Charley and Harry are 5th graders in the Diablo Elementary School, Department of Defense Dependents Schools in Panama. It's Friday afternoon, and they are filling out their book logs.
Harry looks over at Charley's record. "Hey, what did you read this week, Charley?"
"Two books. One was about a guy who was a great athlete. It was called The Iron Duke. You know, I looked in the front and found out it was written 60 years ago. I didn't think I'd like anything that old."
"I read Beau Geste. Have you read that? It's even older. A lot of it was about life in the French Foreign Legion."
"What's that, Harry?"
"I don't really know. It was some kind of army in the desert. It's a great book. You should try it, Charley.”
"My other book was just a little funny one that my sister brought home. It's called The Queen's Knickers. It's really for little kids, but it's fun."
"Hey, time's up. I'll trade you The Iron Duke for Beau Geste. And let's look up that Foreign Legion thing."
"OK."
Young people in many communities are discovering the joy of reading, as Harry and Charley are doing. One spur to such activity is a program called Just Read.
Discovering Students' Reading Patterns
Just Read, a language arts initiative to increase students' independent reading, had its origin in a school district where educators were concerned about students' reading achievement—but nobody really knew how much students read outside of school. To begin to discover the answer, the district used a very simple and quick procedure to put everyone's concern in perspective. A leadership team randomly selected six 5th grade students and interviewed them about the number and content of the books they independently read over one week.
From this small sample, we found that three of the students had not read a single book, one had read one book, and two had read two books. Four weeks later, we held additional interviews with the same five students. The results were equally disappointing. The poor outcome of these interviews led to an extensive study of district students from kindergarten to high school. The district included nine elementary schools and three secondary schools.
In Operation Just Read, we used action research procedures to identify the problem, obtain baseline data, formulate a rationale, implement the program, collect data, analyze results, and arrive at conclusions. We also used standardized test data and conducted in-depth studies.
Students' Reading Logs
The district had identified the problem: low levels of independent reading. We then began collecting data for the baseline study, using student-maintained reading logs. Each student at one elementary school was responsible for recording the titles and numbers of books read during the week, then submitting the log to his or her teacher. Students in high school English classes also kept logs. For kindergartners and 1st graders, parents assisted with the record keeping. The team collected data from these logs and analyzed them over a period of 14 weeks.
The results were not encouraging (see baseline data in fig. 1). Over 14 weeks, 1st graders at this school read 21 books; 2nd graders read 35 books; and 3rd graders read 10 books. A dramatic dropoff then occurred: 4th graders read 4 books; 5th graders, 3 books; and 6th graders, 3 books.
Figure 1. Effects of 14 Weeks of Operation Just Read
Just Read - table
Grade | Mean Number of Books Read at Baseline | Mean Number of Books Read After 14 Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | 21 | 47 |
| Grade 2 | 35 | 50 |
| Grade 3 | 10 | 11 |
| Grade 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Grade 5 | 3 | 16 |
| Grade 6 | 3 | 18 |
The most reading at home was done in the primary grades and included mostly picture-story books. Only about one-third of the students, however, were engaged in reading outside the classroom even though most of the students had the skills to read other books written at this level. For example, students in grades 1 and 2 read about one hour per week at home, or about two books a week. This is hardly enough independent reading for primary-age students—or even struggling middle and upper-grade students—to become fluent readers. Of the 3rd graders, one-third of the students were reading 60 percent of the books. Many students in grades 4-6 reported reading no books.
The profile of high schoolers' independent reading was worse yet. Forty-eight percent of the students read no books at all during the 14 weeks. The other students averaged fewer than two books during the period. Only 5 percent read as much as a book every two weeks.
A Supporting Rationale for Just Read
As we collected baseline data, we also examined the national picture of independent reading outside of school. Comparisons available on reading from 1971 through 1996 confirm that students do very little independent reading outside of school (Mullis et al. 1993, Mullis and Jenkins 1990, Campbell et al. 1996). Recent reports from The Nation's Report Card (Foertsch 1992, Campbell et al. 1996) also verify that students do little reading outside of school.
We also reviewed other studies on reading achievement. In Becoming a Nation of Readers, Anderson and colleagues (1995) establish a link between quantity of independent reading and growth in vocabulary and reading proficiency. Pearson (1993) states, "Just plain reading has been shown to improve student's comprehension, even as measured on standardized tests" (p. 507). Nagy and colleagues (1987) posit that the acquisition of vocabulary through reading is about 10 times more efficient than the common methods of vocabulary instruction. Anderson and Nagy (1992) emphasize the importance of free reading in vocabulary growth—and the critical influence of vocabulary on school performance.
Designing a Home-to-School Campaign
Our baseline data, combined with our research studies, persuaded us to begin Operation Just Read in the elementary school that had participated in the baseline study. We wanted to devise an approach that could be used in all the schools. The objective was to markedly increase the amounts of independent reading, and we worked to develop a strong home-to-school connection.
The strategy included three components. First, we continued to collect data from reading logs. Students, classes, and the entire school used the data to measure weekly progress. We added to classroom libraries so that teachers could easily guide their students in book selections.
Second, we began an aggressive campaign to encourage parents and students to increase amounts of at-home reading. We held meetings and distributed newsletters to parents. We hung paper chains, containing titles of books read, on walls, ceilings, and doors. We held pizza and T-shirt parties, complete with "Just Read" logos. We worked with parents on reading projects; we formed book clubs; and we held book trading fairs.
Third, we encouraged everyone to set goals: individual, classroom, and school. Teachers and students created charts to display and celebrate students' progress. We gave out certificates, sent notes home, and held many celebration parties.
Counting the Books
Our first objective was to estimate whether Operation Just Read increased the quantity of reading. We compared the 14-week period after the kickoff (the first target period) to the 14-week baseline to generate our first estimates (see fig. 1).
The increases in the primary grades were gratifying, though the lack of increase in grade 3 was puzzling. In subsequent years, grade 3 increased as much as did the others—this pilot was the only time that a 3rd grade didn't respond to the initiative with substantial increases in amounts of at-home reading.
The increases in grades 4, 5, and 6 were what we hoped to see, though we were not satisfied. The average 5th and 6th grade student read about a book each week—a productive increase from one book in five weeks. But half the students were not even reading a complete book each week. Overall, the reading logs showed that the upper-grade students were reading from three to six times more books than before the campaign. We were encouraged enough to continue the initiative and expand it to include all nine elementary schools in the district.
High Schoolers' Reading at Home
The average number of books that secondary students read increased to one every two-and-a-half weeks (from one every seven weeks). No student reported reading fewer than two books during the 14-week period. Book-a-week regulars began to appear (no fewer than two per class). Reading was not quite the height of fashion for these adolescents, but it was no longer in the category of deviant behavior.
We discovered that individual differences among teachers affected the outcomes. Classes of some teachers increased reading as little as 50 percent; in other classrooms, the amount of reading increased four to seven times over the baseline. We speculated that a concerted schoolwide effort would gradually reduce the teacher effect as regular reading became an established habit across the school.
The Second Year
As we went districtwide, leadership teams oriented their faculties to Just Read. All schools began data collection, campaigns, and celebrations.
The results? Children in grade 2 recorded a mean of 102 books read for the entire year. Students in grade 3 recorded a mean of 82 books. The average student from grades 4-6 recorded 50 titles, or about one and three-quarter books per week. This number is at least 10 times the national average. Nonreading was greatly reduced. In addition to the increases in number of books read, gains in reading comprehension for the whole district were twice the national average.
As part of our action research, we also conducted an in-depth study of 5th grade reading patterns—and found substantial gains not only in number of books read, but also in standardized test scores on the California Tests of Basic Skills.
The Home-School Connection
We believe that the home-to-school connection was essential to the success of students in Just Read. The program increased school/parent communication, parental decision making, parental involvement in the school, and opportunities for school personnel to support parents in helping children learn at home. Parents responded positively to the initiative.
Just Read requires substantial nurturing support to help teachers, students, and parents learn to collect data on reading and celebrate accomplishments. We found that schools can increase independent reading at home for the average student to about 100 books a year. Kindergarten students can read (or listen to their parents read) about 150 books a year (Joyce and Wolf 1996).
Critical Components of Just Read
- Make reading at home a schoolwide initiative, with faculty and parental support.
- Design the program as a collaborative and cooperative project; set individual, classroom, and school goals.
- Develop a student/parent/school connection.
- Involve parents in the process.
- Record and analyze the number of books read weekly.
- Measure progress in meeting the goal, and publicly display the results.
- Celebrate progress and success.
