Improving+Reading+for+Children+of+Poverty



Krashen states that "only one method of improving reading really works...engaging in a great deal of interesting (better yet, compelling) comprehensible reading. Massive evidence supports this view, both in first and second language research" (Krashen, 2009, p. 20). Students who read freely more consistently not only read better, but have greater vocabularies, writing and spelling skills and apply grammatical rules better. In addition, the analysis of test data by Krashen, Lee and McQuillan (2008) of the Progess in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) administered in over forty countries to fourth grade students showed that "more access to more books results in more reading (Krashen, 2009, p. 21).

Krashen et al. (2008) found that there were four main factors that were predictors of successful reading ability. They are socioeconomic status (SES), participation in sustained silent reading (SSR), access to school libraries that contained over 500 books, and the amount of formal instruction received. Lower SES has been historically linked to lower access to written material at home, but "good libraries can help to alleviate at least some of the problems of poverty" (Krashen, 2009, p. 21). Students who have access at school to a compelling array of reading materials to utilize in SSR also had higher reading proficiency. A key implication for the school library is to continue to motivate readers and advocate for a budget that will allow them to continue to expand their collection to meet the needs of those readers.

"Gains in vocabulary from reading are generally better than gains resulting from vocabulary study, and if students establish a reading habit, the gains are lifelong" (Krashen, 2009, p. 22). Citing many studies performed by Lance et al. (1993, 1999, 2000, 2001) who evaluated the impact of libraries on student achievement in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, Krashen (2001) clains that "better libraries, those with more books and better staffing, result in more literacy development" (Krashen, 2001, p. 21). Higher achievement is linked to library staffing and "the role of the library staff appears to get larger as students get older" (Krashen, 2001, p. 22) and although "socioeconomic factors were very strong predictors of test scores" (Krashen, 2001, p. 23), the influence of adequate books and staff on students was found to mitigate those factors. "For children of low-income families, the school library is often the only possible source of reading material" (Krashen, 2001, p. 24).