Krashen--Free voluntary reading

Jennifer Brickey ET—Educational Theory CO--Overcoming Barriers Krashen, S. (2013) Free voluntary reading. University of California, Los Angeles, CA. Long-time supporter, first-time attendee: Krashen inspired me to start a reading campaign at Oxnard High School (OHS). Several years ago before I began my career as a teacher, OHS enlisted Silent Sustained Reading (SSR). The year the school participated in the SSR program, the school experienced a drastic increase in test scores. This anecdote supports Krashen’s stance of the impact reading for pleasure—that exposing students, especially those learning a new language, helps to build vocabulary, increase language acquisition, and improves test scores. As Krashen put it, getting the students to read the easy stuff makes accessing more difficult texts a less arduous task since the student has an established relationship with reading. When I think about all the English Language Learners that will have to take the CCSS standardized tests, Krashen's view exposes the desperate need to provide access to materials to those ELLs and those living in poverty in order to assist them with demands of the new standards. In the end, it would seem that the most cost effective and useful way of improving test scores and preparing students for the transition to the CCSS would be to make reading for pleasure a ritual. Although I heard his lecture at Camarillo Public Library, this YouTube video helps one understand Krashen’s theory on second language acquisition.  Link to Stephen Krashen's site: http://www.sdkrashen.com