My goal in this article is to discuss the empirical support for extensive reading and explore its pedagogical applications in L2/FL learning. I argue that the benefits derived from diverse studies on extensive reading in many different contexts are so compelling that it will be inconceivable for teachers not to make it an important feature of…

Discusses how to use sustained silent reading to encourage elementary students in independent reading. The strategies include making independent reading a key part of every day, being sure students know the strategies they should practice, and concluding independent reading sessions by discussing strategies. The paper presents a list of 13…

This book provides an explanation of sustained silent reading, why it is important, and how to implement it in school and classroom programs. The book presents an overview of underlying research and reviews eight essential factors ensuring a program's success, explicitly identifying them and explaining how they may be incorporated. The factors…

Providing students with time to read during school has been questioned by researchers and practitioners. This article reports on the efforts of one school to resuscitate a schoolwide initiative to provide students the opportunity to read. A single comment made by a student led to committee work and significant policy changes. A chronicle of events…

Describes a schoolwide reading project that involves parents in reinforcing children's application of reading skills. During Home Sustained Silent Reading (HSSR), both parents and children read without interruption for a fixed period of time to foster the enjoyment of reading. (SRT)

Representing the expertise of university education professors and public school teachers, the articles in these proceedings focus on encouraging reading and fostering lifelong reading habits. Titles of the papers and their authors are as follows: (1) "Television and Books: Friends or Foes" (Jeannetta H. Caplan); (2) "Encouraging the…

This presentation describes how to use reading to improve second language acquisition. Part 1, "Building Awareness of Reading Habits and Attitudes," has students report their habits and attitudes about reading in English and their native language and recognize the importance of reading for improving English skills. Part 2, "Choosing a Book," has…

The advantages of shared silent reading in the home and in the school for the promotion of literacy are numerous. At home the child may read silently in the presence of a parent who is engaged in a household task, or who is reading silently. In schools, shared silent reading may be used at all grade levels with groups of students in structured or…

This new edition of a guide which has made reading aloud a special pleasure for millions of people offers a chance for a new generation of parents, teachers, grandparents, and siblings to discover the rewards--and the necessity--of reading aloud. The guide provides an up-to-date annotated bibliography ("treasury") of more than 1200…