Avoid These 5 Pitfalls To Improve Student Reading Stamina
We spend a whole lot of time teaching reading skills. But it’s all for naught if students don’t actually apply what we’re teaching to their actual reading. Not just with us during supported, small group instruction, but when they’re reading independently. Which means we want students to get a place where they read with purpose and enjoyment. And that requires consistent, dedicated time for it. More importantly, that time needs to be productive, not passive or wasteful. One thing that squashes that productivity? Lack of reading stamina. Here are some do’s and don’ts for helping students build stamina for reading.
- This one seems obvious, but it’s foundational. We cannot let the ELA block slip by without making time to read. Students need dedicated, protected time for reading every day. Not the 5 minutes after they finish other work, not pulling out a book as everyone gets unpacked and settled in for the day. Not two days here and one day there. Dedicated, quiet time where the expectation is to read for a length of time. Habits are built with consistency, and building reading stamina is no exception. Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp put it so succinctly when they say that “The more children read, the more their reading skills develop and their motivation and interest in reading increases, while children who do not read much do not develop strong reading skills and internal motivation to read.” (Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids)
- This one will ruffle some feathers, but it’s best to avoid visual timers. When the timer countdown is on display, that’s pretty much all that kids can focus on–especially your striving readers. It totally divides their attention. Every time they glance up from their book to check the timer, they have to find their place again and get back into the book. And every time they glance up, it’s a signal that their mind isn’t really on the book anyway. Not a whole lot of comprehension can take place if this is happening. Removing the timer will eliminate a great deal of distraction. The timer is really just for you, anyway. Set a quiet timer on your phone or watch instead, or better yet, just set it to vibrate.
“The more children read, the more their reading skills develop and their motivation and interest in reading increases, while children who do not read much do not develop strong reading skills and internal motivation to read.”
Donalyn Miller & Colby Sharp, Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids
- Watch for inadvertent distractions that you cause yourself. I hate to say it, but we actually create many distractions without even realizing it. Visual timers (or worse, loud ones) are just one. There are actually many things we do that greatly impact how well or not students can remain focused. I share details on these common mistakes in this post.
- Narrowly limiting what students read tremendously impacts reading stamina. Allow as much book choice as possible. I’ve written about the role of reading motivation before, but it bears repeating. Humans are far more engaged in things that interest them. Full stop. This is also backed by reading research: Duke and Cartwright include motivation as a key factor in reading development in their Active View of Reading.
Of course we have to assign reading. And we have to assign writing about reading. And so much more. But we cannot let these tasks completely overtake the time. As Donalyn Miller, literacy expert and author of Reading in the Wild and The Book Whisperer says, “We put a lot of conditions and expectations and requirements in place attached to reading for children at school, that may in fact be leading them away from reading, not towards it.” If we make everything an assignment and take away all the choice, it’s a guarantee that motivation, and soon to follow–focus, will wane.
A big caveat with choice. Especially for our youngest and our striving readers, guidance is a must. Students need coaching to find and select books that they can read with skill and confidence–and that will support their comprehension. Need a starting point for finding out what interests your students? Grab my free student interest inventory! This tool will help you quickly determine what kids are interested in.
- This one will ruffle a great many more feathers. For decades, teachers have been following the advice that comes from the book The Daily 5. Part of the advice is to chart the number of minutes that stamina increases each day. This is normally done for a couple of weeks at the very beginning of the year. There is goal-setting involved, and much celebration when goals are reached. This part is great. But there are a couple of problems with the way this is usually done. First, it tends to be done only at the very beginning of the school year and never revisited. What about leading up to the long winter break, or right after it? Or when spring fever sets in? This goal-setting, reflection, and celebration can and should happen throughout the year.
The other big problem is that the authors of The Daily 5 advise teachers to stop the entire class when just one student loses focus. Why in the world would we interrupt the focus of the entire class just because of one or two students?? Why would we put a halt to everyone’s reading?
Instead, first watch just these one or two students for a minute. Maybe they just need an eye rest or to shift their position. Maybe they’re just processing what they read. Before jumping in and stopping anyone, just wait for thirty seconds to see if they resettle themselves.
Many times, they’ll look at you. Look back at them. Send the message that this is time to read, and the expectation is to read. But note this. Actually write down what the child does. It’s important data collection.
And then, go sit next to the child, or gather the 2-3 students you noticed have lost focus and have a conversation. Learn what’s causing the distraction (more often than not it’s due to poor book selection like I mentioned earlier). Then share a strategy for refocusing–or coach them in book selection, depending on the conversation. Share something that works for you as a reader.
If you want more ideas, Jennifer Serravallo shares several excellent strategies for building reading stamina, maintaining focus, and book selection in her book, Reading Strategies 2.0. After sharing a strategy, give them another opportunity to read. Not only does this help the tiny handful of students who need it, it helps everyone else, too, because you didn’t break everyone’s concentration.
That said, of course, if half or more of your kids are clearly showing signs of distraction or loss of concentration, stop.
My hope is that these tips give you pause to reflect on your current practices. The first place we must look when trying to improve student performance is ourselves. We cannot often control what the child does, but we can do all that we can to create the conditions for their success. If building reading stamina is a goal, I encourage you to consider one of these 5 tips this school year. It just might be the missing piece of the reading stamina puzzle!
If you could use support with finding ways to help your students build reading stamina, I’m here to help. Just reach out for a coaching call!
Who is Coach from the Couch? I’m Michelle Ruhe, a 25-year veteran educator, currently a K-5 literacy coach. I continue to learn alongside teachers in classrooms each and every day, and it’s my mission to support as many teachers as I can. Because no one can do this work alone. I’m available to you, too, through virtual coaching calls!
Or, consider joining my Facebook community! Here’s what you’ll get:
- Safe, nonjudgmental support
- Book studies
- Live videos that answer big literacy questions
- Resources and articles to support instruction
- ZERO TPT product-pushing (I don’t have any TPT products)
- Ability to DM me for direct questions
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