In the past few weeks, I’ve radically altered the structure of my 7th grade reading class to create a more balanced literacy experience for students. One major pivot, and the focus of the article, is the use of Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) in exchange for traditional bellringers at the beginning of each class. This combined with the rollout of my new classroom library of more than 200 books (and growing) has lead to a few noticeable observations which I’m excited to share. Let’s take a look!
The Benefits of SSR in Literacy Classrooms
The classroom library expanded
Adding a block of sustained silent reading to the class inspired me to find new resources for student reading. Searching for answers, I discovered website such as Epic and Project Gutenberg, where students can access digital libraries and eBooks. I also created a Booksource Classroom account and added my entire physical classroom library, so students can now check out and return books using their own accounts. These are just a few examples of how our classroom library expanded and became a hub for books, books, and more books on the middle school hallway.
Reading became a habit
With 15-20 minutes set aside specifically for the purpose every day, students developed better reading habits. Each day, I modeled silent reading, sitting in different areas of the classroom while enjoying a book on my Kindle. It was a reading time for all of us, and it’s now become the norm. Through data and formative assessment, I learned that many students picked book series to read through, and they were more than happy to tell me, “I completed them all!” SSR became habitual for us all.
Books became conversation starters
Every now and then, I have small moments and interactions with students that remind me why I chose to become a teacher. One happened just a few days after opening my classroom library, as a student was returning a book they’d check out. “Mr. Harris, that was a good book,” the student said, smiling. I felt like I had done something, because for me, on a personal level, that response confirmed I’d met my inner success criteria. Books and stories are now a key topic of conversation for me and my students, as we share our thoughts on the books, comics, poems, and articles we choose to read each day.
Reading Recommendations
Interested in learning morning? Here are the books I’ve read / been reading which have inpsired my most recent instructional adjustments:
- Disrupting Thinking by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst
- Literacy: Helping Students Construct Meaning by J. David Cooper
- The Reading Specialist by Rita M. Bean
- Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
- Leadership: Theory and Practice by Peter G. Northouse
Final words
I’ll leave you with these favorite quotes from Disrupting Thinking:
- “If you want kids to be better readers, they must read. And if you want them to read a lot, much, perhaps most, of what they read must be what they choose to read.”
- “Choice reading does not mean choosing a book within a certain Lexile level or color range level. Choice means choice.”
- “Giving kids time to read is necessary, not optional. And giving them the chance to discover what they want to read is also necessary. When schools choose not to do those things, they are simply failing to provide a good literacy education.”
This is amazing Mr. Harris. Keep up the great work!!!
Thank you!
Wow, this is fantastic! I want to implement SSR in my science classroom.
Your students would love it! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!