Building Reading Stamina

On site meter, I've noticed my blog has been linked to through searches for "Building Stamina." When I looked at the post I had written about building stamina, I realized it probably wasn't very helpful for someone who might be looking for some direction (much like I was wishing I had at the time I wrote the original post).

When I wrote the original post, I was in a place of uncertainty. I had have been given a class of students who didn't know how to read for a period of time. It was impossible for my students to even read independently for 5 minutes. I was clueless as to how I would be able to help my students build their reading stamina. I'd always gotten students who could at least hold a book up and read for a period of time. What in the world was I to do with these non-reading 5th graders?

With some guidance fomr other teachers, my team teacher and I made a plan and began building stamina for our student readers. Here's how we did it:

Materials: graph, timer, goals, books, students

1. Make a graph. Each day we marked the time that students could successfully read independently.

2. Set a goal. Think about the end point. What amount of time do you want your students to be able to read independently? How many days in a row do they have to meet that time before they've met the goal? For example, we chose around 20 minutes for 5 days in a row.

3. Get a timer. Set the timer each day before independent reading starts. Start with low times - 5 minutes. Slowly move the times up. If the students had trouble on a certain day, explain that you are either going to stay at the same time the next day or only move it up one minute. Our students would be for a longer time. They took the challenge and wanted to prove they could do the independent reading. Some days I would tell them I would set the timer for X minutes and if they wanted to keep reading after, I'd reset it for 3 more minutes to move us up that much more on the graph. Some days when that timer went off, they just kept reading. There were days when it was more difficult to read independently and some of the students would get off task. I'd simply stop the timer and remind them that it'd be turned back on as soon as I saw them reading towards our goal again.

4. Use reading buddies. Some of the students had a hard time staying focused and started causing disruptions during the reading time. Their low reading levels and lack of motivation as a reader left them apt to distract others. By giving them reading partners, we were able to make them accountable for each other as readers. Most times, they would actually read.

It seems so easy now, but before, when had no idea how to deal with 5th grade non-readers, I was terrified as what I needed to do to get my students to the point of being able to hold up a book and read for a period of time.