Silence is Golden

Kate Pascoe

 

Purpose

 The goal of the minilesson, Silence is Golden, is to reveal the importance of silent reading to young adolescents.  The value of reading in silence is far greater than most students realize.  Research shows people recall more information and gain better comprehension when reading in silent areas.  Many students study in noisy, distracting settings at home, with friends, or in after school programs.  Therefore, the level of retention for the information read becomes very low.  This activity engages students in reading with distractions and then, reading with silence.  They will answer questions on the text afterwards.  The difficulty and ease of retaining the information in each environment will show students how important it is to read in a silent environment.

 

When? / Impact for Young Adolescents

This lesson regarding silent reading and its significance in higher comprehension skills should be performed at the very beginning of the year; if not the first day, then at least the first week.  It is extremely important to get students off on the right foot when entering a reading/writing class where focus and concentration are best found in silence. Sometimes group work is best; however, you want to set a standard for times it is important to read silently. 

Furthermore, young adolescents live in a world where media, technology, and other stimulating devices are easy, accessible distractions for them.  Many do homework and read while listening to music, talking on the telephone, or surfing the Internet.  With this minilesson, students will see for themselves how detrimental this can be.  Young adolescents are at a time in their life where they openly questioning everything around them.  They need proof for everything.  This activity will show them first hand the importance of silent reading.

 

Objectives

NCSCS: 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade

Competency Goal 2: The learner will use and evaluate information from a variety of source.

2.01 Explore informational materials that are read, heard, and/or

 viewed by:

·        restating and summarizing information

·        monitoring comprehension

 

NCTE / IRA: 6th, 7th, and 8th grade

Standard 11: Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

 

 

 

 

 

Materials

Handouts provided (3)

·        If teachers feel other informational handouts would be better for their class that is perfectly fine.  Be sure each one is the same in level of difficulty.  In addition, the handout information should be on issues or events where students have no prior knowledge.  I have used current events from the Wall Street Journal website for students: www.wsjclassroomedition.com and it is excellent!

Questions for each reading (ask aloud)

Radio, CD, tapes – any type of music

Students/teachers to whisper

 

Time to Complete

Beginning lecture: 5 minutes

Activity: 10 minutes

Follow-up Discussion: 5 minutes

 

Script

Good morning students.  Today we are going to focus on a vital part of your reading in and outside class.  First, can anyone give me some characteristics of a good reading environment?  (Allow students to name things they think make up a good reading environment.  Writing them on the board would be a great idea for them to see what has already been named.  The first one to say “reading in silence” is the one you will want to ask further questions. Upon their answer, ask...) Why do you think reading in a silent setting is important?  (Students will give reasons and teacher should direct them towards comprehension significance. Allow all students to answer freely.) Okay, so it helps with remembering the information in the short and long run.  Good.  How do you all usually read or study at home?  Are there televisions going? Music playing? Friends talking? (Students should describe their environments at home in which they study and read.  Let them talk their way into realizing the distractions are bad for their reading comprehension.  They will love to explain all the things they can do while studying.)  So many of us in here are able to talk on the phone, listen to our favorite CD, AND read the information for homework.  Wow.  Can anyone remember anything afterwards?  Do you think these things hurt your understanding and retaining levels?  (Let students ponder these questions aloud for a quick discussion.  They will most likely agree that these distractions are not good for them when doing work.) 

The purpose of today’s activity is to show you how important it really is to do your reading for school or pleasure in silence.  You do not want a million other things going on because they are distracting and make for a short retention span.  You, as readers and writers, should value this concept because it builds on itself EVERY TIME YOU READ OR WRITE.  If you read something and do not fully comprehend it, how can you build upon that knowledge or remember it for future tests or discussions?  Your mind needs silence to think and analyze what you have read.  Grasping pertinent information is extremely important for you as young adolescents who have their whole lives ahead of them and need to form a solid knowledge base.  (Ask students if this makes sense to them.  You want to have his/her acceptance with this lesson before moving on so that everyone participates reasonably.)

During this minilesson, you will be listening to music while reading handout #1.  You will then be asked questions to respond to on a sheet of paper (without the music playing).  Second, you will read Handout #2 and hear distracting noises in the back of the room.  Once again, I will ask you questions to answer upon finishing the reading.  Last, I will give you Handout #3 and you will read in complete silence.  Upon completion, you will answer questions as a follow up. 

All right class, I am passing out the first handout and I want everyone to read it. (Play music loudly.)

Give the class enough time to go over the information on handout. Then ask them questions about what they read to see how much they can remember or understood in the reading.  This will show first-hand how distracting the music can be when trying to retain information.)

Okay, now everyone take Handout #2 and read it.  (Have a couple of students whispering in the background – LOUDLY.  Ask them questions again to see what they remembered.)

Last, I want you to take Handout #3 and read it.  (This time you want complete silence. Ask the questions to see what they remembered.)

So, now that you are finished, let us discuss the difference in your comprehension and retention for each exercise.  Did anyone have a harder time answering the first two handout’s questions?  Why?

(Let students talk about their problems with hearing music and whispers while reading.) 

As you can see, it is very important for you as readers and writers to situate yourself in a comfortable, relaxed, and quiet environment to get the full understanding of the text you are reading – whether it is for class or pleasure.  You will find it much easier to take in the information and learn it for long term purposes if you read in a silent setting than a noisy, distracting one.

 

Additional Resources/Follow-up

 

Sadler, Charlotte Rose. “Silent with Support”.  Comprehension Strategies for Middle Grade Learners: A Handbook for Content Area Teachers. International Reading Association, Inc. Georgia, 2001, p.24.

This book contains some lesson plans on helping students with silent reading strategies and comprehension strategies.  It has a language arts, social studies, and math lesson activity with silent reading and comprehension skills.

 

Edfeldt, Ake W.  Silent Speech and Silent Reading.  The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1960.

This is a helpful book if you are interested in the research and scientific studies about silent reading and silent speech.  It goes into great explanation of the causes and experiments with each. 

 

To take the silent reading concept one step further, visit this website and learn about sustained silent reading (SSR). http://iteslj.org/  This is a great strategy teachers should use in the classroom to promote silent reading – and allowing choice of reading to interest students in reading.  Encouraging sustained silent reading in the classroom is a great way to evoke interest among young adolescents and reading.  They are allowed to choose the book they want to read during silent reading time.  This would be a great way to follow-up on the importance of silent reading and engage students in reading choices of their own.