Reading changes your life. Reading unlocks worlds unknown or forgotten, taking
travelers around the world and through time. Reading helps you escape the
confines of school and pursue your own education. Through characters - the
saints and sinners, real or imagined - reading shows you how to be a better
human being. The Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller
The man who does not read great books is no better than the man who can’t.
Mark Twain
Because so many students’ reading choices are dictated by their teachers, they
never learn how to choose books for themselves. How can they shape a selfidentity as a reader if they never get the chance to find out what they like? The
Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller
No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or
surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance. Atwood H. Townsend
In Ontario, Canada, one research reveals that the percentage of children’s
reading for joy is on the decline. Just one-half of the 240,000 3erd graders and
6th graders surveyed said they liked to read; 10 years ago, 76 percent of 6th
graders said they enjoyed reading. (People for Education Research Group;
Educational Leadership. March 20012)
In The Power of Reading, his meta-analysis of research investigating
independent reading over the past forty years, Stephen Krashen reveals no
single literacy activity has a more positive effect on students’ comprehension,
vocabulary knowledge, spelling, writing ability, and overall academic
achievement than free voluntary reading. The Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller, p.
51
In one example, Taylor, Pressley, and Pearson (2000) conducted a study to
pinpoint features characterizing effective reading programs. One statistically
significant factor uncovered was that students in the most effective and
moderately effective schools spent more time independently reading than did
students in the least effective schools. Independent Reading: Perspectives and
Practices of HIghly Effective Teachers, Sherry Sanden, from The Reading
Teacher, November 2012, Vol. 66 No. 3
At a recent district...meeting, a colleague expressed her concern when I told her
that I did not plan extra activities for my students to complete when they were
finished with their class work: “Aren’t you worried that they will rush through their
work in order to get back to their books?” Amused by her shocked expression, I
waited a beat, then answered, “Lord, I hope so!” The Book Whisperer, Donalyn
Miller, p. 57
I truly believe that whoever does the most work does the most learning, and too
often it is the educator doing most of the work. Student-involved classroom
libraries, Jill A. Jones, The Reading Teacher
Are we teaching books or teaching readers? I would rather have my students
read books of questionable literary value than not read at all. The Book
Whisperer, Donalyn Miller, p. 85
Findings from a 2007 Associated Press poll, reported in the Washington Post,
indicate that the average adult American read only four books that entire year.
This statistic does not tell the whole story; of the adults who read, their average
was seven books, but 25 percent of the respondents did not read a book at all
(Fram, 2007). The Book Whisperer, Donalyn Miller, p. 107
Results from previous NAEP reading assessments show students who read for
fun more frequently had higher average scores. Results from the 2012 long-term
trend assessment also reflect this pattern. At all three ages, students who
reported reading for fun almost daily or once or twice a week scored higher than
did students who reported reading for fun a few times a year or less. Nations
Report Card, p. 24
Bertland found that students’ patterns of borrowing books from the library for
recreational reading hinge on the attitudes of their teachers. AASL, Independent
Reading and School Achievement
Studies showing that reading enhances literacy development lead to what should
be an uncontroversial conclusion: Reading is good for you. The research,
however, supports a stronger conclusion: Reading is the only way we become
good readers, develop a good writing style, an adequate vocabulary, advanced
grammatical competence, and the only way we become good spellers. The
Power of Reading, Krashen, p. 37
They are told by every adult in their lives that reading is so important and the
ability to read will help them get everything they want in their life. The message is
confusing when they don't see adults reading. Rob Furman,
www.huffingtonpost.com
My modeling of good reading wasn't enough. Students also need me to model
the thinking behind the reading. Scott Hayden, Educational Leadership
Students can gain as much as 20 minutes of extra reading in class each day
when teachers designate reading as the only activity for any class time not used
for instruction and practice. Donalyn Miller in Becoming a Classroom of Readers
Those who can read well are allowed to do more free reading. Those behind in
reading have to do more worksheets, workbook pages, and exercises, a practice
that can only increased the gap. Richard Allington in The Power of Reading,
p.39.
Children read more when they see other people reading, both at school and at
home. Morrow (1982) found that use of library corners in nursery school and
kindergarten increased when teachers read during sustained silent reading
sessions. The Power of Reading.
A study examined the reading behavior of eight and nine-year-old children during
their daily independent reading time and confirmed that children were
significantly more engaged in actual reading while teachers were reading than
when teachers were not reading. The Power of Reading.