Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) Pays Big Dividends!
Teacher William Marson shares his success in motivating sixth-graders to read using a program he calls Reading for Fun (RFF).
Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) improves students’ attitudes toward reading. That’s the finding of William Marson, a sixth-grade teacher at Elim Elementary School in Hilmar, California. Parents of sixth graders who have participated in Marsons FVR program said in a survey that their children spent the same amount or more time reading at home than they had the previous year (100 percent) and that their children seemed to enjoy reading more (91 percent).
WHAT IS FREE VOLUNTARY READING?
Free Voluntary Reading is just as its name states. Its free reading; students are free to choose the materials they want to read. And its voluntary reading; students can choose to -- or not to -- report in-class on the reading theyve done. Students are also free to -- or not to -- read at home.
FVR is Sustained Silent Reading in its purest form. No requirements! No book reports. No journal entries. No chapter questions. No required home reading. "Its a chance for students to kick back and read, no strings attached," says Marson.
Its a strategy voiced in numerous articles by Stephen Krashen (see below)---a strategy that Marson decided was worth a shot. Anything to motivate students who have lost interest in reading!
"Parents and educators readily agree that reading is the key to success in school," Marson wrote in an article published inThe California Reader(Spring 1997). "It is my theory that if students spend more time reading interesting and enjoyable (dare I sayeasy?) materials, they will learn to read better, which will in turn lead to more reading. This, ultimately, will be of tremendous life-long benefit to them."
THE STUDIES
In the article, Marson cites numerous studies that support the long-term benefits of increased reading. He cites Krashen, who documents numerous benefits of reading for pleasure inThe Power of Reading(Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1993). Among those benefits are:
- reading comprehension is improved;
- students writing style improves;
- vocabulary improves; and
- spelling and control of grammar improve.
A study by Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding ("Growth in Reading and How Children Spend Their Time Outside School,"Reading Research Quarterly, 23)found that students who had the most success in reading came from classrooms in which:
- teachers routinely read aloud to the class;
- a wide assortment of books was available;
- incentives were used to motivate students; and
- Sustained Silent Reading was scheduled during the school day.
Marson also cites the research of Jim Trelease inThe Read-Aloud Handbook,Penguin Books, 1995). Trelease wonders why 100 percent of students beginning kindergarten are enthusiastic about learning to read but, by 12th grade, only 25 percent of students read for pleasure. Treleases research reveals that one of the factors that produced higher reading results was the frequency of Sustained Silent Reading in school.
"Free Voluntary Reading (FVR) Pays Big Dividends!"Education World:.N.p., 21 Oct. 2005. Web. 02 Sept. 2014. <
Free Voluntary Reading Response
How would you rate reading as an activity that brings you enjoyment? / Describe your home-reading practice. / When finished with a book, I like to…(Check all that apply) / Having to write or create something after reading for fun makes reading...
Not enjoyable
Sometimes enjoyable
Usually enjoyable
Often enjoyable
Always enjoyable / I’m a reading fanatic. I read all the time.
I choose to read at home at least once a day.
I choose to read at home often, but maybe not every day.
When I have free time, I sometimes choose to read.
I don’t usually choose to read in my free time, but read when I am supposed to.
I don’t like to read at home, but I do it because I have to.
I hate to read. Reading is not fun. I don’t do it unless I have to. / Do a book report
Do a book talk
Discuss the book with others
Write in my journal about the book
Start another book
Other / Come alive
More fun
Less fun
Dreadful
At Varina High School, our form of FVR is called ______.
It stands for ______.
List two long-term benefits of increased reading:
How will YOU take advantage of DEAR?