The new ELAR TEKS includes a new standard that requires students to "self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time" (19 TAC Chapter 110). Though independent reading has been a literacy practice across the state, the state standards has only recently included it as a student expectation. Literacy leaders include independent reading as a must-have element of a well-balanced literacy classroom. This article will demonstrate the value of independent reading, breakdown the SE into instructional parts, and highlight two SEs that require integration. This SE provides teachers the direction needed to include independent reading into the classroom as part of a balanced literacy instructional experience for Texas students.