classroom library

In the Fall 2006 issue of Childhood Education, Joseph Sanacore wrote an article on the importance of creating life-long readers. He recommends paying special attention to the classroom library, time allowed for read-alouds, and time the students spend reading. Two elements struck me as surprising, the lack of non-fiction in the majority of classrooms and that the 15-30 minutes that a teacher puts aside for in class reading is not enough.

"Allington (2001) believes that a minimum goal for elementary school children should be 90 minutes of actual in-school reading each day. This activity goes by any number of names: sustained silent reading, recreational reading, voluntary reading, free reading, independent reading, or DEAR (Drop Everything and Read)."

Nurturing Lifetime Readers
Author: Sanacore, Joseph Source: Childhood Education 83, no. 1 (Fall 2006): p. 33-37