Reconsidering Silent Sustained Reading: An Exploratory Study of Scaffolded Silent Reading

Exploring the Value Added of a Guided, Silent Reading Intervention: Effects on Struggling Third-Grade Readers’ Achievement

“…Students in the 40-min group evidenced significantly better reading achievement and comprehension than the group that read for 15 min. These and other studies over the past decade (e.g., Hiebert & Reutzel, 2010; Kamil, 2008; Kelley & Clausen-Grace, 2006, 2010; Kuhn & Schwanenflugel, 2008; Reutzel, Fawson, & Smith, 2008; Reutzel, Jones, Fawson, & Smith, 2008; Reutzel, Jones, & Newman, 2010) have begun to provide a causal research base showing that students’ reading comprehension, fluency, and achievement can be benefitted by the opportunity to read independently and silently when specific conditions of reading fluency practice are implemented. According to recent research it also appears that using independent, silent reading as the means to practice fluency makes more sense developmentally and empirically for students who are older than age 8 years or at least in Grade 2 (Kuhn, 2004, 2005; Wright, Sherman, & Jones, 2004, 2010).…”

Variations in Practice Reading Aloud: Ten Versus Twenty Minutes

“…Controlled practice conditions in which students read aloud for 15 min several times per week have generated significant gains in rate for poor readers in second through fourth grade (Meyer & Felton, 1999;O'Connor, Swanson, et al, 2010;O'Connor et al, 2007;Vadasy & Sanders, 2008); however, the amount of practice time was not varied in these studies. Studies in which students practiced for more than 15 min (e.g., Kuhn et al, 2006;Reutzel & Hollingsworth, 1993;Shany & Biemiller, 1995;Vaughn et al, 2000) have not shown consistently more words gained per week than students in studies with 5-to 15-min interventions (Mercer, Campbell, Miller, Mercer, & Lane, 2000;O'Connor et al, 2007;Reutzel, Fawson, & Smith, 2008); however, other features (e.g., who implements or listens to students practice, the duration of the study, method of practice) also influence study results. Our review found 15 min of practice to be the median across studies.…”

Silent reading fluency: Implications for the assessment of adults with developmental dyslexia

“…Nevertheless, a need exists for sound and standardized silent reading fluency measures that should be appropriate for both school settings and older students and adults. To guide and scaffold silent reading in addition to oral reading is considered a central issue in order to develop the reading fluency, both in proficient and in dyslexic readers (Kuhn et al, 2006;Reutzel, Fawson, & Smith, 2008).…”