Reading

Extensive Reading

While some selections will be studied intensively, not all literature should be. There needs to be a time when students are allowed to "just read". Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) has been used in many classrooms to allow students to read because they want to--no book reports, no questions at the end of a chapter, and no looking up every unknown word's meaning. SSR means "putting down a book you don't like and choosing another one instead. It is the kind of reading highly literate people do obsessively all the time" (Krashen, 1993, p. x).

Some practical considerations that teachers need to address for the successful implementation of SSR for their classrooms are:

• When will it take place and for how long? (For example, ten minutes at the beginning or end of a period.)
• Although students should come prepared, will there be books available if they do not? Will an occasional visit to the library during SSR be permitted?
• How will teachers demonstrate their commitment to SSR? Will they read with the students? Will they occasionally provide book talks?
• How will teachers deal with students who want to use the time to do homework or other work?
• Are students permitted free choice of reading material?
• Are teachers consistent in not requiring written book reports and the like?

Reading response groups, literature circles, and reading workshop can complement and extend SSR.

Extensive reading promotes literacy. Nearly every study that has examined the relationship between free reading and literacy development has found a correlation. The results show that free reading leads to better reading comprehension, a more mature writing style, increased vocabulary, improvement in spelling, and a greater sense of language forms and conventions (Krashen, 1993, p. 12).