Reading Response

Lent, R.C. (2008). Facing the issues: Challenges, censorship, and reflection through dialogue. English Journal 97(3), 61-66.

" . . . reading is an experience that goes far beyond the current notion of comprehending for the purpose of distilling information into answers on tests. When students make choices about their reading, they are engaging in decisions that will contribute to their self-efficacy as well as ones that will facilitate their independence as readers."

With the extremely low rates of parental involvement I doubt that I will receive many complaints about what I choose to teach in class. However, I am still extremely aware of the role that reading could play in my students' lives. With ELA relegated to the task of teaching kids to read so that they can pass state tests, we have lost sight of what the interpretation of literature should and could be. Literature is not fluff; it aids in the creation of a whole person.


DeBenedictis, D. (2007). Sustained silent reading: Making adaptations. Voices from the Middle 14(3) 29-37)

"SSR now was divided into a 20-25-minute period to read, write, and/or draw (about what one is reading or writing), and then a 10-20-minute period to discuss the reading, writing, and/or drawing. Students had complete ownership of their reading and writing material, and, with prior permission, could work quietly with another student."

I love the images of SSR as presented by DeBenedictis. SSR in my classroom always felt like a chore for both me and my students. They resented the routine and I struggled to come up with meaningful methods of measuring their reading progress. This version of SSR is much more laid back than my approach. I tried to squeeze in a skill into every twenty-minute period so that no administrator could accuse me of not having my students do enough. As a result SSR was a complete failure. For the next year I would like to have SSR be something that my students enjoy: an opportunity for reflection and expression.