Comments on: Daily reading practice and the magic of 15 minutes

By: Renaissance

Renaissance — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 15:11:04 +0000

In reply to Angela Domond. So true, Angela. Thank you for sharing!

By: Renaissance

Renaissance — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 15:07:24 +0000

In reply to Janet Mullins. We’re thrilled to hear we could share some new information with you! This is a very common misconception. If you look for reading practice resources, you’ll find lots and lots for younger readers but little for middle or high school. As students get older, encounter more difficult texts, and learn more advanced comprehension strategies, practice is how they internalize and master those strategies—it never stops being important.

By: Renaissance

Renaissance — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 15:06:36 +0000

In reply to Mr. Sanchez. This is so fantastic! We are always so thrilled to hear about educators who find innovative ways to set aside dedicated time for independent reading practice. The quality can’t happen unless there’s time set aside for quantity, too – big applause for you for being so on top of both of these critical factors.

By: Virginia Wiedenfeld

Virginia Wiedenfeld — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 17:56:43 +0000

Thank you for this information! I am planning on utilizing the information in our school newsletter!

By: David Keech

David Keech — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:45:49 +0000

Reading formal texts, both nonfiction and fiction, is the key. Considering reading that students do through their phones is not even close to being on the same plane as reading elsewhere. Research on the brain will soon identify how reading from a phone is tied to the social media frenzy and quick fix that people get when reading from a phone. That isn’t reading, it’s looking at quick bits of information and doesn’t require the reader to truly engage in texts.

By: Veronica Gonzalez

Veronica Gonzalez — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 01:30:37 +0000

In our school we read for 30 minutes or more daily. This will help our students with their comprehension skills as well as keeping them focused and be interested in reading books.

By: Donna Nichols

Donna Nichols — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 19:57:12 +0000

Any amount of reading can help!

By: Liana Ferrer

Liana Ferrer — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 18:01:32 +0000

Reading daily is paramount in order to increase skills. We have a designated time during the school day as well as it is a part of their daily honeowork.

By: Rhonda Peña

Rhonda Peña — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 04:40:36 +0000

We set our students’ goals based upon 30 min. of daily reading. I have seen a connection between students that reach their AR goals throughout the year being able to pass the STAAR test at the end of the year whereas the ones who don’t reach their goals struggle to pass.

By: Katie Wiltz

Katie Wiltz — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 03:45:57 +0000

We have our students read for 20 minutes a day at school and for homework. Our students have great growth throughout the year.

By: Mary Moetell

Mary Moetell — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 23:40:18 +0000

Students’ will to read comes from home! I can remember growing up and there were books in every room. My house is almost the same, except no books in the bathroom!

By: RENEE Graham

RENEE Graham — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 21:43:33 +0000

Profound! We talked about this in data meeting today. If only we could convince parents of this simple strategy.

By: Terri

Terri — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 15:44:03 +0000

This article validates what we do every day! Thank you. We read at least 20 minutes a day and love the growth we see in our students. Reading and vocabulary are key to academic success. Becoming lifelong readers is the icing on the cake!

By: Kelsie

Kelsie — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 15:31:18 +0000

I always make sure to give my students at least 15 minutes of silent reading time in class each day. A lot of days they get closer to 30 minutes of reading and I read to them at the end of the day for 10-15 minutes. This has garnered a love for reading and many of the parents have come to me letting me know it is a struggle to get their kids to put the book away and go to bed at night. I say that is pretty successful!

By: Cathy Kelley

Cathy Kelley — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 01:43:58 +0000

Great story!

By: Melissa Berry

Melissa Berry — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 21:56:23 +0000

Great info!!

By: s. bellomo

s. bellomo — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 20:00:20 +0000

Practice is the key to all things!!! Reading practice will lead to continuous growth and reading success.

By: JoAnn E Mayfield

JoAnn E Mayfield — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 19:39:45 +0000

This is excellent information. I plan to share this with my administration team.

By: Lauren Thrasher

Lauren Thrasher — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 19:11:24 +0000

Very interesting data! We have students read in our Prime Time pull outs as well as during their ELAR block using Daily 5.

By: Carlos

Carlos — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 18:56:12 +0000

In reply to Dvawn Maza. Yes, that is what I do in my classroom too.

By: Ami Edwards

Ami Edwards — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 18:56:03 +0000

Keep these kids reading! Interesting article!

By: Lisa Capon

Lisa Capon — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 18:31:17 +0000

Reading practice is so important! I encourage my students to read 25 minutes per day, but on average, they read about 20 minutes per day. I am proud of that since they are 7th and 8th graders who typically do not put as much time into reading as they did in the lower grades.

By: Angela Domond

Angela Domond — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 17:42:57 +0000

I always remind my students how important reading is because it will affect them in middle school, high school, college and in their careers.

By: adams

adams — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 16:48:56 +0000

Let’s get these kids reading!

By: Brenda Curtis

Brenda Curtis — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 15:47:56 +0000

I loved this article! I am a lifelong reader, and I’m still learning new vocabulary words. I love reading digitally so I can stop, highlight an unknown word, and get a definition. It has added an entirely new dimension to reading. And to think our children will have this tool is outstanding! But nothing is better than exposing children to great literature, fun literature, sad literature, all literature!

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 15:32:09 +0000

Perfect practice makes perfect. So it makes sense that dedicated sustained, silent reading (SSR) leads to growth. Even pro NBA players still practice free throws.

By: Thonisha Davis

Thonisha Davis — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:42:02 +0000

Practice, Practice, Practice!

By: Mary Brown

Mary Brown — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:41:38 +0000

Nightly reading requirements are a good step but not all families can or will comply with the assignments. In that case, the extreme importance of reading at school is demonstrated. /Accelerated reader is a wonderful resource for students. Providing SSR or Dear time daily can help with reading practice. I am hoping to promote a new initiative to entice grandparents to come to school to hear students read aloud. The only way to get better at something is to practice and this research reinforces this!

By: Janet Mullins

Janet Mullins — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:04:21 +0000

I was unaware of the decrease in reading in the older grades affected a students reading success. I was under the mistaken idea that the practice was only beneficial for the younger, beginning readers. This article was enlightening to me as to the importance of continued reading “practice” for all grades.

By: Patricia Hodges

Patricia Hodges — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 13:48:32 +0000

In kindergarten, we have have a quiet reading time after lunch everyday. During this time I read several chapters of as Junie B. Jones book. We also have time to read at our desks everyday. We devote as much time as possible to reading practice. We have been doing this for several years. I have seen a definite increase in my students’ growth on the STAR Early Literacy assessment. Practice does make perfect.

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 12:14:00 +0000

Great article, you can tell which families make reading a priority and which do not. But I will keep them reading in school as much as I can!

By: M. Tatgenhorst

M. Tatgenhorst — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 02:46:02 +0000

I teach 4th grade gifted kids and most of them are successful readers and love to read. The kids that don’t love reading, don’t do it and have scores much lower than their peers. I have a protected 30 min per day in class for independent reading and require them to read for 30 minutes at home as well. I know they don’t do the at home consistently.

By: Katie Peugh

Katie Peugh — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 01:53:58 +0000

Fantastic!

By: P R

P R — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 01:31:31 +0000

We request that our students read 30 minutes each night.
I also have 20 to 30 minutes set aside for AR reading and testing time each morning.
Students are to keep a reading log of their testing results in an AR folder.
We also have a 20 Book Challenge going on.

Reading practice is the basic way to increase reading skills and build stamina.
More practice on any skill results in an increase on growth and better test scores.

By: Nicole Erwin

Nicole Erwin — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 01:06:17 +0000

this is so timely as we have these discussions at school. So hard when teachers still want to do worksheets instead of any reading.

By: Ellen Marlin

Ellen Marlin — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 00:30:59 +0000

I can’t wait to share this with my 6th graders. I believe when they understand this it will motivate them to read more.

By: carly

carly — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 22:41:27 +0000

Our students are given 30 minutes to read during the school day. We also encourage 30 minutes of reading at home. AR provides data to ensure students are on track with their reading targets. I feel sad about the national reading decline. This article makes me feel extremely fortunate to work at a school that provides reading time to help students develop a passion for reading.

By: LeeAnn Needham

LeeAnn Needham — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 22:00:10 +0000

Yes, yes, yes! Practice is key. How to get them to read is another question.

By: Virginia Travis

Virginia Travis — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 21:47:37 +0000

Readers are definitely leaders! We ask our students to read 20 minutes per night.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 19:44:21 +0000

Wonderful data and interesting to read! We set aside 15-20 mins daily for students to read independently and also meet with at-risk students in small intervention groups. That little bit of time sure makes a difference.

By: Renaissance

Renaissance — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 19:44:00 +0000

In reply to Alecia Walkuski. Great question, Alecia. Not all the studies examined in this post defined reading practice in the exact same way, but for the first and second studies cited, it was time spent reading books and articles, whether print or digital. As you'll see in our next post, research indicates that reading only short texts is connected with below-average reading achievement. Come back in a week for a deeper dive into this topic!

By: Rita Platt

Rita Platt — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 19:29:31 +0000

Great post! The more you read the better you read!

By: Amber AuBain

Amber AuBain — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 18:54:33 +0000

This article was very engaging and had awesome data. It is interesting to see how 20 mins or more of reading everyday can make a big difference.

By: Laura Q-T

Laura Q-T — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 18:49:52 +0000

At our campus we recommend the teachers allocate 30 minutes to their daily schedule for reading time. I completely agree with this article reading is key to success.

By: Maria E. Martinez

Maria E. Martinez — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 17:53:42 +0000

Our district recommends that all teachers devote at least 30 minutes of reading practice everyday. So great to see the research results confirming all our efforts!!

By: Marianne

Marianne — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 17:32:28 +0000

Interesting article. This year at our school we have done a better job of protecting the reading time in each class. This article proves that was a good thing to begin.

By: Amy Taylor

Amy Taylor — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 14:34:28 +0000

In reply to Mr. Sanchez. I love seeing this data. It works! My kiddos read 20 minutes in the classroom and then are assigned 30 minutes at home. Growth is happening!

By: Mr. Sanchez

Mr. Sanchez — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 14:04:42 +0000

This year I was fortunate to have 30 minutes a day open for reading time. I was able to do this because I incorporated my social studies lessons into my Reading block. The results are that I have a solid 30 minutes before the students leave home for them to AR. Just as the article mentions “Quantity matters, but so does quality”, so we as teacher need to constantly monitor that they are comprehending what they read and Renaissance is a key component for us to do so.

By: jason

jason — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 14:01:47 +0000

Again, it shows to the power of reading…even if for a little bit each day.

By: Jody Steinhaus

Jody Steinhaus — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 02:59:18 +0000

Fascinating article. Reading is the foundation of all learning. I tell my students that readers are leaders.

By: Alecia Walkuski

Alecia Walkuski — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 02:33:55 +0000

I am curious how the researchers defined reading practice. Many 10th grade students that I have read a lot through social media and the internet. They may be resistant to reading a novel, but they consume a tremendous amount of text through their smart phones. With that being said, I think the quality of reading practice is as important, if not more so, than the quantity.

By: Dvawn Maza

Dvawn Maza — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 02:12:43 +0000

We have ours read 20 minutes a night

By: Damaris

Damaris — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 01:50:32 +0000

Practice makes perfect! It’s amazing to know that only 15 minutes may not just increase fluency but also expand the student’s k owl edge of vocabulary and comprehension.