Cultivating a Culture of Reading with Sustained Silent Reading

Couldn't get all 3 readers in the same shot, but here's 2 of them! 

Here’s something that made my heart happy: One morning before school recently, wandering the high school locker area, I saw 3 students deeply immersed in books. Is it because of the sustained silent reading program my school instituted nearly 2 years ago? I don’t know, but I’ve had locker bay duty every Thursday morning for the last 4 years, and this was the first time I’ve seen more than one student reading. 

I wrote in the fall about cultivating a culture of reading by modeling, sharing, and encouraging reading. At my school, a dedicated 35 minutes a week for students and teachers to read and share their reading is certainly a piece of this. I’ve been thinking recently about what I’ve learned growing this program as curriculum coordinator. I chose that word “growing” intentionally. It isn’t a Field of Dreams deal: if you build it, they will read. As with anything else that has to do with culture, skills, and values, it takes more than information and rules. It takes a long, positive pressure in the same direction. I’m not sure whether the reading period sustains a culture of reading, or a culture of reading sustains the reading period; it’s definitely symbiotic. However, here are some of the keys I’ve found along the way to helping a sustained silent reading period be effective.

Most importantly, teachers need the knowledge, experience, and support to buy into the culture of reading, and this takes time. Institutional time. Beyond just the commitment of the period itself. This year, as curriculum coordinator, I’ve had 5 minutes of each divisional meeting for a mini-lesson for secondary staff on information about the value of reading (see infographic here based on Kelly Gallagher's Reading Reasons) or on activities for sharing the joy of reading—like book speed dating or first-line play-offs. (Note that this involves teachers experiencing the activity, not just receiving a list of possible activities--see this blog for more information.) 

When teachers have bought in to the culture of reading, they read with their students (the primary indicator of whether a sustained silent reading program will be effective). What they read doesn’t have to be fiction: teachers need to model vigorous real-life adult reading identities. I love to see the variety of books they read—for professional development, for personal growth, for curiosity, for role models, for enjoyment. Some read because they haven’t yet found the book that turned them into an avid reader, but they haven’t given up. In fact, this may be the most important reader identity to share with students in a similar situation. Teachers who have a reader identity share it with their students in tangible and intangible ways, fostering conversations about reading, searching for ways to engage disengaged readers.  

Seventh graders reading

Additionally, I personally model my value for and use of the sustained silent reading period. This semester I’ve committed to spending 70 minutes every Thursday to just sit and read in every room for about 5 minutes each. (High school and middle school have their times back to back rather than simultaneously.) I’m not there to check up on anybody—just as fellow reader, showing how I use and value the time. As I do that, I’ve had some delightful moments. One time a trio of boys seemed to be poking each other and giggling. Seeing they had attracted my attention, one of them pointed to a word in his book and whispered, “Mrs. Essenburg, what is jolt?” Ah. Yes. They weren’t making trouble—they were attempting to provide a vocabulary lesson!

Tenth graders reading

I share my own reader identity and encourage colleagues to share their reader identity as widely as possible. I create a book poster for any title a teacher sends to me of a book they are reading, which they then display on their door or window. Some of the teachers have taken to making their own. It’s great to walk down the hallway and be surrounded by the books all the teachers are reading. I also share my reader identity with colleagues and students in conversations, in meetings and classes, and online (my classes use Goodreads). And I’m always looking for new ways to do it. Sometimes I ask in the hallway on Thursday mornings, “What are you reading today?” Just a couple of weeks ago I started putting a stack of books outside my door on Thursday mornings for students to grab one from if they’ve forgotten. And I try to change my classroom library display every 2 weeks. (I think last year it was once a quarter.)

How does your school cultivate a culture of reading? Do you have school wide sustained silent reading? If so, do you have any success stories or helpful hints to share?

P.S. My chief source for research on the impact of sustained silent reading is Free Voluntary Reading by Stephen Krashen, and my chief source of mini-lessons on reading reasons is Reading Reasons by Kelly Gallagher.