Research-Based Findings: The Benefits of Classroom Libraries and Reading Practice
Compiled by Linda Cornwell
The Benefits of Classroom Libraries
Finding:
When classrooms are filled with trade books and teachers encourage free reading, children's reading achievement, vocabulary, comprehension, and attitudes toward reading improve.
Source:
Fielding, L.G., Wilson, P.T., & Anderson, R.C. (1989). "A new focus on free reading: The role of trade books in reading instruction." In T. E. Raphael & R. Reynolds, eds., Contexts of Literacy. White Plains, NY: Longman.
Finding:
Results of the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicate that fourth-graders who report reading nonfiction books, storybooks, and magazines, are more proficient readers than those who read only one or two types of text.
Source:
Dreher, M.J. (1998/1999). "Motivating children to read more nonfiction." The Reading Teacher, 42, 414-417.
Finding:
Easy access to books makes a difference in literacy achievement.
Source:
Neuman, S.B. (1999). "Books make a difference: A study of access to literacy." Reading Research Quaterly, 34, 286-311.
Finding:
An abundance of interesting books in the classroom promotes the use of comprehension strategies.
Source:
Gutherie, J.T., Schafer, W.D., Vaon Secker, C., & Alban, T. (2000). "Contributions of integrated reading instruction and text resources to achievement and engagement in statewide school improvement program." Journal of Educational Research, 93, 211-226.
Finding:
In classrooms with well-designed library centers, children interact more with books, demonstrate more positive attitudes toward reading, spend more time reading, and exhibit higher levels of reading achievement.
Source:
Applebee, A.N., Langer, J.A., & Mullis, V.S. (1988). Who reads best? Factors related to reading achievement in grades 3, 5, and 11. (Report N. 17-R-01). National Assessment of Educational Progress. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
Finding:
Highly effective literacy educators create print rich classroom environments filled with lots of high quality, diverse reading materials.
Source:
Morrow, L.M., & Gambrell, L.B. (2000). "Literature-based reading instruction." In M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of Reading Research (Vol. 3, pp 563-586). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Finding:
Students who have access to books in their classroom will read 50% more than children who do not have books in the classroom.
Source:
Bissett, D. (1969). The Amount and Effect of Recreational Reading in Selected Fifth-grade Classes. Doctoral dissertation, Syracuse University.
Finding:
A common feature of effective reading programs is student access to a wide variety of appealing trade books and other reading materials.
Source:
Cullinan, B. (2000). "Independent reading and school achievement." School Library Media Research, 3.
Finding:
Trade books are powerful instructional tools for meeting the needs of a variety of students with diverse learning needs.
Source:
Flippo, R.F. (1999). What Do the Experts Say?: Helping Children Learn to Read. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Finding:
Access to books through classroom and school libraries, receiving books as gifts, and membership in books clubs motivate students to read.
Source:
Gambrell, L.B., Codling, R.M. & Palmer, B.M. (1996). Elementary student's motivation to read. (Reading Research Report # 52). Athens, GA: National Reading Research Center.
Finding:
Student ownership of literacy is increased when students have access to a diverse range of interesting and appealing books representing a variety of genres.
Source:
Au, K.H., & Asam, C.L. (1996). Improving the literacy achievement of low-income students of diverse backgrounds. In M.F. Graves, P.van den Broek, & B.M. Taylor (Eds.), The First R: Every Child's Right to Read (pp. 199-223). New York: Teachers College Press.
The Benefits of Reading Practice
Finding:
Adequate progress in learning to read beyond the initial level depends on sufficient practice in reading to achieve fluency with different kinds of texts.
Source:
Snow, C.E., Burns, S.M., & Griffin, P., eds. (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 314.
Finding:
Fluency develops as a result of many opportunities to practice reading with a high degree of success.
Source:
Armbruster, B.B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J.M., eds. (2001). Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read. Washington, DC: National Institute for LIteracy, 27.
Finding:
Reading volume – the amount that students read in and out of school - significantly affects the development of reading rate and fluency, vocabulary, general knowledge of the world, overall verbal ability and academic achievement.
Source:
Shefelbine, J. (2000) Reading Voluminously and Voluntarily. New York: The Scholastic Center for Literacy & Learning.
Finding:
Just plain reading hones comprehension strategies.
Source:
Hiebert, E.H., Pearson, P.D., Taylor, B.M., Richardson, V., & Paris, S.G. (1998). Every Child a Reader. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, Topic 5, page 3.
Finding:
Fourth graders in the United States do better academically when they: 1) read more pages in school, 2) read more pages as homework, 3) read for fun every day, 4) have greater access to books and other reading materials in their environment.
Source:
National Center for Education Statistics. (2000). The Nation's Reading Report Card: Fourth-grade Reading 2000. Washington, D.C: National Center for Education Statistics.
Finding:
Wide and frequent reading increases a student's reading achievement by 10 to 15 percentile points on standardized tests.
Source:
Cipielewski, J., & Stanovich, K.E. (1992). "Predicting growth in reading ability from children's exposure to print." Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 54, 74-89.
Finding:
The amount of reading correlates with the level of knowledge. The knowledge level of frequent readers is 200-400% higher than that of less active readers.
Source:
Stanovich, K.E. & Cunningham, A.E. (1993). "Where does knowledge come from? Specific associations between print exposure and information acquisition." Journal of Educational Psychyology, 85, 211-230.
Finding:
Students who read widely and frequently are higher achievers than students who read rarely and narrowly.
Source:
Guthrie, J.T., Wigfield, A., Metsala, J.L., & Cox, K.E. (1999). "Motivational and cognitive predictors of text comprehension and reading amount." Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 231-256.
Finding:
The amount of reading is a strong predictor of reading comprehension, outweighing intelligence, economic background, and gender.
Source:
Reutzel, D.R., & Gikkubgsworth, P.M. (1991). "Reading time in school: Effect on fourth graders' performance on a criterion-referenced comprehension test." Journal of Educational Research, 84, 170-176.
Finding:
Students who spend more time in recreational reading activities 1) score higher on comprehension tests; 2) have higher grade point averages; and develop more significant writing styles than students who do not engage in recreational reading.
Source:
Block, C.C. (2001). "Case for exemplary instruction especially for students who begin school without the precursors for literacy success." National Reading Conference Yearbook, 49, 110-122.
Finding:
Exposure to print is a potent predictor of vocabulary growth, knowledge acquisition, and a variety of verbal skills. Print exposes children to words outside their current vocabulary more effectively than conversational talk or watching television.
Source:
Neuman, S. (2001). "Books aloud: A campaign to put books in children's hands." Reading Teacher, 54, 554-557.
Finding:
Vocabulary growth is heavily influenced by the amount and variety of material children read. An important source of word knowledge is exposure to print and independent reading.
Source:
Snow, C.E., Burns, S.M., & Griffin, P., eds. (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 218.
Finding:
Children expand their vocabularies by reading extensively on their own. The more children read, the more their vocabularies grow.
Source:
Armbruster, B.B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J.M., eds. (2001). Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read. Washington, DC: The National Institute for Literacy, 35.
Finding:
Children learn an average of 4,000 to 12,000 new words each year as a result of book reading.
Source:
Anderson, R.C., & Nagy, W.E. (1992). "The vocabulary conundrum." American Educator, 14-18, 44-46.
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