Transcript Research Review Sustained Silent Reading Presentation (powerpoint)

In-School Free Voluntary Reading
also known as …
DEAR (drop everything and read)
SSR (sustained silent reading)
DIRT (Daily Individual Reading Time)
SQUIRT (Sustained Quiet Un-Interrupted Reading Time)
FVR (Free Voluntary Reading)
USSR (Uninterrupted Silent Sustained Reading)
WARTS (We All Read Together Silently)
Findings in Brief …
 The reading research supports that in-school FVR is at least as
good as formal instruction in reading in the following areas:
1) Reading Comprehension
2) Writing Style
3) Vocabulary
4) Spelling
5) Grammatical Development
 In addition, research showed that in-school free voluntary reading
improved 6) students' motivation or attitude toward reading.
The Power of Reading
Stephen Krashen (2004)
Krashen presents an extensive review of research for both in-school free volunteer
reading and direct instruction in reading to conclude "Reading is the only way, the only
way we become good readers, develop a good writing style, and adequate vocabulary,
advanced grammatical competence, and the only way we become good spellers.“
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Reading Comprehension
Writing Style
Vocabulary
Spelling
Grammatical Development
The Read-Aloud Handbook
Jim Trelease (1995)
This book argues for reading aloud to children. In conjunction, sustained silent reading is
emphasized. Below is some of the notable research for sustained silent reading.
 Reported fourth grade NAEP exam reading scores by how often given free reading time
in class:
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Less Than Weekly
208
Once/Twice a Week 217
Daily Free Reading 224
from NAEP 1992 Trends in Academic Progress
 Reported the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement
(IEA) results which compared the reading skills of 210,000 students from 32 countries
and found the highest scores (regardless of income level) among:
 children who were read to by their teachers
 children who read the most pages for pleasure daily
from Warwich B. Elley, How in the World Do Students Read?, 1992
 Also referred to the Power of Reading (Stephen Krashen) as an "unimpeachable case
for SSR".
A Skill for Life
Educational Leadership 63/2 (2005)
Steve Gardiner
In arguing for the use of SSR, reviewed research findings that SSR can improve:
 Vocabulary
 Reading Comprehension
Notably, Fisher (2001) found that one California high school that started a SSR
program boosted its statewide reading achievement scores from the previous
year by 12 percent.
 Motivation/Attitude toward Reading
Research-Based Effects of Trade Book Reading
Illinois Reading Council Journal 32/4 (2004)
Cathy Collins Block
In this study every student participated in 5 treatments, each for 20 minutes a day:
workbook only, basal reading program, Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), SSR of books of
their own choice, and SSR two books on the same topic with friends or alone. The trade
book treatments significantly outperformed all others on 23 statistically significant benefits
to student literacy achievement.
In particular, this study found independent reading of high-quality trade books for 20
minutes a day significantly improved not only vocabulary and comprehension, as
Krashen reported, but also:
 detail recognition, main idea recall
 application of text to their lives
 overall literacy growth
Three Decades of Sustained Silent Reading
Reading Improvement 39/4 (2002)
Jun-Chae Yoon
A meta-analytical study of 7 studies of SSR with a control group, an estimate of
effect size, published after 1970, and outcome measures which included reading
attitude.
The result was empirical support for SSR affecting students' reading attitude (the
mean of effect was .12 (+/- .04) with 95% confidence interval of .05-.19).