Sustained Silent Reading

Enjoy reading? As educators, library media specialists, parents, and/or former students, we most likely realize that even though we may enjoy reading, many children do not enjoy reading during their school years. Those children who do love to read seem to enjoy it almost inherently, while other children tend to become distant when asked to read whether it is for class or for pleasure. Many educators and library media specialists have contemplated this situation and have found that some promotion and practice are successful in increasing reading interest and enjoyment. One such strategy is Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) and just might help influence reading enrichment and encouragement in your classroom or school.

Basic Principles of Sustained Silent Reading

SSR has been tried and tested in schools across the United States as a way to encourage reading. It was proposed over thirty years ago by Lymon C. Hunt, Jr. and has taken many forms and practices (Trelease 2001, 109). Through conducting a pilot study of SSR in her classroom, Janice Pilgreen, Director of Reading at the University of La Verne, proposed that the most successful programs include eight "Factors for SSR Success":

* Access. Materials in a variety of formats are provided for students.

* Appeal. Reading materials are of interest to the students.

* Environment. A setting that is comfortable and quiet is provided for reading.

* Encouragement. Teachers model the reading behavior, recommend appropriate materials, and explain the benefits of reading.

* Staff Training. The philosophy of SSR is learned in order to create practical guidelines for individual classrooms.

* Non-Accountability. SSR should be nonthreatening, and a time for pleasure reading, not earning credit or a grade.

* Follow-up Activities. Activities carry over students' excitement about reading onto other subjects.

* Distributed Time to Read. SSR time is offered on a regular basis (even for small blocks of time), rather than large blocks of time every so often (Adapted from Pilgreen, 2000, 6; 2003, 43).

Although this model may seem daunting, it does provide a mechanism for offering interesting and level-appropriate reading materials, modeling reading behaviors by reading while the students read, and helping teachers interact with their students through conversation or extension exercises. Pilgreen lays out the framework of the program and gives...