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TextProject Topics
Silent Reading & Reading Stamina
By the end of the primary grades, students who are not proficient silent readers begin falling further and further behind in school and, eventually, the workplace. The reason why is that texts are the source of much new information. If students aren’t adept at silent reading, they simply won’t keep up.
But for many students, good silent reading habits do not “just happen.” In particular, silent reading habits do not smoothly transfer from frequent oral reading events. Silent reading involves self-monitoring and also the stamina to keep reading and thinking, even when content is challenging. For many 21st century students, the skills of silent reading and the increases in comprehension-based silent reading rate depend on instructional experiences in classrooms.
TextProject is one of the primary places where educators can find sources on this very critical aspect of literacy instruction.
Featured Resources
SummerReads™
Students who don’t read much over the summer show a decline in reading performance from the end of one grade to the start of the next. Research done at Harvard University by James Kim shows that even reading 4 or 5 books over the summer helps to prevent the summer slump.
Having books at home explains how much students read over the summer. Unfortunately, the very students who are most at-risk are the ones who often don’t have enough books. SummerReads changes this situation by providing accessible, engaging texts for at-risk readers… for FREE! And it provides enough text for an entire summer of reading.
Talking Points For Kids
Talking Points For Kids is a prototype program that aims to increase discussion amongst students on topics that relate to them. To read about the importance of talking about ideas that matter, take a look at the Frankly Freddy entry: High-Leverage Action #1.
Other Resources
Does self-selected reading have a place in a comprehension program?
Frankly Freddy Post
20 July 2006
How can we scaffold or support the development of proficient self-selected reading? The answer is not to put students into contexts without any guidance. That is, students shouldn’t spend instructional time with text that they have self-selected when they have not been taught how to select books.
What's new in comprehension research?
Frankly Freddy Post
12 July 2006
The proficiency levels of primary-level students can be improved through hard work by teachers and their educational leaders. The next challenge is to build on this proficiency and support high levels of thinking with text.
What’s silent reading got to do with it?
Frankly Freddy Post
27 June 2006
Educators at one school had decided that, because the NRP concluded that “No research evidence is available currently to confirm that instructional time spent on silent, independent reading with minimal guidance and feedback improves reading fluency or overall reading achievement,” there should be no silent reading during the Reading First block. For all intents and purposes, silent reading had been eliminated from the primary grades in this school.
Opening the dialogue
Frankly Freddy Post
24 June 2010
There are some children who come to school who officially learn to read in school but who have had hundreds of hours of experiences with books, print, and language play.
High-Leverage Action #1
Frankly Freddy Post
31 October 2009
We know that oral language is a primary way in which meaning gets constructed and built. Through talk, we come to understand concepts and our interpretations and ownership of ideas.
Revisiting Silent Reading Handouts
Presentation
7 June 2010
Conference handouts for Revisiting Silent Reading: New Directions for Teachers and Researcher. Institute 6, IRA 2010.
When: Sunday, April 25, 2010, 9AM-5PM
Conference location: McCormick Place / Lakeside Cente
Reading More, Reading Better
Presentation
18 March 2009
Conference handouts for Increasing Comprehension Levels of West Virginia's Students.
California Reading Association 2010
Presentation
14 October 2010
Conference handout for Pace & Repetition Matter: Texts that Work in Tier- Two and Tier-Three Instructions.
New Pearson webinar on QuickReads
Presentation
22 June 2010
Attention to comprehension-based silent reading rate (CBSRR) is very different than the over-emphasis on oral reading that been so prominent over the last decade. In particular, Freddy focuses on the manner in which texts can facilitate or impede the development of CBSRR.
Comprehension-Based Silent Reading Rates: What Do We Know? What Do We Need To Know?
Research Article
20 January 2011
Hiebert, E.H., Samuels, S.J., & Rasinski, T.V. (in press). Comprehension-based silent reading rates: What do we know? What do we need to know? Literacy Research and Instruction.
Understanding the Word-level Features of Texts for Students Who Depend on Schools to Become Literate
Research Article
1 December 2009
Hiebert, E.H. (2010). Understanding the word-level features of texts for students who depend on schools to become literate. In M.G. McKeown and L. Kucan (Eds.) Bringing Reading Research to Life, (pp. 207-231). The Guilford Press: New York, NY.
Increasing Opportunities to Acquire Knowledge Through Reading
Research Article
18 March 2009
Cervetti, G.N., Jaynes, C.A., & Hiebert, E.H. (2009). Increasing opportunities to acquire knowledge through reading. E.H. Hiebert (Ed.), Reading more, reading better: Solving Problems in the Teaching of Literacy (pp. 79-100). NY: Guilford.
Can Silent Reading in the Summer Reduce Socioeconomic Differences in Reading Achievement?
Research Article
22 June 2010
The question we ask is whether socioeconomic differences in reading achievement can be reduced by programs that encourage silent reading in the summer months.
White, T.G., & Kim, J.S., (2010). Can Silent Reading in the Summer Reduce Socioeconomic Differences in Reading Achievement? In E.H. Hiebert & D. Ray Reutzel (Eds.), Revisiting Silent Reading: New Directions for Teachers and Researchers. (pp. 67-91). Newark, DE. IRA.
Eye Movements And Reading: What Teachers Need to Know
Research Article
20 January 2011
This chapter will explain the role of eye movements in reading and it will also explain what teaches can do to help students who are experiencing difficulties with the eye movements that are essential to the reading process.
Samuels, S.J., Rasinski, T., & Hiebert, E.H. (2011). Eye movements and reading: What teachers need to know. In A. Farstrup & S.J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (4th Ed.; pp.25-50). Newark, DE: IRA.