In 1971, Lyman Hunt offered a six-step plan to help students become better readers. Although the plan was intended for elementary teachers, middle and high school teachers adapted some of the ideas to help older students as well, and at least one of the steps subsequently found its way into South Carolina state standards up through 12th grade. Hunt labeled this particular step “USSR” for “Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading,” and one of my colleagues remembers referring to it during the Cold War era as “Russian Reading” because of the initials. Although the USSR is no longer with us as a political entity and Hunt’s acronym has been shortened to “SSR,” the idea of having students use chunks of class time for pleasure reading has endured, enjoying varying degrees of popularity through all grade levels.

This practice is not, however, without controversy. The National Reading Panel (NRP) concluded in 2000 that there was insufficient evidence to support SSR as an effective practice, and Timothy Shanahan (2006a), a member of the panel, used his position as President of the International Reading Association to warn teachers against devoting class time to SSR. Stephen Krashen (2001), however, argues that the NRP failed to consider numerous relevant studies, and that they misinterpreted some of the studies they did include; Michael Shaw (2006) implies that Shanahan simply misses the point of how SSR works.

What, then, is a classroom teacher to do about SSR? In my conversations with middle school and high school ELA teachers, I have heard about both positive and negative experiences with SSR, yet even teachers with positive experiences seem reluctant to use it in the current climate of “research-based, data-driven” practice. My goal is not to persuade skeptics to embrace SSR; rather, for those teachers who want to use SSR, and for those who might like to give it a try, I offer a justification, based on a broader view of what should “count” as relevant research.

Time. It’s the one commodity we all have in equal measure. In my school district, students are required to complete 120 hours of “seat time” for one unit of credit (in addition, of course, to achieving a passing grade). In a ninth grade science class, the teacher might need to use those 120 hours to …; in a tenth grade geometry class, the teacher might be expected to … ; in a twelfth grade English class, the teacher might need to “cover” key literary works from Beowulf through Tennyson. Whatever the class, it seems there’s never enough time to do whatever it is the teacher is supposed to do. What we do with that time matters. So when we talk about devoting 15 minutes a day, three times a week – or even 10 minutes a day, twice a week – on self-selected reading (or free reading!), some people chafe at the waste of precious time.  Class time is for direct instruction, they argue. Anything students can do on their own, they should do at home. Leisure reading should take place during leisure time, not during school. Besides, SSR – sustained silent reading – usually isn’t even assessed. If students know there’s no test, won’t they simply goof off? Gregory Bryan and his colleagues make such an argument when they note that “simply providing students time to self-select their own books and read silently” does not “guarantee” that students will, in fact, read silently; further, some students might even “use books as a prop for pretend reading or other non-engaged reading behaviors” (47, emphasis theirs).

And even if students do read, we don’t know for sure that it’s doing them any good. The authors of the Report of the National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read, after looking for studies investigating causal – rather than merely correlational – relationships between SSR and various kinds of reading gains, conclude that “there are simply not sufficient data from well-designed studies capable of testing questions of causation to substantiate causal claims” (13). In the absence of evidence to the contrary, they allow that “independent silent reading may have [a positive influence] on reading” (13, emphasis theirs), but for proponents of “evidence-based, data-driven” practice, lack of evidence means that the practice does not merit implementation – at least not until such evidence is found.

So why bother with SSR?

Revisionto seeagain

Revision – to look again at your work, to consider other options

Arrangement – for considering two possibilities

Introduction: provide a context, identify the issue, find common groundPart 1

Argue one side of the issue (Option #1)Part 2

Argue the other side of the issue(Option #2)Part 3

Draw a conclusion based on the evidence,then provide closurePart 4

(A / B Comparison)

Arrangement – for considering two possibilities

Introduction: provide a context, identify the issue, find common groundPart 1

Draw a conclusion based on the evidence,then provide closurePart 3

Part 2 Present all the evidence, comparing it point by point

(Point-by-Point Comparison)

If you’re writing on the big school / small school topic…

How do they compare with respect to ……safety?…academic performance?…cost to the school district?…choice of classes?…opportunities for extracurriculars (i.e., clubs)?…opportunities to participate in sports?…quality of athletics?…quality of x, y, or z?

Once you have answers, put them in a logical order.

If you’re writing on the deficit spending topic…

The A / B format will probably work:*how deficit spending is harmful (or good)*how deficit spending is good (or harmful)*conclusion

But you could also try point-by-point:*how deficit spending affects jobs*how deficit spending affects interest rates*how deficit spending affects credit ratings*how deficit spending affects economic growth*how deficit spending affects x, y, and z

Once you have answers, put them in a logical order.

If you’re writing on the building codes topic…

How do strict (or less strict) codes affect……safety of buildings?…construction costs?…insurance costs?…maintenance costs?…rate of development?…ease of permitting?…x, y, and z?

Once you have answers, put them in a logical order.

You probably need to define “military support” first:…financial aid? …weapons? …soldiers?

You’ll probably want to look at other cases of support:…when the US provided X support in Nicaraguan…when the US provided Y support in Bosnia…when the US provided Z support in [some country]

Then you’ll need to compare each situation to Syria

Then you’ll probably compare the likelihood of positive outcomes to the likelihood of negative outcomes

If you’re writing on the military support in Syria topic…

If you’re writing on the banking regulation topic…

You might ask how regulation affects……consumers…interest rates…the economy…the job market…the stock market…mergers…x, y, and z

Once you have answers, put them in a logical order.

Or you might offer arguments for (or against) regulation, then offer arguments against (or for) regulation.

You might ask why the academies have a one-semester system

You might explain how & why we have a two-semester system

You might ask the goals of the system, then compare how well each system can achieve those goals

You might compare a one-semester system with a two-semester system (Hint: VMI)

… academic performance (GPA, graduation rate)…attrition…factors x, y, and z

You might consider possible positive outcomes vs. possible negative outcomes of each system

If you’re writing on the fourth class system topic…

Look at the evidence you generate, then decide whether to use a point –by-point format or an A-B format

If you’re writing on the fourth class system topic…

Use the rest of the periodto work on your paper.

Bring the complete draft to class Tuesday.