NCTE INBOX

December 14 , 2004
...ideas


Free access to journal articles mentioned in this Inbox is provided for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available to journal subscribers only.
Encouraging More Sustained Silent Reading In the December 2004 Voices from the Middle, editor Kylene Beers encourages us to spend more time in our classes engaged in independent reading. Beers' "How the Earth Became the Center of the Universe" explains that the reasons that sustained silent reading are vital to improving students' reading skills. Independent reading, or sustained silent reading, at its most basic, takes the form of individual students reading texts they choose. If you desire more structured approaches -- from book clubs to reading portfolios, the following resources can get you started: Literature Circles with Primary Students Using Self-Selected Reading (E), a K-2 lesson plan from ReadWriteThink A Daily DEAR Program: Drop Everything, and Read!, Daily Book Boosts, and Book Clubs: Reading for Fun (E), 3-5 lesson plans from ReadWriteThink "Getting Kids into the Reading Game: You Gotta Know the Rules" from Voices from the Middle An Exploration of Text Sets: Supporting All Readers (M), a 6-8 lesson plan from ReadWriteThink "Students Becoming Real Readers: Literature Circles in High School English Classes" from the NCTE title Teaching Reading in High School English Classes (S) "Trenton Central High School SSR: A Case Study" from English Journal (S) "Beyond the Yellow Highlighter: Teaching Annotation Skills to Improve Reading Comprehension" (M-S-C) from English Journal "Portfolios in Literature Courses: A Case Study" (S-C) from Teaching English in the Two-Year College No matter what form your independent reading program takes, be sure to include reflection on the skills and attitudes that your students bring to their reading, to ask them to make personal connections to the texts, and to tap strategies that expand the reading skills that students bring to the texts that they read. Check out the Education Policy Collection on Adolescent and Young Adult Literacy for more information on initiatives being studied, debated, and implemented to enhance student achievement in English and the language arts at the middle and senior high levels. NOTE: Free access to journal articles mentioned in this Inbox is provided for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available to journal subscribers only. This Inbox Idea was published 12-14-2004. Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary, M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, G=General).