Hi Ginny,
Don’t forget Stephen Krashen’s book, The Power of Reading, where he argues successfully that the way to improve students’ reading scores is to get them to, well, read. Reading anything and everything improves reading levels and always has. Even reading comic books. Even reading the same book over and over. Just read!
Tracy Spaar Earnshaw
Library Media Specialist
Coginchaug Regional High School
135 Pickett Lane
P. O. Box 280
Durham, CT 06422
(860) 349-7215
(860) 349-7218 (fax)
"Libraries are no longer “grocery stores” where students can go to pick up ingredients, but “kitchens,” where they have the resources necessary to create a finished product." --Joyce Valenza
CRHS Library Website--http://blogs.rsd13ct.org/crhslmc
From: casl-l-bounces@mylist.net [mailto:casl-l-bounces@mylist.net] On Behalf Of Virginia Snowden
Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 11:46 AM
To: IRENE KWIDZINSKI
Cc: CASL_L
Subject: Re: [CASL-L] Talking to the Principal About FVR- Solicitation for Talking Points
I'm presenting a workshop "Is Independent Reading Obsolete?" at the NELMS conference in April. Those who fight for kids to have access to books and time to read are not alone.
It's been quite a challenge to preserve a place in the budget for our library collection, maintain our library staff and allow students time in the school day to access books and read. We had a group of parents who percieved "time spent JUST reading" as a waste of instructional hours.
When trying to get administrators and BOE on board we pulled from several sources.
Revisiting Silent Reading by Hiebert and Reutzel was a research treasure chest, citing many studies done since the negative NPR 2002 findings.
We also used the AASL position on "Reading in School."
My favorite though was taken from an article in Reading Teacher.
The Benefits of Sustained Silent Reading:
Scientific Research and Common Sense Converge,
Elaine M. Garan, Glenn DeVoogd, The Reading Teacher, 62(4), 2008, pp. 336-344.
“Furthermore, if we really believe that reading is probably not a good idea in school, then why assign it for homework or encourage it at all for the matter? Would any researcher, teacher, or administrator seriously tell parents they should not encourage their children to read because there’s not enough scientific evidence – using a medical model of research- to tell us that it helps? If reading is not worth doing in school, then it’s not worth the sacrifice of family time at home either. Our society values books. Certainly, it would be a betrayal of those values if we did not promote or allow real books and real reading in schools.” (p. 341
It has helped but not entirely eliminated the protests of those that would have us not read in school, that since we included independent reading as an official part of the reading curriculum, and provided access to books and time to read in school, our reading scores have increased pretty darn dramatically. Come to the NELMS conference in April!
Ginny Snowden
Librarian
Reed Intermediate School
3 Trades Lane
Newtown, CT 06470
.
On Fri, Feb 3, 2012 at 11:02 AM, IRENE KWIDZINSKI <kwidz@sbcglobal.net> wrote: