The Power of Reading

Krashen, Stephen. The Power of Reading. Libraries Unlimited. 1993.

Krashen's book reports on research demonstrating the value of free voluntary reading in the development of reading, writing and spelling skills. He makes a strong statement: "Free voluntary reading (henceforth FVR) is one of the most powerful tools we have in language education, and…is the missing ingredient in first language 'language arts' as well as in intermediate second and foreign language instruction." The book then reviews studies that illustrate how free voluntary reading benefits student achievement, including these highlights:

• Children read more when they see other people reading. Teachers need to be models by reading for pleasure when students are reading.
• The longer free voluntary reading is practiced, the more consistent and positive the results.
• People who read more, write better.
• Reading as a leisure activity is the best predictor of comprehension, vocabulary and reading speed.
• Skill-based reading exercises (in two studies) did not help comprehension levels.
• Outstanding high school writers reported extensive summer reading.
• The relationship between free voluntary reading and literacy is extremely consistent, even when different tests, different methods of reading habits and different definitions of free reading are used.
• If children read one million words a year, at least one thousand words will be added to their vocabulary. (One study found this could easily be accomplished by letting children and teens read any format reading material they wanted, including comic books and teen romances.)
• Studies also showed that spelling improved the more kids read.
• In summary, Krashen found that FVR resulted in better:
  • Reading comprehension
  • Writing style
  • Vocabulary
  • Spelling, and
  • Grammatical development

These improvements were in contrast to poor results from direct reading instruction! (pp. 13-26)

The State Library of Iowa has this book and it is available for check-out.