[CALIBK12] Sustained Silent Reading

[Jo Avery]

I am so fortunate to work in the supportive environment that I do!  As a staff, we are using the Search Institutes Developmental Assets to increase student performance.   The message below was sent from one of our assistant principals to all staff.   You might find it worth reviewing and perhaps forwarding to your own admin or staff....

Jo Avery, Librarian Media Teacher

El  Dorado High School
Placerville, CA 95667
530-622-3634 ext. 1026
http://cougar.eduhsd.k12.ca.us/Library/index.html




From: Matthew Barnes
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 2:39 PM
To: EDHS Faculty; EDHS Classified; EDHS Management Team
Subject: Sustained Silent Reading

Developmental Asset # 25. Reading for Pleasure - Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.

Of the research conducted by Search Institute regarding reading, only 22% of the students surveyed reported to having this asset.  Which means that we potentially have a lot of ground to gain.  Again, we are also reminded that the asset list is not just for young people, I think we would all benefit for taking a bit of time for ourselves to do some good reading.

Remember: The 10 - 15 minutes after the morning announcement is dedicated to our Sustained Silent Reading time.  Please feel free and compelled to read with our students during this time.  The schools that embrace this idea the most tend to be the same schools that benefit the most.  Lets all enjoy some reading during that time.

Currently I am taking those minutes to read "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond.  This book is fabulously interesting and I would recommend it to anyone!

Reading Statistics:

Out-of-school reading habits of students has shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year. (Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988)

The average reader spends about 1/6th of the time they spend reading actually rereading words.  (http://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asp)
56 percent of young people say they read more than 10 books a year, with middle school students reading the most. Some 70 percent of middle school students read more than 10 books a year, compared with only 49 percent of high school students. (National Education Association press statement, March 2, 2001)
Approximately 50 percent of the nation's unemployed youth age 16-21 are functional illiterate, with virtually no prospects of obtaining good jobs. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002)
Thanks, and keep reading!
Matt



Matthew Barnes
Assistant Principal
El Dorado High School
561 Canal St.
Placerville, CA 95667
(530) 622-3634 x 1025
mbarnes at eduhsd.k12.ca.us
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