Knowledge and Skills Statement
Support students in establishing personal goals for independent sustained reading. Have students select a text and read silently for an agreed-upon time. Note whether students are able to read independently for the designated time. Have students use a log, timer, or graph to track time across multiple reading sessions.
Note:
Designate checkpoints throughout the reading time and create incentives for students to continue reading. For example, every five minutes place a stamp, sticker, or check mark on the desk of those students who are engaged in reading.
Further Explanation
A student reader should have the skills and strategies necessary to navigate challenging ideas or vocabulary they encounter in a text and successfully progress through the text independently for a sustained period of time. Encourage students to gradually increase the length of time they read independently.
Research
1. Donnelly, P. (2019). A new guide for guided reading: More guided, more reading. Practical Literacy, 24(1), 9–11. Retrieved from https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A571514230/PROF?u=tea&sid=PROF&xid=16fddd15
Summary: The focus of this article is guided reading, and it examines the benefits of self-selected reading in the development of reading motivation and comprehension. The authors provide a list for scaffolding complex texts. They also recommend teachers follow up on the reading of complex texts through guided, sustained discussions in order to increase the academic benefit from interpreting and reinterpreting texts. For many students, scaffolding complex texts will accelerate reading skills; self-selected sustained reading will consolidate them.
2. Daniels, E., & Steres, M. (2011). Examining the effects of a school-wide reading culture on the engagement of middle school students. Research in Middle Level Education, 35(2), 1–13. doi: 10.1080/19404476.2011.11462085
Summary: In this study, reading is perceived as a school-wide priority. Students are allowed to select their own text and to read on their own. The study reveals it is more effective if students have access to literature at home as well.