That question has
prompted heated debate over the past 7 years. It started in 2001, when the
National Reading Panel, in a widely quoted and sometimes misinterpreted
finding, stated that, "The research suggests that there are more beneficial
ways to spend reading instructional time than to have students read
independently in the classroom without
reading instruction" [emphasis ours]. IRA President Timothy Shanahan cast
further doubt on the effectiveness of SSR in his article in Reading Today (June/July 2006), referring to the lack of
published research in refereed journals showing benefits from the program. The
proponents of SSR, in particular Stephen Krashen, argue that many studies were
not included or misinterpreted in the National Reading Panel's evaluation, and
that the panel did not go far enough: for example, they did not study SSR for a
long enough period of time to evaluate its effectiveness.
Does Reading Time Help, Anyway? As Heidi Trudel
states in her article, "Making Data-Driven Decisions: Silent Reading," in the
December 2007 edition of The Reading
Teacher, "Studies have shown that the amount of time a student spends
reading natural, meaningful, and connected text (not necessarily self-selected)
results in increased vocabulary knowledge (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998; Nagy,
Herman and Anderson, 1985), fluency and word recognition (Yopp & Yopp,
2003), and overall reading and listening
comprehension (Elley & Mangubhai, 1983; Taylor, Frye, & Maruyama,
1990). Taylor et al. (1990) found that time spent reading during school
contributed significantly to gains in students' reading achievement."
The latest IRA President's Message, by Linda Gambrell and
published in Reading Today (June
2007), also points to several recent experimental studies on the value of
independent classroom reading. Kuhn et al. (2006) found that second-grade
children improved in both word reading and comprehension when they increased
the time they spend reading appropriately challenging texts with scaffolds.
Samuels and Wu (2003) found that additional reading practice was beneficial to
third and fifth grade classrooms, but that adjustments needed to be made for a
student's reading ability and attention span.
Some Suggestions for
Making the Most of Independent Reading Time. Is independent reading the
most effective use of a teacher's limited instructional time? How much
structure is necessary? Each teacher (or sometimes, each school) will answer
that question for herself. However, many authors and researchers have put
forward practical suggestions for adding structure and guidance to independent
reading time, and have found that this increases the program's effectiveness.
Some of the basics of SSR are providing access to books, allowing students to
choose books that are interesting and appropriate, providing a conducive
environment, encouraging students to read, and not testing students on their
SSR reading. A structured program adds teacher guidance in selecting books,
having students record their reading, and using the time to conference with
students on their reading.
Heidi Trudel, who implemented and studied such a program in her primary
classroom, says, "[I found] four things that students were more likely to do
during IR than SSR: stay on task, make appropriate text choices, engage in
quality teacher-student discussions, and create response documents. As Worthy
and Broaddus (2001/2002) noted, there may not be enough guidance occurring
during SSR. Teachers don't have the opportunity to assess students' skills and
provide appropriate instruction. IR has the potential to equip teachers with more
assessment data than traditional SSR so that they can better determine
appropriate instruction for their class as a whole and for individual
students."
