What is reading stamina?Reading stamina is a child's ability to read independently for "long-ish" periods of time.
Stamina is all about setting goals, surpassing them, and celebrating those achievements. In addition, students who read for long periods of time will read and finish books, whereas students who struggle to read for long periods of time often do not finish and jump from book to book. Stamina helps students complete books and then, because they are finishing multiple books, they develop their reading interest. It will then be easier for them to find books in the future that match their interests and reading levels, whereas students who have not developed stamina struggle with finding appropriate and engaging texts. The hardest part about stamina is that we must not only teach our students to read for long periods at school where we can monitor them, but at home, where we can't. |
Research leads to the conclusion that the vast majority of American students in an age cohort can recognize words - the focus of most reading interventions. Although lack of automaticity in word recognition appears to be an issue for the students in the bottom 5 or even 7 percent of a cohort, most students can recognize the core vocabulary. However, when they are asked to sustain their attention in silent reading, these students appear not to have the stamina that is required to interact with texts in a meaningful manner. (Hiebert, 2014; more on this research here.)
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How to Assess for Stamina
Mini-Lessons on Stamina
Click here for a sample of reading mini-lessons on stamina from Jennifer Serravallo's book, Reading Strategies. I highly recommend this book! (Must have an AISD login to access the excerpt; you may have to download for hyperlinks to work.)
Hiebert recommends the following 7 steps to build stamina:
1. Give students responsibility for the first read of texts.
2. Be explicit about the degree of challenge.
3. Have students make explicit goals for increased stamina and reading.
4. Increase the amount that students are reading.
5. Increase students’ engagement in reading through connected homework reading and magazine articles.
6. Increase students’ responses to texts through writing and discussions.
7. Have monthly “on your own” sessions, using available sample assessments.
1. Give students responsibility for the first read of texts.
2. Be explicit about the degree of challenge.
3. Have students make explicit goals for increased stamina and reading.
4. Increase the amount that students are reading.
5. Increase students’ engagement in reading through connected homework reading and magazine articles.
6. Increase students’ responses to texts through writing and discussions.
7. Have monthly “on your own” sessions, using available sample assessments.