MRS. SPEZIO 6 TH GRADE ENGLISH

Stephen Krashen- The Power of Reading author, researcher, activist Identified 51 studies that prove that students in free-reading programs perform better than or equal to students in any other type of reading program. Students’ motivation and interest in reading is higher when they get the opportunity to read in school.

Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer “By middle school, students have an image of themselves as readers or nonreaders. Students who do not read see reading as a talent that they do not have, rather than an attainable skill.” (p 23.) “The fact that students in remedial programs don’t read much has serious consequences for developing readers. Students who do not read regularly become weaker readers. Meanwhile, their peers who read more become stronger readers- creating an ever-widening achievement gap. Dubbed the Matthew effect by Keith Stanovich, referring to a passage in the Bible often interpreted as “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” (p. 25) “These students have the ability to become strong readers. They may lag behind their peers on the reading-development continuum, but they are on the same path. A heavy dose of independent reading, pair with explicit instruction in reading strategies, transform nonreaders into readers.” (p. 25)

Self-Reflection Activity What were your reading experiences as a child? Were these positive or negative experiences for you? Do you see yourself as a reader now? How do you share your reading experience-both current experiences and those from the past with your children? List the last five books you have read. How long did it take you to read these books? Which books were read for a job related purpose? Which books were read for pleasure?

Kelly Gallagher, Readicide The Alliance for Excellent Education points to 8.7 million secondary students- that is one in four- who are unable to read and comprehend the material in textbooks. (p. 3) Another recent study, Reading at Risk, found that only 16 percent of adults are frequent or avid readers of literary text: Adult Reading Frequency of Literary Texts Reading Frequency Percentage Who Read Nonliterary readers54% Light readers 21% Moderate readers 9% Frequent readers 12% Avid readers4% Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Reading at Risk (2004)

Kelly Gallagher, Readicide “People who are undernourished need good food. Readers who are undernourished need good books.” (p 32) “Less than one-third of thirteen-year-olds are daily readers, a 14% decline from twenty years earlier.” (p 41) “Among seventeen-year-olds, the percentage of nonreaders has more than doubled over a twenty year period, from 9% in 1984 to 19% in ” (p 41) “On average, Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching television, and only seven minutes of their leisure time on reading. ” (p 41) “Nearly half of all Americans ages 15 to 24 do not read books for pleasure. ” (p 41)

Kelly Gallagher, Readicide (p 112) The first generation of students raised in the midst of electronic media read less- and less well- than previous generations of students. Internet reading produces shallower reading than book reading. When reading the Internet materials, there is more emphasis on reading headlines and blurbs. Deeper reading is less likely to occur. The reading proficiency of college graduates fell 23% in the past ten years. Less than one out of three college graduates reads at a “proficiency” level- what used to be considered a proficient high school level of reading. One of three high school students in the United States drops out. 55% of people who read at a “below basic” level are unemployed Half of the adults in this country do not read either to themselves or to their children.

What can we do? Read, Read Read Model a love of reading: children learn what they see, get caught reading Time: set aside time to read every day (even just 15 minutes) Space: maybe a cozy reading corner Books: self-selected reading is so important, children need access to a variety of books (their own library card) Just talk: engage in meaningful discussions about books (dinner time conversations)

Taj & Aja read too!