Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)
Name:______
What is it?
“Some people call it Sustained Silent Reading, or SSR for short. Others call it recreational reading or independent reading. Some have clever acronyms for it, such as DIRT (daily independent reading time) or DEAR (drop everything and read). Whatever it's called, many teachers set aside a block of time each day -- usually anywhere from ten to thirty minutes, depending on the grade level and the ability of the students -- for quiet reading” (Hopkins).
Why is silent important?
Distraction affects comprehension. With all of the technology out there we have become so accustomed to multi-tasking – surfing the internet, listening to music, and doing homework at the same time may seem doable, but “In 2010, a study by neuroscientists at the French medical research agency Inserm showed that when people focus on two tasks simultaneously, each side of the brain tackles a different task. This suggests a two-task limit on what the human brain can handle. Taking on more tasks increases the likelihood of errors, so Nass suggests what he calls the 20-minute rule. Rather than switching tasks from minute to minute, dedicate a 20-minute chunk of time to a single task, then switch to the next one” (Lapowsky). Our goal, as Kittle states, is “to develop the capacity for sustained, focused attention” (144).
Why is sustained important?
Penny Kittle, a teacher and literacy coach, asked college professors from all across America how many pages a week a student in college should be able to read. The responses: 200-600 pages! The National Center on Education and The Economy found some starting statistics about our educational system. (right)
There are multiple factors involved, but the truth is many students walk out of high school as ‘practiced non-readers’ who have figured out how to get by without reading the assigned reading, and find themselves unable to keep up with the demands of college and the workforce. We need to start now to build a love of reading (Kittle 20).
Why is reading important?
“Research on native speakers of English and students of English as a second language has shown that the amount of time spent reading is related to students' reading comprehension and vocabulary growth. Students also develop more positive attitudes towards reading after the SSR programs” (Chow and Chau).
Why does it have to be a book? Doesn’t “screen reading” on the Internet count?
“Yes, it’s a kind of literacy, but it breaks down in the face of dense argument, a modernist poem, a long political tract, and other texts that require steady focus and linear attention – in a word, slow reading. Fast scanning doesn’t foster flexible minds that can adapt to all kinds of texts, and it doesn’t translate to academic reading. If it did, then in a 2006 Chronicle of Higher Education survey of college professors, 41 percent wouldn’t have labeled students ‘not well prepared’ in reading. We would see reading scores inching upward, instead of seeing, for instance, that the percentage of high school students who reached proficiency dropped from 40 percent to 35 percent between 1992 and 2005” (Kittle 138).
A last, sobering thought. “A kid who doesn’t read in high school will be unlikely to read as a young adult. As the NEA report found ‘Nearly half of all Americans ages 18-24 read no books for pleasure’ (2007)” (Kittle 142).
What will the procedure be in Mrs. Wagaman’s class?
• We will have SSR time at least once (1) a week.
• You must always have an SSR book with you.
• Can be a book for Reading class
• Can borrow from my classroom library or school library
• Keep track of pages read throughout the year
How is SSR Graded?
• Reading Log (weekly participation grade worth 5 points)
• Students who do not meet their goal will receive half credit.
• Students who do not fill out the back of the reading log will be asked to complete before grading.
• This year students will have a choice between completing 2 one pagers or taking Accelerated Reader Quizzes.
• One pagers can be located on my wikispace
• Students would need to accumulate ______number of points to equate to 1 one-pager.
• Students may combine and do 1 one-pager and take quizzes.
Due Dates:
· End of 1st marking period: October 28th
· End of 2nd marking period: January 15th
· End of 3rd marking period: March 25th
· End of 4th marking period: May 29th
Works Cited
Chow, Ping-Ha, and Chi-Ting Chou. “Evaluating Sustained Silent Reading in Reading Classes.” The Internet TESL Journal. VI.11. (2000): n. pag. Web. 1 Sept. 2011.
Hopkins, Gary. “‘Sustained Silent Reading’ Helps Develop Independent Readers (and Writers).” Education World. 15 Oct. 2007. Web. 1 Sept. 2011.
Lapowsky, Issie. “Don’t Multitask: Your Brain Will Thank You.” Time. 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 2 Aug. 2013.
Kittle, Penny. Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2013. Print.
SSR Goal Setting/Homework
Your homework is to read at a comfortable pace for 1 hour or more each week outside of class. We will calculate what that pace is in class later in the week.
We all read at different speeds, but that does not mean we are all good or bad readers. I read the 7th Harry Potter book in 10 hours – it took a friend of mine a month. But we both enjoyed it and I actually had to re-read it because I missed things because I read it so fast. This year we will set our reading goals individually and by the number of pages read, NOT the number of books.
The Goal Setting Process:
Step 1: Pick a book to bring to class on ______that you would feel comfortable reading. Something that when you are reading at your normal pace it is making sense – slow reading to enter the story, not skimming like you do online. It can be a book that you have read before.
Step 2: We will take 10 minutes to read. Record here the page number you begin on. ______
Step 3: Record the page number that you ended on. ______
Step 4: Complete the following math problem.
______(# of pages read) X 6 = ______- this is how many pages you can read in an hour. This is how many pages you should read each week. I do not go by the number of books – I go by pages.
My goal for the 1st Marking Period: ______
My goal for the 2nd Marking Period: ______
My goal for the 3rd Marking Period: ______
My goal for the 4th Marking Period: ______
This is geared towards elementary school, but the principle is the same!