Almost every day, the students in OH are told to pull out a book of their choice and read it. As the school year begins, teachers have resumed implementing independent reading in their classes.
“There are so many benefits to reading in general [and] it doesn’t all have to be academic reading,” said OH English teacher Kristen Wood.
After implementing independent reading in 2022, English teachers and many students are seeing it as time well-spent.
The benefits of independent reading
Independent reading offers students a wide range of cognitive and educational benefits.
Wood said that independent reading can improve a student’s “reading stamina, reading comprehension, reading retention, and knowledge of words.”
She added that learning these skills can “be really beneficial [for] future careers… And it’s also really beneficial for standardized tests like the ACT.”
“[Students can] develop a better sense of vocabulary and grammatical structures just by reading books at their independent reading level that they enjoy,” said Erin Holtz, another OH English teacher.
“Independent reading keeps [students] mentally sharp, but it’s also a great way to escape and just kind of sit and relax and read a good story,” said OH LRC Director Andrew Mundsinger.
OH students also share positive feelings toward independent reading in their classes.
Ana Cemorton, a sophomore in English 2, says, “Independent reading can be very beneficial for students intellectually, and it’s nice that teachers give the time for students to read inside of school because [students] probably don’t have the time outside of school.”
“Students got a chance to look through the books in the classroom, [and they] went down to the LRC [so] they could pick out a book there,” said Wood.
Choosing the right book
“Students read about four times a week… for about 10 minutes at the beginning of class,” said OH English teacher Erin Holtz. When reading so often, students want to make sure they’ve chosen the right book for themselves.
So, how do students decide which book to read? According to Holtz and Wood, teachers will try to help guide students in choosing the right books.
“It’s about finding the right book for the right student at the right time,” said Holtz.
“If you don’t like the book, you don’t have to read the book,” added Wood. “Find something that you like, and we’ll help you with that.”
Mundsinger adds that the library is most busy at “the beginning of the school year, [when] everybody picks a book… [When] they’re going to finish the book, they come down and want something just like it.”
Work with the book
Some classes may eventually use independent reading books for projects and assignments. “My teacher… wants us to finish reading our book and then do a timed paragraph on it,” said Cemorton.
Cemorton feels that the assignment “helps students feel motivated to read their book.”
Holtz added, “Chatting about books and having conversations about books is probably the most beneficial thing that [students] can do… because it mimics the most real-life application of reading.”
Independent reading is so much more than classroom practice: it’s a way to step away from daily pressures.
Mundsinger said, “Sometimes [reading is] an escape for a lot of students… They can find books that they see themselves in, and … thats’ pretty powerful.”
Hello!!! My name is Jia Nair, and I am a sophomore at Oswego High School. It is my first year on the staff 42Fifty. At OHS, I am involved in BIONIC, Youth and Government, Girl Scouts, and Business Professionals of America. I also serve as the president of The Rightfully Project. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication.
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