Category: Reading Stamina
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How Do I Transition Students From Reading Short Excerpts and Articles Back to Reading Full-Length Novels?
Reading stamina has become one of the most urgent challenges in K-12 literacy. An EdWeek Research Center survey found that 83% of educators in grades 3-8 reported that student reading stamina had decreased since 2019, and a quarter said their classrooms relied primarily on excerpts. A 2024 Atlantic investigation documented the downstream effects of how…
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What Does “The Kids Can’t Read” Actually Look Like? Inside the Classroom Reality
An older Reddit thread on r/Teachers hit a recurring nerve, tackling a phrase we hear constantly in headlines: “What does ‘the kids can’t read’ actually look like in a classroom?” The most vital part of the thread wasn’t the shock value of the data. It was the teachers who shared what modern literacy struggles actually…
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How Can I Use Rewards to Get Students to Read More?
When considering classroom management strategies, using prizes or tokens to encourage reading is a common debate. Decades of educational research confirm that extrinsic rewards can successfully kickstart a habit for hesitant readers. However, long-term studies indicate a downside. According to the American Psychological Association, tangible rewards can significantly undermine a student’s intrinsic motivation to learn…
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How Can I Help Elementary Students Talk About Books?
Building reading stamina and comprehension in elementary school is deeply rooted in motivation. Research from the reading engagement model explains that when students set goals, value reading, and believe in themselves as readers, they more willingly engage in reading activities. Simply tracking minutes is rarely enough. To help students truly engage, educators should focus on…
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Beyond the Summer Slide: Turning Break Time into Reading Growth
Summer break brings longer days, a pause from school routines, and opportunities to connect with families and friends. But for educators and families, it can also bring on the summer slide, a loss of reading growth for students. The summer slide is the learning loss that can happen when students are away from school for…
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What Helps High School Students Fall in Love with Reading?
Reigniting a passion for literacy in high school students requires moving beyond basic decoding toward sustained engagement with complex texts. This shift is more urgent than ever: NAEP’s 2024 Grade 12 Reading results show a significant decline in performance, with only 35% of seniors reaching reading levels associated with college readiness. When students are not…
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How Can I Boost Critical Thinking in the Classroom?
Critical thinking in literacy is not a byproduct of reading; it is an active process fueled by complex texts, structured peer dialogue, and evidence-based reasoning. This guide explores strategies and tools that transform passive reading into deep analysis. The Research: Why Discussion Drives Thinking Evidence-based instruction focuses on dialogic teaching, the practice of using conversation…
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How Can I Get Students who Prefer Gaming or TikTok Interested in Books?
In a world where short-form videos and immersive digital worlds compete for a student’s attention, the dopamine hits from social media and gaming often make the steady pace of a book feel secondary. Recent APA data highlights this scale, showing U.S. teens spend an average of 4.8 hours daily on platforms like TikTok and YouTube.…
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How Can I Support My Students to Read Independently?
Supporting independent reading requires moving beyond simply providing access to books. To foster reading independence, educators must cultivate intrinsic motivation and background knowledge. Independent reading is when students choose texts to read primarily for pleasure or personal inquiry. Research indicates that students are significantly more likely to complete a text when they have a personal…
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Building Reading Stamina in Today’s Classroom
Building reading stamina in today’s classroom, in a world built for scrolling, is harder than ever. Students are surrounded by short-form content, constant notifications, and quick dopamine hits that compete with classroom focus. As a result, attention from students can feel fragmented, and many educators worry that reading stamina is disappearing altogether. A 2026 report…