than that. Did I say that free is better than instruction? I actually concluded that it was at least as good as and often better than instruction, the instruction provided to comparison groups in the studies, which is generally instruction based on skill-building. Shanahan's presentation of my position can be interpreted to mean that I am opposed to all instruction, and that, of course, is false. Similarly, according to Shanahan, I claim that prefer having students instead of teaching them (p. 246). I did say that; I said that teachers prefer free to what usually goes on in language arts and classes, that is, regular instruction.3 Shanahan refers to the comparison groups in the studies of free as utilizing some impoverished form of teaching, e.g., assigning random worksheets (p. 246). I think that it is highly likely that skill-building was involved in the comparison groups, but there is evidence that the classes with the worst instruction were selected to serve as comparisons in these studies. What no difference means. Many studies comparing in-school to regular instruction show between the two groups in gains in comprehension. For Shanahan, a finding of no significant differences between in-school free programs and comparison groups is not very informative (p. 246), because the failure to find a could be the result of factors other than the efficacy of one of the treatments -- poor application, enough of a treatment, and so on. While I agree that such factors can play a role, I view these results as an invitation to closer analysis. What is interesting is that studies that do show a consistently show the same results. This is true in my analysis, in which I found negative results (in- school free fared worse than regular instruction) in only three comparisons out of 53, and in the NRP report, which found studies in which SSR students performed less well than controls. …

Setting the “Opportunity to Read” Standard: Resuscitating the SSR Program in an Urban High School

Providing students with time to read during school has been questioned by researchers and practitioners. This article reports on the efforts of one school to resuscitate a schoolwide initiative to provide students the opportunity to read. A single comment made by a student led to committee work and significant policy changes. A chronicle of events over two years and an analysis of the factors that ensure successful Silent Sustained Reading programs show teachers how to apply the lessons learned at one high school to ensure that students are provided time to read regularly.

The Status of Whole Language, Phonemic Awareness, and the Value of Implicit Instruction: Comments on Shen

Stephen Krashen University of Southern California I have several comments on Hwei-Jiun Shen's Role of Explicit Instruction in EFL/ESL Teaching (FLA, Shen, 2003, 36[3]). 1. Shen argued that California fourth graders' low scores on a national reading test (NAEP) since 1992 are evidence for the failings of literacy approaches (p. 425). This has been a popular interpretation, but there is good evidence that it is not correct. NAEP scores were analyzed by state for the first time in 1992. It was assumed that reading proficiency in California was better before progressive literacy approaches (whole language) was introduced but there is no NAEP data to support this. McQuillan (1998), however, examined California children's performance on other tests of reading from 1984 to 1990 and found no significant change, demonstrating that California was in trouble before 1992-well before whole language was introduced in 1987. McQuillan also presented compelling evidence that California's children have the worst access to books in the United States, with the worst school libraries, poor public libraries, and high rates of poverty in families with school-age children. McQuillan and others have reported clear and substantial correlations between access to print and reading achievement (see also Krashen, 2002). In addition, there was insufficient time for the decision of a committee made in 1987 to have an impact on tests in 1992: Fourth graders taking the test would have had less than one year under the new curriculum. It should also be pointed out that California instituted a skills-based approach soon after the 1992 scores were announced, and whole language was banished. The most recent NAEP results (2002) show that California still ranks at the bottom of the country and its scores have not improved since 1992. California's fanatic rush to phonics and skill building had no effect. This is a stunning confirmation of McQuillan's arguments; there has been no improvement in California's school libraries or public libraries in the last 10 years. 2. Shen concluded that first language research shows that explicit instruction (in phonemic awareness) is necessary, based on the report on the National Reading Panel. Shen may not be aware that this has also been challenged. In Krashen (2001a), I reviewed the reading panel's research on the impact of phonemic awareness training on reading comprehension: I found only 6 studies and 13 comparisons, which included only 3 studies of English-speaking children. Overall results were not spectacular, and several studies showed no effect at all. In fact, only one study produced consistently positive results, a study done in Israel with 15 Hebrew-speaking children in the experimental group. In their response to me, members of the National Reading Panel (Ehri, Shanahan, &r Nunes, 2002) commented that more studies might produce more positive results. Of course, I agree, but until that happens, we cannot claim that phonemic awareness training has a substantial impact on reading. The research literature also shows that many children with low or even no phonemic awareness learn to read quite well, and that phonemic awareness develops without instruction (Krashen, 2001b). Most likely, phonemic awareness is the result of reading, not the cause. 3. Shen stated that researchers on implicit instruction have tried to show that natural implicit instruction works well with ESL/EFL as well as with Ll learners (p. 426). Researchers have done more than try. In published study after published study, comprehensible-input based methods, when compared to traditional methodology, have been shown to be very successlul at beginning and intermediate levels, without serious exceptions (For a review, see Krashen, 2003), and extensive reading and sustained silent reading have consistently been shown to be more successful than traditional instruction in L2, as well as in Ll development (reviewed in Krashen, 2001c, 2003). …

Increasing Fluency in First Graders: Practice Makes Perfect, or at Least Better

There is a strong research base indicating that students who read more are better readers, but in the seven years since the report of the National Reading Panel (NICHHD, 2000), there has been much controversy surrounding the impact of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) on students' reading achievement. This study attempted to assess the effects of time spent reading on first grade students' attitudes and fluency. Two first grade teachers dedicated 45 minutes at the end of every day to independent reading for a 7 week period. Pre- and post-assessment data were collected using two instruments: surveys for attitude and timed readings for fluency. One first grade classroom in the same school served as the control group. Results indicate that although there were no significant patterns in attitudinal changes, there was evidence of increased fluency across all ability levels, both in words read per minute and, more notably, in accuracy rates.

Evaluating Teacher Modeling as a Strategy to Increase Student Reading Behavior

The purpose of this research was to implement and evaluate a classroom strategy to increase student engagement in sustained silent reading (SSR), a form of school-based recreational reading. Teacher modeling was selected as the primary intervention. A within-subjects ABAB withdrawal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Baseline data indicated moderate and variable percentages of student SSR. Rapid and marked changes in silent reading behavior were observed during intervention phases. Results suggest that teacher modeling of SSR is an effective functional intervention that can be used to increase student engagement. Implications and limitations are discussed with emphasis on establishing procedures to support successful classroom SSR programs.

Sustained silent reading: Exploring the value of literature discussion with three non‐engaged readers

Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) or some related form of silent, independent reading practice has been incorporated into the daily reading routines of many classrooms and schools across the nation. However, we, like other educators have discovered that simply providing all students the time to self‐select their own books and read silently did not guarantee that they would actually engage in silent reading. In fact, many schools have discontinued using SSR because some students are not engaged in reading during SSR time. This study used a multiple‐baseline across‐subjects research design to investigate the impact of literary discussions on the engagement of three fourth‐grade non‐engaged readers during SSR. While additional studies are required to produce generalizable findings, teachers should be aware that non‐engaged readers benefit from participation in short, teacher or adult‐led literary discussions during SSR time.

Fundamentals of Literature: Teaching High School Students with Special Needs

Suggests that a remedial English classroom should be simple, emphasize respect, and make students comfortable. Notes that regardless of the special challenges each student may bring to the classroom, basic language skills improve through practice. Describes a remedial English class, which incorporates journal writing, reading aloud, sustained silent reading, and discussion.

Sustained Silent Reading and Young Adult Short Stories for High School Classes

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Discovering Joy in Reading

By the time the freshman enters the university he ought to have passed the ”learn to read” stage. After all, the student in Taiwan has studied English since junior high school, which means that he or she has had at least 6 years of English prior to college. In fact, in recent years many students have had more than 6 years of English due to the growth and popularity of the ubiquitous language institutes in this country. Therefore, by the time he starts the university, the student ought to be ready to ”read to learn.” Many of our students come to the Freshman English Reading class with this expectation too. They look forward to doing the assigned reading where they will learn something about the values, opinions and attitudes of a western or foreign culture that underlie the language being studied. However, when a reading teacher meets an enormous class (Freshman Reading course tend to have as many as 60 students per class) of diverse proficiency, out of frustration, s/he often resorts to using the reading material as a source of model sentences, or, more frequently, to follow the old translation method. In either case, the reading course tends to be a mere extension of supplementary exercises for vocabulary improvement and grammar explanations, with all cultural content lost in a jumble of words and sentence structures, and, most important of all, with the disappearance of much of the joy of reading and learning gone. The writer assumes that most teachers want their students to understand that reading is a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. The goal of this paper is to introduce a modified Sustained Silent Reading program suitable for the EFL/ESL setting whereby reading is seen not as a chore but something to enjoy. In addition, this presentation reports on how bringing pleasure reading into the reading classroom can not only improve their vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension, but also change the confidence, attitude and reading habits of our students.

Ecological Approaches to Sustained Silent Reading: Conferencing, Contracting, and Relating to Middle School Students

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image sizeKey Words: conferencingcontractsmiddle school Additional informationNotes on contributorsTariq T. AkmalTariq T. Akmal is an assistant professor of education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Washington State University, in Pullman.

More Smoke and Mirrors: A Critique of the National Reading Panel Report on Fluency

At worst, the impact of free reading appears to be the same as that of traditional instruction, and it is often better, especially when studies are continued for more than an academic year, finding that the National Reading Panel has obscured by omitting important studies and by describing others incorrectly, Mr. Krashen charges. IN HER review of the report on phonics by the National Reading Panel (NRP), Elaine Garan concluded that the report involved a limited number of studies of narrow population.1 I will argue that this problem is not limited to the section on phonics: it also applies to the section of the report on fluency. It is only by omitting large number of relevant studies - and misinterpreting the ones that were included - that the NRP was able to reach the startling conclusion that there is no clear evidence that encouraging children to read more actually improves reading achievement.2 OMISSIONS The selection criteria used by the NRP to choose studies for its report were as follows: 1. The study had to be research study that appeared to consider the effect of encouraging students to read more on reading achievement. 2. The study had to focus on English reading education, conducted with children (K-12). 3. The study itself had to have appeared in refereed journal. 4. The study had to have been carried out with English language reading.3 The NRP claimed that it could find only 14 studies that met these criteria.4 Of these, 10 were studies of the impact of sustained silent reading (SSR) programs in which some class time is set aside for free reading with little or no accountability. Of these 10, three had positive results, with the students who were engaged in free voluntary reading outperforming comparison groups. Another study showed positive results for one condition but not for other conditions, and the rest of the studies showed no difference between groups or no gains. Table 1 summarizes these outcomes.5 In other sections of the NRP report, such as the sections on phonics and phonemic awareness, the NRP listed studies that were excluded from its analysis. This was not done for the section on fluency. We do not know, therefore, which excluded studies were simply missed and which were rejected, nor do we know the specific rationale for their rejection. In Table 2, I present an expanded set of SSR studies in which tests of reading comprehension were used. Many of the studies summarized in Table 2 meet the four criteria of the NRP and were apparently missed. But there were some vio-lations. A few were done with students slightly older than the age limit imposed by the NRP; in all such cases, the subjects were undergraduate college students. Subjects in some of the studies were students of English as second language.6 In several studies, students read in Spanish, not English; in these cases, the students were native speakers of Spanish. Finally, some studies were not published in refereed journals. Table 2 summarizes the results of these studies. It includes studies included by the NRP as well as those that the NRP did not include.7 In the studies in Table 2, SSR students did as well as or better than comparison students in 50 out of 53 comparisons. For longer-term studies (those longer than one year), SSR students were superior in eight of 10 studies, and there was no difference in the other two. Moreover, there are plausible reasons why the results were not even more positive. In one study by Isabel Schon, Kenneth Hopkins, and Carol Vojir, there was no difference between SSR students and comparison groups, but only five of the 11 SSR teachers actually carried out SSR conscientiously.8 The classes taught by these five achieved significantly better gains. In study by Ruth Cline and George Kretke, another study showing no difference, the subjects were junior high school students who were reading two years above grade level and probably had already established reading habit. …

The Brunei Reading and Language Acquisition Project

The Ministry of Education of Brunei Darussalam, keen to improve the teaching of English in its primary schools, decided to introduce an English language project modeled on Singapore's REAP program. The Brunei Reading and Language Acquisition Project (RELA) started in 1989, for Year 1 students in 20 pilot schools. After a series of evaluation studies had shown positive benefits, it was extended to all 120 primary schools in the state. Over the first three years, 38 out of 41 measures showed statistically significant improvements relative to comparison groups and surveys of teacher opinion were very positive. External evaluations have confirmed the benefits, and the Ministry has extended the principles of the project to the upper primary school, where Sustained Silent Reading has become a daily part of the program. Although a recent comprehensive review team found that most of the schools were still implementing basic RELA methodology, there were specific areas that needed attention for future improvement. The main recommendation of this review was to develop a structure to encourage collaboration among different sectors of the educational community for sustaining and improving on change. Field projects like these demonstrate how difficult it is to implement research ideas and they highlight the importance of attention to how educational change is to be achieved and sustained.

Instructional Strategies Used by General Educators and Teachers of Students with Learning Disabilities

A survey was conducted to determine the instructional strategies used by special education teachers and general educators in teaching reading and writing, their philosophical approach (direct instruction or whole language), and what influenced teachers in making their philosophical decision. a 21-item questionnaire was completed by 183 elementary teachers of second and fifth grades and teachers of students with learning disabilities. the results indicated that the most important factor influencing respondents' philosophical decisions in teaching reading and writing is their teacher training program emphasis. results also indicated that the majority of respondents believe that a combination approach using both direct instruction and whole language is effective. the most commonly used instructional strategies by respondents include journal writing, writers' workshop, tradebooks, sustained silent reading, individualized reading, guided reading, and thematic units.