Teaching Stamina and Silent Reading in the Digital-Global Age
Hiebert, E.H. (Ed.) (2015). TextProject. Teaching Stamina and Silent Reading in the Digital-Global Age. TextProject.
The 21st century demands that individuals have a high level of literacy to successfully participate in the tasks of colleges, communities, and jobs. Nonetheless, many students in the United States are not attaining the necessary levels of literacy, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). The assessment shows that approximately two-thirds of a grade cohort fail to attain the proficient level. Such poor performances are often traced to a lack of word recognition skills, and solutions have been designated to ameliorate this perceived gap (see California Board of Education, 2014). But evidence is strong that all but a small percentage of American students—approximately 2% of a grade cohort—can recognize the majority of words in a grade-level text by the end of the primary grades (Bielinski, Daniel, & Hiebert, 2015). Most students can read, but they don’t have rigorous independent reading habits. What many students lack is stamina—the ability to persevere in reading texts on their own.
As the first volume to address the topic of silent reading stamina, Teaching Stamina and Silent Reading in the Digital-Global Age will be a useful guide for many constituencies. Among those who will benefit from this volume are teacher educators and professional developmental leaders who interact with teachers in courses and workshops. The volume is especially pertinent to supervisors and curriculum leaders in districts, states, and agencies such as regional laboratories who work in the translation of policies to practices. Further, graduate students and professors who study the efficacy of practice in supporting proficient student reading will find the volume useful in the design of research, especially regarding instructional interventions. The conclusions and suggestions offered in the chapters in this volume are intended to serve as grist for study groups of teachers, graduate and undergraduate courses, professional development sessions, and conversations among colleagues.