How Does Sustained Silent Reading Support Reading Achievement and Engagement 1

HOW DOES SUSTAINED SILENT READING SUPPORT
READING ACHIEVEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT

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How does Sustained Silent Reading Support Reading Achievement and

Engagement?
Amy Kennedy
Texas Womans University
READ 5493

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How does Sustained Silent Reading support reading achievement and engagement?
In the current time of high demand on student achievement in reading and high stakes testing,
the practices used during the limited school day need to be the best. With this emphasis on
reading achievement brings the question of how does sustained silent reading support reading
achievement and engagement.
In reading the research on sustained silent reading, I found that there was a difference in the
definition of the sustained silent reading of the 1980s and the sustained silent reading described
today. The earlier sustained silent reading of the eighties described by Garan and DeVoogd
(2008) included a time devoted to free reading where students read self selected books, without
any form of skill work, assessment or monitoring. The teacher read books along with their
students, and provided a model of literacy for the class. In most of the current research,
sustained silent reading is defined as a time during the school day in which students are allowed
to choose their own reading materials and read independently, but have also allowed teachers to
change the general concept of sustained silent reading to fit the specific needs of their students
(Gardiner, 2005). Some of these changes include limiting students reading to only materials
within their independent reading levels, and time for discussions or written responses to books.
With this change in the general concept of sustained silent reading, what components need to be
included in sustained silent reading and how do we implement them to support reading
achievement and engagement.

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As part of my job teachers and administrators, ask me to help make decisions about ways to
structure the language arts block to maximize reading achievement. One of my recent
conversations with the administration was on how much time should we set aside during the
busy day of teaching all the things that children need to know to let children read for enjoyment
and not for a grade. As we discussed the topic, I realized that I had not looked at recent research
or information on sustained silent reading. Most of the research, articles and books that were in
our professional library had been published in the 1980s and early 2000. I had not looked for
current information or research, and most of the information was in the form of teaching articles
or books that others had written that referenced different research. This made me question if
sustained silent reading would be the most effective use of our limited time with students. I have
seen that some students cannot wait to read books of their own choosing during sustained silent
reading, while others seem not to enjoy this time and many times were off task. These thoughts
and questions lead to me to want to know what the research is showing about the use of sustained
silent reading to build student achievement and increase student engagement.
Procedures
When I started my research, I began with the Texas Womans University Library databases. I
first used EBSCO, ERIC, and Education Research Complete. When I entered Sustained Silent
Reading into the search, I found that the research on sustained silent reading was very limited. I
had to expand my search to silent reading, drop everything and read, and other terms used
through the years to describe this reading time. I finally expanded the search to the term
uninterrupted reading which gave me a larger variety of articles. Many of the articles included in

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the Texas Womans University Library databases where teaching articles and not research so I
expanded to JSTOR. I also searched using Google Scholar to find other teaching articles in
which to use to locate research articles. Most of the current articles were in response to the
National Reading Panel report in 2000 that stated that there was a lack of evidence to support
sustained silent reading. I continued to skim through these teaching articles and look at the
reference lists for research articles. I also contacted my colleague that was researching the same
topic to help with locating research articles. Most of the research articles I found were from
JSTOR or located using the reference lists from the teaching articles.
In addition to using various databases and research article references, I tried different
keywords and limiters to locate my articles. I limited my research to peer reviewed and full text
articles. I started with a limit on research from 2005 to the present, but was unable to find many
research studies from that time. I started looking at 2000 to the present and then backed to the
1990 and finally the 1980s. Most research for sustained silent reading was completed prior to
the 1980s and I wanted research done after the initial implementation of sustained silent reading
in the schools.
When I started my research I limited the research to elementary schools, but there was limited
research done in elementary schools. I then expanded the search to secondary levels. In
searching for the articles, I found several that were using college age students as the target group.
I also found references to studies done in other countries, but I wanted to limit the studies to the
United States.

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In order to organize my articles I used the charting method provided by my university
professor. This method helped me summarize and list important information from each article.
The components of the articles that I noted were the research problem, question, method and/or
design, results or findings, discussion/ implications or conclusions, critique of the article and
links to the topic. The charts allowed me to review and find common themes and ideas across
the different research articles. After I completed this initial chart, I further charted the specific
results and findings in more detail using the headings speed, accuracy, prosody, comprehension,
attitudes and other unusual findings.
After completing the charts and taking notes, I participated in a thematic interview to help
identify common themes and talk through the findings from the articles I had read. After
participating in the thematic interview with a fellow classmate, I selected three themes to discuss
in this paper. The research on the use of sustained silent reading and how it supports reading
achievement and engagement includes the following themes: increases in fluency, increases in
comprehension and student motivation.
Findings
In studying the research articles I collected on how sustained silent reading supports reading
achievement and engagement, three themes become apparent. The first theme that I found was
that as students read books at their independent level during sustained silent reading there was
an increase in fluency, accuracy and comprehension. A second theme that emerged was that the
amount of time students read during sustained silent reading mattered. The final theme was that
there was an increase in student motivation and engagement during sustained silent reading.

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Students Read Books at their Independent Levels
There has been much discussion on the importance of fluency in reading. Kuhn and Rasinki
(2011, Chapter 11, p.277) stated that fluency should not be the main focus of reading, but is an
important component of reading. Since fluency is one component of reading the researchers
used fluency or the accuracy and rate at which students read to measure reading achievement.
For fluency to increase during the sustained silent reading time, certain materials were selected
for the students to read. Several studies (Broemmel, Boruff, & Murphy-Racey, 2007; Reutzel,
Fawson, & Smith, 2008) found that students that read materials that were on their independent
levels decreased errors and increased words per minute rates in reading of text. The independent
level of text in these studies resulted in the highest gains in accuracy and rate.
Ruetzel et al. (2008) had the students self-select books from 6 different genres that were
within their independent reading level. At the end of the study the Dynamic of Basic Early
Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) test was used to assess the third grade
students reading fluency. This study showed a 21% decrease in errors and a 27% increase of
words correct per minute (wcpm) after the sustained silent reading practice was added to the
school day.
Broemmel et al. (2007) had teachers prepare book boxes with independent level text and
familiar poems for students to read. To assess the students fluency they used curriculum based
measurement (CBM) tests that consist of one minute timed reading on grade-level material that
the children had not seen before. The results of the test showed an average increase of 23 words

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per minute and 89% of the students reading at 98% accuracy or above at the end of the silent
reading implementation.
Reis, Eckert, McCoach, Jacobs and Coyne (2008) also included independent reading time, but
focused on appropriately challenging books and students interest in the selection of materials.
The challenging books were slightly above the students current independent reading levels.
Reis et al. (2008) reported the most gains in fluency occurred at the school that had the most
economically disadvantaged students.
In all three studies the selection of independent reading level materials was important to the
sustained reading time. The use of the independent reading level material allowed the students to
increase their fluency and accuracy in reading.
Increased Amount of Time Reading Matters
Another factor to consider for increasing achievement using sustained silent reading is the
increase of reading practice time. For students to become fluent readers they need time to read.
Taylor, Frye and Maruyama (2009) found that students in this study spent an average of
about 15 minutes of reading during a 50-minute reading class. These 5th and 6th graders were
asked to complete a reading log each day to record the number of minutes read at school. At the
end of the seventeen weeks the students completed the comprehension section of the GatesMacGinitie Reading test. The findings showed that the number of minutes of reading
contributed significantly to their reading achievement.
Broemmel et al. (2007) used an action research method in two first grade classrooms that
dedicated 45 minutes every day for independent reading. Data was collected using a curriculum

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based measure (CBM) test that was part of their schools assessment plan. With the increased
reading time the students increased their reading fluency and overall reading achievement.
Reis et al. (2008) compared the effects of a Schoolwide Enrichment Reading model (SEM-R)
which included blocks of independent reading time. Students in grades 3-5 spent 14 weeks
receiving one hour of the regular basal reading program and one hour of SEM-R.. During the
implementation of SEM-R students started with 5 to 15 minutes of independent reading time, but
increased the time to 35 to 45 minutes per day. The effects of the increase in reading time was
assessed using the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) test and an oral reading fluency assessment.
At the end of the SEM-R treatment the students increased their fluency. The largest gains in
fluency were found at the lower socio-economic school.
Reutzel et al. (2008) set aside an additional 25 minutes of silent reading each day above the
3rd graders regular reading instruction to practice their fluency. This increase in reading time
showed an increase in the students fluency and comprehension scores as measured by the
DIBELS ORF test. Reutzel et al. (2008) also used students oral retelling of passages to
measure student comprehension. There was a gain of 43% in the proportion or number of idea
units recalled by students in the sustained silent reading group of third graders.
Milton (1980) studied the effects of adding a 15 minute SSR period into the ninth grade
students schedule. At the end of the semester the data showed a four month increase in reading
comprehension scores (8.2 to 8.6) on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test after the sustained
silent reading (SSR) program was implemented at the junior high level. There had been no gain
in comprehension in the fall semester before implementation of the SSR program.

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Manning and Manning (1984) examined three different recreational reading models. One of
the models that was examined was the SSR model. At the end of the study Manning and
Manning (1984) used the California Achievement test to measure reading achievement of fourth
graders. There was an increase in reading achievement scores after the implementation of
sustained silent reading, even though it was not the most effective organizational reading
program in this study.
Prior, Fenwich, Saunders, Ouellette, OQuinn and Harvey (2011) compared oral reading and
silent reading and student comprehension. This study did not look at the implementation of
sustained silent reading, but the ages or grades in which oral and silent reading was superior for
comprehension. In this study participates in first through fifth grades demonstrated higher
comprehension after reading the story orally. The comparison in sixth grade showed that there
was not a significant difference in the oral or silent reading comprehension scores. The scores in
comprehension started to increase for silent reading starting in seventh grade.
In looking across the studies, the time spent reading positively impacted reading achievement
in the area of fluency, accuracy and comprehension. Most of the studies that I found looked at
grades three and higher to assess comprehension. In grades K-2, the studies focused more on the
ability of students to read with fluency and accuracy.
Motivation and engagement
Another area that sustained silent reading impacts is motivation to read. When students were
given choice in their reading selections their motivation and attitude towards reading improved.

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Chua (2008) reported that student engagement of reading for leisure increased from 76% to
88% during the sustained silent reading period. During this study SSR was implemented during
first period for twenty minutes. Students were encouraged to write notes and reflections about
their reading in a reading journals at the end of the SSR time. At the end of the study Chua
(20008) reported an increase in students enjoyment of reading based on the results of a four
question questionnaire about their attitudes toward reading.
Cline and Kretke (1980) looked at the attitudes of junior high students after sustained silent
reading was implemented for three years. In this study the students that participated in sustained
silent reading were more positive about reading a book they chose and even felt better about
doing assigned reading. The students responses also showed that the students that participated
in sustained silent reading were more positive about the importance of reading.
Manning and Manning (1984) compared three different recreational reading models. At the
conclusion of the study, the freshmen students participating in SSR showed a small increase in
reading attitudes, but not as significant as students that participated in peer interaction and
individual teacher-student conferences.
Broemmel et al. (2007) noted some changes in attitudes of the first graders after the
implementation of a forty-five minute silent reading block, but there was not a consistent change
in attitude. A number of students wrote comments like, It is fun to read books! and, My
reading has improved. on their reading attitude surveys at the end of this study.
Even though there was an increase in motivation and engagement to read within the school
designated sustained silent reading period, this did not lead to more leisure reading outside of the

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sustained silent reading time. Several studies (Chua, 2008; Milton, 1980) reported a decrease in
leisure reading outside the reading period. Even in the sustained silent reading group, the
students became tired of reading by the end of the school year (Reutzel et al., 2008).
Implications
Although the studies I read indicated that sustained silent reading is important to the reading
block, there must be a balance with other components of reading instruction. Giving students
time to read is not enough. The students in the lower grades focused on the skills of decoding
and building fluency in their classrooms and were given time to read at their individual
independent reading levels during sustained silent reading time. The upper grades added more
complex comprehension strategies and were again given time to engage in reading for enjoyment
during the sustained silent reading time.
Teachers need to provide the right level of texts for students to reading during the sustained
reading time. High interest, authentic text, that were within their independent reading levels
were most effective in increasing achievement and engagement. Even high interest, authentic
text that was slightly above their independent level increased achievement and engagement.
Student choice is another consideration in sustained silent reading. Some students were given
choice of any materials for reading which increased motivation, but the students in some studies
were given parameters for the selections they could use during sustained silent reading. There
was still choice of materials and not assigned reading stories or passages.
One final implication was that the amount of sustained silent reading time affected
comprehension, fluency and engagement in a positive way. Sustained silent reading allowed

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students to read for enjoyment during the school day. Students in upper grades are involved in
other activities after school such as extra-curricular activities and jobs that may limit the amount
of students spend reading outside of the school day. Younger students may not have time allotted
at home for reading outside of the school day. The inclusion of sustained silent reading during
the school day ensures that students are given time to just read.
When making decisions about incorporating sustained silent reading into the school day, the
above-mentioned factors also need to be considered. Implementation of sustained silent reading
in a purposeful way, with an understanding of how sustained silent reading can help students,
will reap the rewards of increased student achievement and engagement.
Discussions
In analyzing research articles on how sustained silent reading support reading achievement
and engagement there were few studies that looked at both reading achievement and attitudes
within the same study. Most of the research articles used teacher created attitude inventories to
measure reading motivation and engagement. Since there was not a standard reading inventory
used to measure motivation and engagement, the questions used in these inventories differed
greatly. This made it difficult to find common threads in the impact of sustained silent reading
on motivation and engagement. Chua (2004) asked about how often students engaged in
actively reading during sustained silent reading, and what proportion of classmates actively read
during sustained silent reading. Cline and Kretke (1980) asked questions about how student felt
about going to the library, reading the newspaper, reading a book they chose, reading true stories
and doing assigned reading.

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I also noticed that there was limited training for teachers on sustained silent reading practices
or procedures. The focus of the research was on the time given for sustained silent reading and
did not look at teacher training or procedure for implementing the sustained silent reading time.
Milton (1980) described that implementation of sustained silent reading was made by a
memorandum sent to teachers describing the implementation and philosophy of SSR and
followed by an optional meeting of teachers. The teachers were told how long the sustained
silent reading time would be and the designated time for SSR. The students schedule was not
taken into account during this reading time so some students were reading in classrooms that
were not conducive to reading. Limited materials and the physical space affected the success of
sustained silent reading.
I also noticed a lack of long-term studies on the effect of sustained silent reading on reading
achievement and engagement. Only one study by Cline and Kretke (1980) examined the effects
of SSR on students that had participated in sustained silent reading for more than one year. In
this study, the SSR program had been implemented for six years at the school and the students
had participated for three years.
In reviewing the studies, the demographics for these studies were very different. It was
difficult to find multiple studies were the same grades were assessed or the socio-economic
factors were repeated.
More research is needed on the use of sustained silent reading especially in elementary school
with high-risk students. Most of the research studies were conducted in junior high, secondary
or even college classrooms.

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References
Broemmel, A., Boruff, K., & Murphy-Racey, E. (2007). Increasing fluency in first graders:
Practice makes perfect...or at least better. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction,
1(1),65-74.
Chua, S.P. (2008). The effects of the sustained silent reading program on cultivating students
habits and attitudes in reading books for leisure. The Clearing House: A Journal
of
Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas,81(4), 180-184.
Cline, R. & Kretke, G. (1980). An evaluation of long-term SSR in the junior high school. The
Journal of Reading, 23(6), 503-506.
Collins, C. (1980). Sustained silent reading periods: Effect on teachers behaviors and students
achievement. The Elementary School Journal, 8 (2), 108-114.
Garan, E.M., & DeVoogd, G. (2008). The benefits of sustained silent reading: Scientific research
and common sense converge. Reading Teacher, 62(4), 336-344.
Gardiner, S. (2005). Building student literacy through sustained silent reading. Alexandria,
VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Kuhn, M. R. & Rasinski, T. (2011). Best practices in fluency instruction. In L.M. Marrow and
L.B. Gambrell (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (pp. 276-294). New
York,
NY: Guilford press.
Manning, G. L. & Manning, M. (1984). What models of recreational reading make a

difference? Reading World, 23(4), 375-380.

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Minton, M.J. (1980). The effect of sustained silent reading upon comprehension and attitudes
among ninth graders. Journal of Reading, 23(6), 498-502.
Prior, S. M., Fenwick, K.D., Sunders, K. (2011). Comprehension after oral and silent reading:
Does grade level matter? Literacy Research and Instruction, 50, 183-194.
Reis, S. M., Eckert, R.D., McCoach, D.B., Jacobs, J.K., & Coyne, M. (2008). Using enrichment
reading practices to increase reading fluency, comprehension, and attitudes. The
Journal
of Educational Research, 101(5), 299-314.
Reutzel, D.R., Fawson, P.C., & Smith, J.A. (2008). Reconsidering silent sustained reading: An
exploratory study of scaffolded silent reading. The Journal of Educational
Research,
102(1), 37-50.
Taylor, B. M., Frye, B. J., & Maruyama, G.M. (1990). Time spent reading and reading growth.
American Educational Research Journal, 27(2), 352-362.

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