Building Student Literacy through Sustained Silent Reading

Prompted by his own frustration about English classes in high school, Gardiner posits that allowing students to choose their own books and 15 minutes of reading time per day can improve their skills. Called Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), the program has been popular since the 1970s and is explained here by Gardiner. He details how to implement it and evaluate progress, answers common questions, discusses research on the program, and incorporates a chapter of comments from teachers, students, and administrators. He concludes with a look at how to connect reading to writing. Gardiner is an English and journalism teacher and writer. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR