Making Data‐Driven Decisions: Silent Reading

Due in part to conflicting opinions and research results, the practice of sustained silent reading (SSR) in schools has been questioned. After a frustrating experience with SSR, the author of this article began a data‐driven decision‐making process to gain new insights on how to structure silent reading in a classroom, including a comparison between SSR and independent reading (IR). The students involved were 16 third and fourth graders enrolled in a small private school in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. To make an informed decision regarding the structure of silent reading in the classroom, the author collected evidence from teacher–student discussions, a reading attitude inventory, reading response documents, and teacher observations during both SSR and IR. Careful attention was paid to the students' attitudes and reading behaviors. In comparing their reading attitudes during the two silent reading structures, the author found conflicting results. However, students engaged in active reading behaviors more frequently during IR than they did during SSR.