Harrell Section V, Chapter 46

Chapter 46 Free Voluntary Reading: Nothing Helps Reading Like Reading. Free voluntary reading is a powerful tool for involving students in the reading of English text. (Harrell 258) This system is used for encouraging silent, self-selected reading at the students' independent reading levels. Free voluntary reading supports comprehension, writing, grammer, spelling and vocabulary development among readers.

Free voluntary reading has been criticized because it is difficult to implement into the classroom due to the large number of books required, but has been shown to be an effective strategy for English language learners. The power of exposing them to a large volume of English text and the anxiety-reducing power of easy reading helps English language learners improve their reading skills.

Implementing independent reading into the classroom requires identifying the independent reading level of students, explaining the program to the students, discussing the books in groups and adding motivation over time.

It is important to identify the reading level of students so that you can gather books that are at their reading level to keep in the classroom. Make the books easily accessible to the students and organize them by reading level.

When introducing the free voluntary reading program to student, it is important to explain that reading helps them learn new English vocabulary and improves their writing, spelling and grammar. Implement a system where book can be checked out freely and keep track of the number of books being read by each student.


The teacher can discuss the literature with the students in groups. These discussion can be used to provide positive feedback to the students and encourage wide reading by introducing new authors of easy reading books.

To help keep the students motivated, new celebrations can be added throughout the year. Some examples of different celebrations would be: scheduling guest appearances by favorite authors, read-a-thons, and presenting awards to the students for their success.

It is very important to assess student progress. Keeping a log of the books they have read helps keep track of the progress they are making in the volume of reading they are doing. It could also be beneficial to keep a log of new words they are learning from the books they have read.

This strategy provides a great opportunity for students to practice reading independently and to learn new vocabulary. It is also very motivational for students, especially when they feel that they are accomplishing something.

It would be imperative that the teacher make sure that all of the student are progressing and participating in the activity. It is possible that some students may progress faster than others, leaving the slower readers feeling a little insecure. This would be the only drawback that I think might possibly hinder this strategy.

I like the idea of implementing this strategy into the classroom. It keeps the students involved in reading interesting material, while also having fun!