Hit: SEC: Silent Sustained Reading - 1

["Elizabeth A. McDonough" <eamcdono@BULLDOG.UNCA.EDU>]

Many thanks to those who responded to my query.  What a wealth of
knowledge there is out there! Here is my hit.  I have to post it in two
parts because it is long.

My Query:

From:  Elizabeth A. McDonough[SMTP:eamcdono@BULLDOG.UNCA.EDU]
>Sent:  Monday, April 07, 1997 8:35 AM
>To:    LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>Subject:       SEC: Sustained Silent Reading
>
>Are there any high schools out there that use a sustained silent reading
>program?  We would like to implement one here and would like to know of
>the positive and negative experiences of other high schools.
>
>Thank you in advance for taking the time to respond.  I will post a hit
if
>there is enough interest.
>
>
>Beth McDonough, Media Specialist
>Erwin High School

Responses:

Good Evening!

I am currently student teaching at Nazareth Area High School in Nazareth,
PA.  The library there does not (yet) have Internet capability.  I found
your letter in my e-mail in box and copied so that my co-op could respond
to it.  The following is her response:

Yes, we have had a SSR at NAHS.  Generally speaking, the program was
successful.  We set aside a 42 minute time period each Wednesday in order
to read.  The time slot changed so that students read in different classes
so that no one teacher would have to work with an uncooperative group each
week.  After one year the consensus was to have reading only in the
mornings, but rotate the periods.

According to all the literature I had read prior to our instituting the
program and according to my observation, it is absolutely necessary to
have
every adult in the building role model the appropriate reading period
activity.  It is also important to have a school-wide leader to make an
opening statement each reading period.  Without leadership the program
erodes.

Doing homework or using a pen or pencil is not permitted.  However,
students and teachers have been guilty of this.

I think 42 minutes was a bit long for the reading period.  The department
chairmen have decided to put a 30 minute reading period into our new
intensive scheduling system next year.  They and the administration agree
that the entire school needs to stop for reading time and that better
guidelines need to be set forth concerning the type of material that is
acceptable.

The program was a success.  Kids may have groaned, but probably 85% of the
kids did the appropriate thing.  The attitude of "it's okay to read"
seemed
to permeate the school.  Reluctant teacher readers embraced the program.
A
wife of one of the teachers was proud of her husband for becoming a
reader.
 Kids volunteered information about what they were reading.

Jim Tredease (I can't read her writing here so this could be misspelled)
visited our district and was pleased to note that we had a reading program
at the high school level.

I believe in the reading program.  It has many merits.


Sharon Adams
Librarian
Nazareth Area High School
Nazareth, PA



Date: Tue, 8 Apr 1997 22:11:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: LibraryLu@aol.com
To: eamcdono@bulldog.unca.edu
Subject: Re: SEC: Sustained Silent Reading

We just had Jim Trelease speak to our faculty and community yesterday.  He
is
very much in favor of SSR...his email address is: jtrelease@mcimail.com.

Louise M. Schwarzchild
School Librarian-Teacher
John Lewis Childs Elem. School
Floral Park, LI, NY



Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 11:36:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: Susan Weiss <sweiss@cks.ssd.k12.wa.us>
To: "Elizabeth A. McDonough" <eamcdono@BULLDOG.UNCA.EDU>
Subject: Re: SEC: Sustained Silent Reading

We just started one in February, but don't have any "results" right now.
 Most of the staff really likes it.

Sue Weiss
Ballard HS Librarian
Seattle, WA
(206) 281-6010
sweiss@cks.ssd.k12.wa.us



Date: Mon, 07 Apr 1997 14:42:06 -0500
From: "Talbot, Dixie B." <dtalbot@usd498.k12.ks.us>
To: "Elizabeth A. McDonough" <eamcdono@BULLDOG.UNCA.EDU>
Subject: Re: SEC: Sustained Silent Reading

In our small rural school of 225 in Kansas, we have SSR every Friday
during TA (teacher advisory), a 40-minute block.  The kids must read
their Accelerated Reader book until they earn the mandatory 10 pts each
9-weeks, but then may read anything, but may not write.  The kids fought
it to begin with, but many now say it is their favorite time of the week
as it is mine.  It is fabulous to walk down the really quiet halls and
see the kids all around the rooms READING.  Dixie Talbot
dtalbot@usd498.k12.ks.us



Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 15:40:37 -0500
From: W & S Koontz <koontzs@horizon.hit.net>
Reply-To: koontzs@hit.net
To: "Elizabeth A. McDonough" <eamcdono@BULLDOG.UNCA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Sustained Silent Reading

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Our junior high and high school did away with study halls four years ago.
They now have a 7-1/2 period day. The 1/2 is a thirty minute reading
period- no schoolwork, no flipping through magazines, nothing but reading!
Teachers are suppose to model...some do, some don't. We also use the
Accelerated reader software (book tests) Students are required to have
fifty points per nine weeks for an A (20% of their total English grade) We
moniter it all closely and the English teachers, parents and I are all
amazed at the reading taking place. (We even had a new Vocational
Agriculture teacher say he'd read more this year than he had in his entire
life!....He likes to take the AR tests, too!)

Test scores are rising and we feel it has been of great benefit to our
students.

The board was impressed enough to give me an extra $6,000. to spend on
books last year. My annual budget in H.S. is $10,000.

What more can I say?

koontzs@horizon.hit.net  (home)
koontzs@usd286.hit.net  (school)
Sharon Koontz, K-12 LMS
U.S.D. 286
Sedan, KS 67361






Date: Mon, 07 Apr 1997 17:36:17 -0700
From: Janice Bjorke <jbjorke@emry.net>
To: "Elizabeth A. McDonough" <eamcdono@BULLDOG.UNCA.EDU>
Subject: Re: SEC: Sustained Silent Reading

Hello!

    Our 2400 student high school in Port Orchard, Washington has 20
minutes per day of SSR.  I am an English teacher and we love it!  We
even think it has increase student concentration skills in other areas.
Everyone has to read during this time, no paper and pencil homework.  We
have done it for 3 years now and we hardly hear a complaint.  We have
block scheduling and it is attached to our 2nd and 5th period blocks (we
have 3 blocks per day).  Also, if an assembly is scheculed then SSR (we
call it SKR - South Kitsap Reads - the name of our school) is skipped,
but many teachers do it anyway!  If you have any other questions, just
ask.

Janice Bjorke



Beth McDonough, Media Specialist
Erwin High School
Asheville, NC
eamcdono@bulldog.unca.edu