The SSR Handbook: How to Organize and Manage a Sustained Silent Reading Program

by Janice L. Pilgreen

It comes as no surprise that the students who read often are the students who read well. How, then, can we get the rest of our students reading? Is it enough to set aside in-class time for sustained silent reading? Or should we set up a more structured program-one that ensures all of our students are engaged in their reading and that they do so on a regular basis for the pleasure of it? Janice Pilgreen knows from hard-won experience that it takes a lot of time, effort, and know-how to put an effective sustained silent reading program into practice. In The SSR Handbook , she's done most of the work for you, not only providing an overview of the underlying research, but also reviewing eight essential factors that ensure a program's success. Pilgreen explicitly identifies these factors, then explains in detail how to incorporate them into your own program. The book also features lots of resources to help you implement your program, including support organizations, book clubs, classroom magazine subscription titles/addresses, favorite young adult series books within various genres, comic book titles, lower-level reading books for adolescents, and publishing company names, addresses, and phone numbers. Best of all, there are reproducible student and parent inventories, reading records, and other forms to assist you with the process. Readers will come away from this book with an understanding of what SSR is, why it's important, and how to implement it in their own schools and classrooms. Just as important, they will be motivated and energized enough to want to develop new programs or modify existing programs right away.

Genres: Teaching, Nonfiction, Education

160 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2000

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally published this review on my teaching blog, My Generation of Polyglots. The intended audience was World Language teachers who use story-telling methods (TPRS) in their classes.
---------------------------------------------------

After a summer of reading about reading, my favorite book that I reach for to help me analyze my own SSR program is Janice L. Pilgreen´s The SSR Handbook. It is a quick read that describes eight characteristics of highly successful SSR programs. Much of it feels obvious when reading, but in practice I have found it invaluable to help me assess what is really happening in my own classroom. Part of the reason I think this is so valuable is that SSR is designed to be a long-term project. I cannot give an assessment two weeks in a row to see if my teaching of SSR is having the desired impact; instead I have to follow the research and place a certain amount of trust in the conclusions of experts who have studied SSR.

One of the characteristics of a successful program is student access to a wide variety of appealing books. This tortures me. There are students who have developed such a negative reaction to any reading that it feels financially impossible for me to connect them with the homerun book that will change their life. Proponents of the compelling is enough approach (Krashen) argue that you do not need many books, just the right ones. Easier said than done!

One thing I have noticed, however, is that a bigger library is not a better library. There is something awesome about the first time a kid walks into my classroom, surveys all of the books on the walls, and says with a tinge of excitement: Are those for us? Nonetheless once they get hip deep into the class library they only have so much patience. It is important to be able to identify which books are never being read so that I can exclude them from the library.

Frequent book talks are also essential to make browsing the library more manageable to readers who have not yet developed the habit of glancing through books, reading an odd paragraph, and evaluating them. Even if I were to eventually build the perfect class library, I would still have to actively promote it to my students. Dr. Pilgreen recognizes book talks and other supporting activities as another of the key characteristics of a successful program.

I recommend this book if you are moving towards adding an SSR component to your language class.

[Michael]

If you want kids to read, let them read. Let them read books at their level, and that interest them. Give them time to read in school. Model reading. The end. In the Middle: New Understandings about Writing, Reading, and Learning, The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child, The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers, Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles...all these research backed books tell us the same thing. Do we do it? Nah. Let's give standardized tests instead, then shake our heads in wonder when kids don't like reading.

The reality is that a majority of kids only read in school nowadays, and even then reluctantly. I have come to think of this as a 'post-literate' society: people can read (at least, they can decode) but they just don't. This is reality. The educational system in the US has not caught up with this new phenomenon.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is an authoritative text on SSR filled with lots of practical advice and and eye towards implementation, it's a real shame that Pilgreen didn't update the text after 2000. While much of the contents of the book have certainly aged very well and are absolutely applicable to contemporary school settings, some of Pilgreen's findings and recommendations have since been called into question. While this feels like a strong place to start developing an SSR program, it also feels like more current texts are needed to supplement it.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author recounts her own research both primary and secondary and the eight principles of successfully using sustained silent reading to help develop enthusiasm for reading and also increased ability and comprehension. A good overview. I am still struggling with exactly what is meant by not attaching “accountability” to student pleasure reading while motivating students to focus on reading rather than enticing options such as socializing.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a little embarrassing that such a simple pedagogical structure merits a book-length treatment. Still, some folks need the kind of convincing that data supply. All English teachers should be aware of this work.

[Chalice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is short and simple, but for people who are just starting out with the idea of SSR, this is a great outline of the requirements of an effective program. Administrators or other teachers who need proof of the success of an SSR program would benefit from this book.

[Judy W · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great SSR resource. Anything I read with a more recent pub date was addressed in this 2000 work.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, this book made me rethink my goal and execution of SSR in my classes. It has completely changed the way I think about it, and it's well-worth the read!

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to implement SSR in your school, class or library, this book is great -- will give you the philosophy and foundation to make your program successful.

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read this book, but read it again now that we have our own Esperanza copy of it. The contents of this book are extremely important as we design Esperanza's Literacy Program. Great resource!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

12 years old now, this is still the authoritative source on SSR. Chock full of studies and smart practical ideas, it's one of those professional resources to turn to again & again.

[Jeimy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very useful tool for teachers who are considering Sustained Silent Reading. Pilgreen's "stacked for success" SAFE DATE method is simple yet comprehensive.