The Power of Reading Choice

THE POWER OF READING CHOICE, TIME, AND PLEASURE

THE POWER OF READING CHOICE,

TIME, AND PLEASURE

“ I was lucky enough to grow up when … the most

wonderful thing a teacher might say was, ‘Go to the library

and pick out a book.’”

—Dr. Bill McBride, educator, author, and speaker

KEY FINDINGS

> Children who read for pleasure are likely to do signiﬁcantly better in school than

their peers who rarely read. Sullivan and Brown (2013) demonstrate that pleasure

reading is linked to increased cognitive progress over time. They recommend that

educators and policy makers “support and encourage children’s reading in their

leisure time.”

> Sullivan and Brown (2013) found that children between the ages of 10 and 16 who

read for pleasure made more progress in vocabulary and spelling as well as math

than those who rarely read.

> “The research base on student-selected reading is robust and conclusive. Students

read more, understand more, and are more likely to continue reading when they

have the opportunity to choose what they read” (Allington and Gabriel, 2012).

> Self-selected reading is twice as powerful as teacher-selected reading in

developing motivation and comprehension (Guthrie and Humenick, 2004).

> Wilhelm and Smith (2013, 2016) demonstrate that pleasure is always at the heart

of engaged reading and that pleasure is multifaceted. Their interviews with avid

teen readers revealed that teens read deeply for a wide range of reasons: play,

intellectual, social, and “inner work” (psychological and spiritual exploration).

> As essential aspect of becoming a real reader is knowing yourself as a reader—

made possible through wide reading driven by access to abundant books and

personal choice (Wilhelm and Smith, 2014; Miller, 2013; Tatum, 2009, 2013; Allington

and Gabriel, 2012).

CHAPTER 3: EQUITY

KEY FINDINGS

> “Self-selected independent reading involves a set of strategies that are learned.

Development of these strategies should be one of the primary goals of a reading/

language arts program. However, the skills of self-selected reading do not

develop by simply offering students the books of a library and asking them to

pick books. … Typically, students who read avidly—especially young students—

have been taught how to select books that interest them” (Hiebert, 2014).

> According to a 2007 National Endowment for the Arts study:

• Nearly half of all 18- to 24-year-olds read no books for pleasure.

• Fewer than one-third of 13-year-olds read daily.

• Teens and young adults spend 60 percent less time on voluntary

reading than the average.

> “For virtually all children, the amount of time spent reading in classrooms

consistently accelerates their growth in reading skills” (Anderson, Wilson and

Fielding, 1988).

> Barry Gilmore (2011) acknowledges that there are many competing interests for

students’ time these days—television, the internet, social media, and so forth. But

he also maintains that educators “play an enormous role in developing attitudes

toward reading.” He suggests that we’ve unintentionally hurt our secondary

students by: 1) adhering to the canon of Western literature; and 2) failing to spark

our students’ interest through choice.

> The Scholastic Kids and Family Reading Report, Fifth Edition, conﬁrms what

we’ve long known: independent reading, both at school and at home, builds

successful readers. What’s more, the research shows that giving our students a

say in what they read is key.

> The report adds to the abundant data we’ve had for years that demonstrates that

in-school independent reading built around time to read books for fun creates

kids who love to read. Seventy-eight percent of children ages 12-17 who are

frequent readers, deﬁned by the report as kids who read books for fun ﬁve to

seven times a week, reported that they have the opportunity to read a book of

choice independently during the school day. Only 24% of infrequent readers—

those reading for fun less than one day a week—say the same. In addition, 91% of

children ages 6-17 agree that “my favorite books are the ones that I have picked

out myself.” We might deduce that independent reading programs that invite

reading choice and promote reading pleasure give rise to kids who not only read,

but more importantly, want to read.

THE POWER OF READING CHOICE, TIME, AND PLEASURE

More to Know: Pleasure Is Essential

Jeff Wilhelm and Michael Smith (2013) investigated the pleasure that avid adolescent

readers take from their out-of-school reading in their book, Reading Unbound: Why Kids

Need to Read What They Want—and Why We Should Let Them. They demonstrate that

pleasure is not incidental to reading—it’s essential. They found that the young people with

whom they worked spoke of their reading pleasure with remarkable sophistication—and

their pleasure supported the intense and high-level engagement with texts that schools

seek to foster. The authors write:

In our study of the out-of-school reading lives of 14 eighth-graders who were

avid readers of texts often marginalized in schools (romances, vampire stories,

horror stories, dystopian novels, and fantasy), we strove to understand the nature

and variety of reading pleasure. We found that our participants were remarkably

articulate about why they read what they read.

Our data also convinced us of the importance of choice. Students should have

regular opportunities to behave the way adult readers do and choose their own

reading. They know the kinds of texts from which they will take pleasure. At the same

time, teachers should expand the possibility of pleasure by introducing students

to new books they might not select on their own. If we want students to embrace

reading now and always, then we need to keep at the forefront of our attention the

rich, complex, and profound pleasures of reading.

Wilhelm and Smith also found that the reading pleasure their students experienced was

multi-faceted and led them to read for a number of reasons—at times, for sheer fun and

enjoyment, but also for the profound intellectual, social-emotional, and psychological

beneﬁts they received from reading. For this reason, Wilhelm and Smith maintain that

students must be free to choose at least some of their own reading in school.

Report from a Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) Program

Jeff McQuillan (2001) reports similar breakthroughs with pleasure reading in SSR (silent

sustained reading) at a diverse high school in Anaheim, CA. Most of the students were

Latino, and many came from economically deprived homes with limited access to books

in their homes or communities:

Fundamental to any SSR program is, of course, a set amount of time each day

for students to read to themselves. Pilgreen and Gribbons (1998) point out that

successful SSR programs must be carried out on a regular and frequent basis and

not as an occasional activity or tacked on as “ﬁller” on Friday. The teachers started

off slowly, allotting 10 minutes a day during the ﬁrst few weeks of the semester.

Most students weren’t accustomed to having time for pleasure reading in class,

and some needed to work into the habit gradually. No other reading materials (e.g.,

CHAPTER 3: EQUITY

textbooks) were allowed, and students were not permitted to work on homework or

class assignments. Within four to six weeks, the time spent reading was gradually

increased to 15 and then 20 minutes. Several teachers noted that many students can

sit, do nothing, and avoid reading for 10 minutes, but when the SSR is 20 minutes,

it is almost impossible for students to do nothing. At that point, they start reading.

In some classes, students would read for 30 minutes, complaining if they were

given less time! Teachers report that 90 to 95 percent of their students were, in

fact, reading their books, consistent with other reports that have found that, when

properly implemented, almost all students take advantage of the SSR time provided.

Not only did these formerly disengaged students who disliked reading become

“thoroughly enthralled” with their reading, but they also made progress as readers and

writers, showing increased achievement scores in vocabulary development and writing

proﬁciency. In multiple ways, more reading led to better reading.

The Thrill of Personal Choice

Students are thrilled when they get to choose their own books. Research has frequently

found that self-selection is the hook that snags both children and teens and convinces

them to read:

• Allowing students to self-select their books results in more involvement and thus

more motivation to read (Sewell, 2003; Gallager, 2009; Pruzinsky, 2014).

• Self-selection allows students more latitude to be deeply involved with the learning

process, thus fostering an interest in, as well as developing an ownership of the

reading process (Kragler, 2000).

• Students choose books that match their personal interests—both narrative and

expository texts. Kids are also drawn to books that their friends or other trusted

readers recommend (Edmunds and Bauserman, 2006).

Hiebert (2014) cautions, however, that children beneﬁt from help—they grow into self-

selection with parent or teacher guidance and thoughtful scaffolding.

The Value of Time

Students need extensive time to read. Allington and Johnston studied exemplary

ﬁrst- and fourth-grade teachers in six states and found that extensive reading is critical

to the development of reading proﬁciency. “Extensive practice provides the opportunity

for students to consolidate the skills and strategies teachers often work so hard to

develop. The exemplary elementary teachers we studied recognized this critical aspect of

instructional planning. Their students did more guided reading, more independent reading,

more social studies and science reading than students in less-effective classrooms”

(Allington, 2002).

THE POWER OF READING CHOICE, TIME, AND PLEASURE

Closing Thoughts

Global Teacher award-winning Nancie Atwell (2015) also considers reader’s choice, time,

and pleasure essential. In her classroom and school (Center for Teaching and Learning),

choice is a given: “Kids choose what they read because children who choose books are

more likely to grow up to become adults who read books. Students who read only a steady

diet of assigned titles don’t get to answer, for themselves, the single most important

question about book reading: why does anyone want to? (2007). She writes:

Every day, smart, well-meaning teachers erect instructional roadblocks between

their students and the pure pleasure of the personal art of reading. There it is: the

P word. I know, because I’ve felt it, too, that there’s a sense of uneasiness among

teachers and parents about an approach like a reading workshop. Shouldn’t there be

some pedagogic strings attached here? Some paper and pencil and small-group

activities that look like schoolwork? Because otherwise, isn’t reading class, well, too

enjoyable?

We need to get over it. When we teachers embrace our role as literate grown-ups

who help children seek and ﬁnd delight and enlargement of life in books, they have

a good chance of growing into adults who enjoy and love reading.

Allington, R., and Gabriel, R. (2012). “Every Child,

Every Day.” Educational Leadership. Vol. 69 (6).

Allington, R. (2002). “What I’ve Learned About

Effective Reading Instruction from a Decade

of Studying Exemplary Elementary Classroom

Teachers.” Phi Delta Kappan.

Anderson, R. C., Wilson, P. T., and Fielding, L. G.

(1988). “Growth in Reading and How Children

Spend Their Time Outside of School.” Reading

Research Quarterly. Vol. 23..

Atwell, N. (2007).“The Pleasure Principle.” New York:

Scholastic: Retrieved from: www.scholastic.

com/teachers/article/pleasure-principle

Atwell, N. (2007). The Reading Zone: How to Help

Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual,

Critical Readers. New York: Scholastic.

Edmunds, K., Bauserman, K. (2006). “What Teachers

Can Learn About Reading Motivation through

Conversations with Children.” The Reading

Teacher. Vol. 59.

Kragler, Sherry. (2000). “Choosing Books for

Reading: An Analysis of Three Types of

Readers.” Journal of Research in Childhood

Education. Vol. 14.

Gallagher, K. (2009). Readicide. Portland, ME:

Stenhouse.

Gilmore, Barry. (2011). “Worthy Texts: Who Decides?”

Educational Leadership. Vol. 68 (6).

Guthrie, J., and Humenick, N. (2004). “Motivating

Students to Read: Evidence of Classroom

Practices that Increase Motivation and

Achievement.” In P. McCardle, and V. Chabra,

(Eds.), The Voice of Evidence in Reading

Research. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.

Hiebert, F. (2014). “Frank Views on Literacy and

the Common Core.” Santa Cruz, CA: The Text

Project. Retrieved from: textproject.org/library/

books/frank-views-on-literacy-learning-and-

the-common-core

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CHAPTER 3: EQUITY

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of Possible: Read Stories About the Joy and

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