I have just invited eighth grade students to select books and find comfortable places to read them.  During the first ten minutes, Adam does everything in his power to avoid my request. He goes to the bathroom, gets water from the fountain in the hall twice, sharpens a pencil, considers three books, chooses none, and instead, hastily leafs through a magazine. Clearly, Adam has a lot of energy.  He also has the ability to concentrate while playing sports and talking to friends.  But invite Adam to read, and he becomes exhausted after ten minutes, often complaining that his eyes and head hurt.  These are all common symptoms of students who lack the stamina to read for extended periods of time.

Reading stamina is having the energy and the concentration to focus on reading for at least thirty continuous minutes a day.  For students who lack stamina, reading is a frustrating and unpleasant experience, so they tend to read as little as possible.  However, today, reading is a life skill needed for college and career success, as well as for the joy that a personal reading life brings. The good news is that you can help students boost their reading stamina at school and at home by using the ten tips that follow.

Have students start small.  Have them gradually build stamina by reading self-selected books in five-minute intervals–then ten minutes, and so on, until they reach one hour.  Remind students that developing reading stamina is like training to run a mile in less than ten minutes.  Both require regular practice to increase energy and concentration.

The Surefire Tips for Maximizing Reading Stamina

1. Value Independent Reading. At school, this means setting aside twenty minutes at least three times a week for students to read self-selected books.  Teach students how to choose books that they can read with ease by showing them the two- finger method. Students read a page in a text.  If they encounter more than two words they can’t pronounce or whose meaning they can’t figure out from context, they save the book for another time and choose a different one.  Teaching students to choose books that are accessible and enjoyable will also motivate them to read at home.
2. Use Classroom and School Libraries. Students of all ages need access to books. Seventh-grader, Lucas, put it this way, “ Having a classroom library means I can find a book when I need one right away.”  Continually work on enlarging your classroom library: Aim for 1,000 to 2,000 books at a variety of levels, on a range of topics, and in multiple genres.

Schedule a weekly school library visit for your students—and be sure to accompany them so you and your librarian can suggest great reads.  If your classroom library is still a work-in-progress, encourage students to check out several books whenever they visit the school library and store them in their class cubbies or lockers, so they have enough to read until their next library visit.

3. Read Self-Selected Books. Educators such as Donalyn Miller, Richard Allington, and Steve Krashen agree that choosing their own books is the key for students to become motivated to read at home and in school.
4. Diminish Distractions. Reading is social.  There will be times that a student wants to share something he or she just read which is terrific because it shows engagement with the text.  But it can also be distracting to classmates.  So encourage students to use a soft voice while sharing with a classmate.  Keep the door to your room closed to diminish noise from the hallway.  The fewer distractions, the easier it will be for students to concentrate.
5. Create Comfortable Reading Spaces. Think about the places at home where you read.  Most likely it’s in a comfortable chair, on an oversized pillow, or in bed.  Visit a carpet store and ask the owner to donate small remnants that students can sit on while reading.  Carpet remnants are easy to store; they can be stacked in a corner or closet.  Avoid requiring students to read for pleasure sitting at their desks.  Instead, invite them to find a comfortable space in the classroom.  Some will sit under desks or lean against the wall. If you have a limited number of beanbag chairs and large pillows, create a rotation system so students take turns reading on them.
6. Advertise Great Reads.  Students respect and value suggestions from peers.  So set up systems that foster sharing book suggestions. Here are three:

• Teach students to book talk and have them present a talk each month.  The benefit of consistent book talking is huge! Over ten months, a class of twenty five students will hear about 250 books from peers.
• Set up a graffiti wall by posting a large piece of construction paper on a bulletin board.  After completing a book that they enjoyed, have students write the title and author on the graffiti wall and one sentence explaining why they enjoyed the book so much.  Then, a few times a week give students several minutes to browse the graffiti wall to discover peer-recommended books.
• Teach students to give a 60 second elevator talk about a book they enjoyed reading.  Their goal is to convince peers to read it.  When a student’s desire to present an elevator talk strikes, schedule it during that class or as soon as possible.
• Set Monthly Goals. Share with students the research findings by Donalyn Miller and Steve Krashen–that reading 40 books a year independently can ramp up their reading achievement by enlarging their vocabularies and expanding their knowledge base. Negotiate monthly reading goals with students to help them meet the 40-book challenge. Books of 500 or more pages should count as two to three books. Students who can read books of that length presumably have stamina, and you want to encourage them to continue reading long and complex texts.

7. Take Brain Breaks.  A seventh grade class lobbied their teacher for “brain breaks”– time to chat and stretch after they had been reading deeply for thirty minutes.  Brain breaks offer students a few minutes of down time to relax, re-energize, and yes, gain stamina.  Tell students that when they plan to read at home for an hour or more, they should take a break, walk around, have a snack, and then return to reading.
8. Hold Small-Group Discussions.  Organize into small groups students who have completed different books that are in the same genre. Students discuss such things as literary elements in fiction or text features and structures in informational materials. As such, they not only expose their peers to a range of reading materials within a genre, but they also tend to become better at clarifying their thoughts and become more reflective when they share their thinking.
9. Have Students Self-Evaluate. Four times throughout the year ask students to review their reading logs and reflect on the number of books they completed, favorites books, books they reread, and the amount of reading they completed at home.  Then, ask students to use their self-evaluations to set reasonable independent reading goals which might include: extend reading time at home by fifteen minutes, read longer books, try a different genre, add a book to the graffiti wall, or read other books by a favorite author.

You can also give students a checklist to measure their reading stamina as part of their self-evaluation.

My Reading Stamina Checklist

Name_______________________________Date___________________

Checklist for Evaluating Reading Stamina: check items that apply to your reading.

____I quickly found a comfortable space to read.

____I concentrated on my reading and met my goal of _____minutes.

____I read for_____minutes beyond my goal.

____I can read and concentrated for all of silent reading time.

____I read without jumping up, getting a drink, or moving around the room.

____If I was distracted, I worked hard to avoid distracting others.

____I recognized I was distracted and was able to return to my reading on my own.

____I have a reading stamina goal and use it to increase the amount of time I read deeply at school and at home. [end checklist]

Final Thoughts

Showing students how to self-select “just right’ books is a giant step toward improving students’ reading stamina. Choice creates engagement and engagement nurtures students’ desire to read.  As they improve their stamina, commend students. Celebrate small but consistent improvement as well as big improvement.  Keep in mind that all students will not improve their reading stamina at the same rate.  In fact, some students might need more than one school year to be able to read for long periods of time. That’s okay. Coordinate your efforts with other teachers, celebrate progress, and give students the gift of time.

Learn more about Laura’s ideas on reading- check out- Teaching Reading in Middle School

To foster an environment of independent reading in a school, you have to love reading. I do. But it was not always that way.

As a child, I was an expert at avoiding reading. Every trick—from pretending to read a book to finding summaries of books—I was versed in them all. I was fortunate to have parents who supported and encouraged me to grow as a reader, and the encouragement worked. But the question to ask is, what about students who do not have families or teachers supporting their growth as readers? Many never develop a personal reading life. I have learned that in my school I can foster and create an environment to support independent reading. Knowing the avoidance tricks has guided my collaborations with staff, and helped me communicate what needs to be in place in a school to get everyone on board with independent reading.

As an adult, my personal and professional reading lives have sustained my desire to continually learn and to read for pleasure. I value the fact that I can choose what to read, reread passages that speak to me, and talk about books and articles to friends and colleagues. To foster an independent reading culture, the principal must help teachers feel comfortable setting aside time for independent reading at school. Also, the principal must model how much he or she values reading by enlarging classroom libraries and making the school library an inviting place with comfortable spaces for students to read.

Research supports the benefit of independent reading, and it remains important for educators to make decisions consistent with research and best practice. Through reading, students enlarge background knowledge and vocabulary. But more important, students derive pleasure from their reading—pleasure in entering and living life in different worlds and cultures, as well as in stepping into a character’s life. The pleasure students experience is obvious when I visit a class and observe independent reading. However, I often wonder if schools are embracing independent reading and making it an integral part of their school’s culture.

Along with my belief in research, I also believe in good old-fashioned common sense. To develop skill and expertise at anything in life, you need to practice. Any sport from golf to basketball requires purposeful practice, and purposeful practice improves performance. If students want to become better readers, it makes sense for purposeful practice to be part of the improvement equation. A combination of independent reading and well-planned, differentiated instructional reading can improve reading skills. Being an excellent reader and writer are necessary for college and career readiness. Also, it’s important to remember students reading below grade level need to read more than their peers who are proficient and advanced readers.

I am a champion of independent reading. Are you? I believe the principal sets the tone through clearly communicated expectations and words of inspiration. Below are six ways a principal can encourage, promote, and foster independent reading for all, staff included!

1. Do a spot check, if you are new to a school. Are all staff encouraging independent reading? Is it being communicated to students? Are students reading independently in school?
2. Communicate the value of reading independently. I have known staff who feel they might get in trouble with administration if students are reading independently.
3. Invest in classroom libraries and your school library. Where we put our money communicates what we value. If we value books and reading, money from the school budget needs to be spent on enlarging classroom libraries and adding books to schools’ central libraries.
4. Have students self-select books for independent reading.  Do students have opportunities to “practice” the strategies and skills they’ve rehearsed during instructional reading and apply them to materials on their own?  Self-selecting books gives students control of what they read which in turn develops self-confidence, literary taste, and a desire to repeat the enjoyable experience.
5. Make sure independent reading is enjoyable! I have known staff new to my school shy away from promoting independent reading because they don’t know how to hold kids accountable. Some think I might view independent reading as a poor use of class time. Neither is correct.
6. Model-independent reading! Teachers who read in front of students send this powerful message to their students: as an adult, I place such a high value on reading that I read aloud to you every day.

Is your school making a concerted effort to promote independent reading?  I challenge you to work with your team to create a culture where all the students in your school are always carrying an independent reading book! By encouraging kids to read accessible books on topics they love and want to know more about, you develop their motivation to read.

Independent reading should take place in school and out of school. I suggest thirty minutes of independent reading a night, and that should be their main language arts homework assignment. During the school week, try to set aside two days a week for students to complete independent reading at school. Reading in a classroom is valuable because it builds students’ stamina, ability to concentrate and get lost in a book. The principal needs to communicate this!

Please remember: if staff focuses on how to hold students accountable for reading or how to punish students who do not read, your efforts will fail. Find different, creative, and motivating ways to increase reading. You can have students present a brief, monthly book talk and enter completed books on a reading log. If your staff is stuck in fixed mindsets of accountability for independent reading, work with them to find more positive solutions such vlogs, blogs, book trailers, or book talks.

I am asking for a commitment to reading. As a school leader, department chair, or classroom teacher, what you value, communicate, and prioritize is like a cold: catching. My challenge and the challenge facing all principals is to make sure students experience independent reading of self-selected books at school and home!

This post was originally published on Scholastic EDU

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Dear Educators,

Evan and I honor your hard work and dedication to your students throughout the 2017-2018 school year!  We both know you faced many challenges and dealt with each one, always keeping your students at the center.  You are the unsung heroes of our country, teaching new generations to read, write, think creatively, innovate, and problem solve.  We want you to know the depth of our respect for your diligence, for the classroom communities you worked all year to build, and for the support you’ve offered each child!  Now it’s time to take a deep breath, relax, and use your short break to care for your wellbeing and to continue to reflect and learn.

Evan and I believe that balance is the key to utilizing free time well.  Some of you will take classes relating to your discipline, others already have stacks of professional books on night tables and desks for summer reading.  All terrific goals! However, we both urge you to set aside time to read for pleasure, to do what you love—long walks, hiking, relaxing on a beach, catching up on missed movies, spending time with family and friends.  Though teaching is one part of your life, it can be all-consuming during the year.  So, yes, do continue to learn!  But also reserve time to do what you love and find difficult to fit into your daily teaching schedule.

#teachersdeserveit

We wish you a joyful summer break!

Evan Robb and Laura Robb

By: Laura Robb

“Comprehension” is a word that teachers use all the time: Jake’s comprehension is weak; Talia can’t comprehend nonfiction; David comprehends everything he reads.  Comprehension refers to what readers understand in a text while comprehending is the process readers use to develop comprehension.  It’s helpful to confer with students to discover their comprehending process and feelings toward reading.  Analyzing students’ writing about reading also provides teachers with a window into students’ thinking and level of understanding.

        There are many levels to assessing students’ understanding of a text.  Proficient and advanced readers automatically do the following while reading.

•      Interact with the text by conversing with the author: raising questions, predicting, and commenting.
•      Connect parts of the text to their experiences and background knowledge.
•      Connect information and narrative elements within a text.
•      Use context clues to figure out the meaning of difficult words.
•      Transfer what they learned and understood to other learning situations.

Recall of Information

A common sense belief I always share with teachers is that it’s pointless to ask students to read and reread a text at their frustration level.  Recall implies that the learner is able to decode the text, understand, and then remember the information. That will happen when the student has enough background knowledge and the text is close to his or her instructional reading level.  Valentina’s story illustrates how frustration reading affects students.

Conferring: A Snapshot of Valentina

Before administering an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) to Valentina, a sixth grader, we spent time chatting about her interests.  Valentina loved playing basketball, texting friends, and hanging out with them.  When I asked her how she felt about reading, she volunteered this statement: “I hate reading. I suck at it.” Her reasons were candid, logical, and on point.  Reading three years below grade level, her ELA and content teachers required Valentina to read and reread grade-level texts.  Her words reveal her feelings about these tasks: “If I have to read again and again and can’t understand it, what’s the point?” She shrugged and added, “ They [her teachers] get mad when I write nothing about reading. I can’t write if I get nothing [from the reading].”

After completing and analyzing Valentina’s IRI, I suggested two actions that could improve her reading:

1. Have her read and learn from material at her instructional reading level—preferably books she chose.  Then involve her in meaningful book discussions with a partner or small group who discuss questions they compose.
2.  Accelerate her reading stamina and achievement by teaching her how to self-select books for independent reading because often students like Valentina select difficult books to save face with peers.

Volume Matters

Researchers agree that volume in reading matters.  First, volume can develop a student’s personal reading life which means he or she chooses to read at home.  In addition, volume can enlarge a student’s vocabulary and background knowledge, build fluency, and develop a deep and lasting love of reading.

There are school districts that require students read grade-level texts even if they can’t comprehend them.  Often these students listen to a book on tape or the teacher reads the book aloud to the class.  The problem here is that students aren’t reading and that’s why they slide backward.  Continuing on this trajectory will not support the Valentina’s of this world and will increase the number of students who don’t read and dislike reading.

Reflecting on Valentina’s Story

Fortunately for Valentina, her ELA teacher, received permission from the principal to abandon the district requirement of every student in a grade level, complex text.  Valentina could choose from alternate books her teacher suggested for each unit of study.  She began to self-select books for independent reading and read them.  In the past, Valentina was an ace at fake reading during free choice independent reading time.  Adjustments in her ELA class are definitely a positive step toward supporting Valentina’s reading life, but many questions remain:

•      Would her content teachers find materials she could read and learn from?
•      Were enlarging classroom libraries a top priority?
•      What kind of feedback did Valentina receive from her teachers to increase her efficacy and self-confidence?
•      How often did teachers confer with students like Valentina to continue to monitor, support, and celebrate her progress?
•      What kinds of direct instruction in all classes did Valentina (and other students) need to practice and internalize what good readers do?

Closing Thoughts

We all want our students to love reading.  Alas, roadblocks such as limited or no class libraries and a lack of alternative texts and materials for striving readers derail our wants. Yes, it’s heartening to observe ELA teachers and school administrators adjust instruction.  However, until teachers in all subjects have access to books and materials that meet the instructional needs of their students, progress will remain slow.  We need to bring common sense back to our teaching practices and ensure that we reach every reader in our classrooms and support them on their journey to developing a personal reading life.

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