Three weeks ago, I attended a talk by Stephen Krashen, an American scholar who insists that FVR (Free Voluntary Reading) should be a part of everyone’s life but, most importantly, the lives of those whose brains are still developing, children.
Krashen’s talk was so inspiring, yet so simple, that I went out and bought his book, The Power of Reading. It was written in 2004 but is as valid now as it was then.
FVR, he informs the reader, should be obvious as a major component in the fight against illiteracy and he has all kinds of statistics to acknowledge this. By referring to studies made from the early 20th century to the 21st century, Krashen tells us why FVR should be encouraged, especially in schools.
Studies show that FVR in schools has been a major factor in improving children’s expertise in learning vocabulary and grammar, making children more creative, and making children more insightful in their reading comprehension. They also become better writers as a result of FVR.
I’ve never doubted any of this but what fascinated me the most about the studies is that children who read what interests them makes them better students than when they are given assigned reading plus spelling and grammar exercises.
In no way does he discourage teachers from using comprehension exercises; however, he does stress that FVR is not being done enough in schools.
As a teacher, I feel that I have been blatantly negligent about something so obvious. We, as educators, seem to be trapped sometimes in what we think is a good balance of teaching methods. Try to talk a teacher in the primary or junior level out of giving a spelling exercise or test and they might think this sacrilegious. Meanwhile, some teachers still think it a sin if a child in their class is reading the back of a baseball card.
I’ve been an educator for almost 30 years and I hear very little said about Stephen Krashen. It would be a shame if some people avoided his ideas just because the ideas go against support for what I would call indoctrination.
Krashen’s talk was so inspiring, yet so simple, that I went out and bought his book, The Power of Reading. It was written in 2004 but is as valid now as it was then.
FVR, he informs the reader, should be obvious as a major component in the fight against illiteracy and he has all kinds of statistics to acknowledge this. By referring to studies made from the early 20th century to the 21st century, Krashen tells us why FVR should be encouraged, especially in schools.
Studies show that FVR in schools has been a major factor in improving children’s expertise in learning vocabulary and grammar, making children more creative, and making children more insightful in their reading comprehension. They also become better writers as a result of FVR.
I’ve never doubted any of this but what fascinated me the most about the studies is that children who read what interests them makes them better students than when they are given assigned reading plus spelling and grammar exercises.
In no way does he discourage teachers from using comprehension exercises; however, he does stress that FVR is not being done enough in schools.
As a teacher, I feel that I have been blatantly negligent about something so obvious. We, as educators, seem to be trapped sometimes in what we think is a good balance of teaching methods. Try to talk a teacher in the primary or junior level out of giving a spelling exercise or test and they might think this sacrilegious. Meanwhile, some teachers still think it a sin if a child in their class is reading the back of a baseball card.
I’ve been an educator for almost 30 years and I hear very little said about Stephen Krashen. It would be a shame if some people avoided his ideas just because the ideas go against support for what I would call indoctrination.