By:
Christie Kozak
Shanna Gonzales
Lindsey McDowell
Mariel Milbourn
What is Independent Reading?
• Independent reading is the reading
students choose to do on their own.
• Independent reading is done for
information or for pleasure.
A background according to AFT…
Where are they now?
•
“At least 20 percent of elementary students do not read fluently enough
to enjoy or engage in independent reading.”
•
“The rate of reading failure for African-American, Hispanic, limitedEnglish speakers and poor children ranges from 60 percent to 70
percent.”
•
One-third of poor readers nationwide are from college-educated families.
Where should they be?
•
“A minimum goal for oral reading fluency can be established by taking the
child’s age and multiplying by 10. For example 7-year-old second-grader
should be reading around 70 words per minute.”
•
“By the end of third grade, children should read 100 words per minute in
material at their independent reading level.”
www.aft.org
Why Should Students
Independent Read?
• Students’ reading achievement has been shown to be
correlated with success in school and the amount of
independent reading they do.
• However, correlation does not mean causation, so there is still
no evidence yet that proves independent reading causes better
school achievement.
• Yet, the research does suggest a
correlation.
• The number of minutes spent in out-ofschool reading, even if it was a small
amount, correlated positively with
reading achievement.
What Did The Data Say Exactly?
• Students who scored at the 90th percentile on a
reading test spent five times as many minutes as
children at the 50th percentile.
• Reading books was the best
predictive measure of reading
achievement reading
comprehension, vocabulary,
and reading speed, including
gains in reading comprehension
between second and fifth grade.
How Does Independent Reading
Help Students?
• Builds background knowledge.
• Contributes to knowledge of text content and
awareness with standard text structures.
• Independent reading contributes to
vocabulary growth.
• Readers with a rich vocabulary
understand content and
appreciate the language used
in well-written texts.
NRP
• The National Reading Panel individually
examined 14 studies in detail on independent
silent reading.
• The studies emphasized silent reading
procedures with students reading on their own
with little or no specific feedback.
• Studies found no positive relationship
between having the students engage in
independent silent reading with little guidance
or feedback and improvements in reading
achievement.
What This Means?
• NRP says that there is not enough research
evidence that can prove that independent
silent reading can lead to improved reading
skills.
• NRP is not saying that it absolutely cannot
lead to improved reading skills.
• They are simply saying that
according to their study, it was
not proven that it could.
What About Research on
Independent Reading With Feedback?
• The Journal of Educational Psychology conducted a
study to find what independent reading time
activities were the most effective at boosting
students’ reading growth.
• The authors studied students in grades
2, 3, 4 and 6 over a year and had
teachers use a series of different
activities to be done in a 20 minute
block following a normal 70-minute
whole-class reading.
Journal of Educational Psychology
• This study found three interventions which
had the significant impact:
– individualized schema-based learning
– conceptual learning
– transactional learning
The results were evident within 6
weeks of using one of these
effective interventions, and were
most effective for struggling readers.
What Should The Teacher Do?
• Become acquainted with children
literature.
• Studies show teachers who are not
knowledgeable about children’s
literature are more likely
to produce students
who do not like to read.
Key Features of The Reading Process
• Stage 1:
• Stage 2:
• Stage 3:
• Stage 4:
• Stage 5:
Pre-reading
Reading
Responding
Exploring
Applying
“Just Right” Books
• Teaching students a method to choose
their own reading books is essential.
• Five Finger Rule
• Three Finger Rule-for struggling
learners
Best Practices according to
reading.org…
1.
Teach reading for authentic meaning-making literacy experiences
for pleasure, to be informed, and to perform a task.
•
2.
In other words: Make the students read for a reason; make
reading mean something to them!
Use high-quality literature.
•
Look for books with children’s literature awards.
•
http://www.dawcl.com/awards.html
–
Database of Award Winning Children’s Literature
–
Most given by the ALA “American Library Association”
»
John Newberry Award – Most distinguished
»
Randolph Caldecott Medal – Picture books
»
Pura Belprè Award – Latino cultural experience
www.reading.org
Best Practices according to
reading.org…
3. Give students plenty of time to read in class.
•
Don’t leave independent reading solely up to library time!
Students need time to read in class where they can receive
guidance!
4. Give students direct instruction in decoding and comprehension
strategies that promote independent reading.
Comprehension Strategies
• Model “Think alouds”
• Questioning, predicting,
summarizing, and clarifying
www.reading.org
Decoding Strategies
• Sight words
• Syllables
• Morphemes
References
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•
•
•
•
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Anderson, R. C., P. Wilson, and L. Fielding.
(1988) Growth in reading and how children
spend their time outside of school. Retrieved
from
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED275992.pdf
Clay, M. (1979) Reading: The patterning of
complex behavior. 3d ed. Auckland, New
Zealand: Heinemann Educational Bks.
Cullinan, Bernice. (2000). Independent Reading
and School Achievement. American Library
Association. Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslp
ubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume32
000/independent.cfm
Durkin, D. (1966) Children who read early. New
York: Teachers College Pr.
Irving, A. (1980) Promoting voluntary reading
for children and young people. Paris: UNESCO.
American Psychological Association. (2011).
Retrieved November 9, 2011 from the World
Wide Web: www.apa.org.
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•
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•
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Short, K. G., & Pierce, K. M. (1990) Talking
about books: Creating literate communities.
Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.
Tompkins, Gail. (2010) Literacy For The 21st
Century, A Balanced Approach (5th edition).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
AFT Teachers. (1999). Teaching Reading is
Rocket Science. Retrieved November 9, 2011,
from the World Wide Web:
www.aft.org/pdfs/teachers/rocketscience0304
.pdf.
International Reading Association. (2002).
What is Evidence-Based Reading Instruction?.
Retrieved November 9, 2011, from the World
Wide Web:
http://www.reading.org/Libraries/Position_Sta
tements_and_Resolutions/ps1055_evidence_b
ased.sflb.ashx.
The National Reading Panel Report. (2000).
Summary Report. Retrieved November 9, 2011
from the World Wide Web:
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/u
pload/smallbook_pdf.pdf.