Comprehensible and Compelling: The Causes and Effects of Free Voluntary Reading

by Stephen D. Krashen, Sy-Ying Lee, Christy Lao

Overview

A joint effort from three thought leaders in educational research, linguistics, and literacy acquisition, this book explores the latest research that shows that compelling comprehensive input (CCI) is the baseline for all language and literacy development.

It has been established that encouraging reading at all student levels supports literacy—not just literacy in terms of having basic reading and writing abilities, but in being able to perform advanced reading as well as having well-developed listening, speaking, and critical thinking skills. But what kind of reading has the most benefit for young learners? And why? Comprehensible and Compelling: The Causes and Effects of Free Voluntary Reading examines the most recent research and literacy testing results from around the world that document how reading materials must be comprehensible and compelling to bring success. It also presents research findings that show how libraries directly support literacy development, providing arguments and proof that will be invaluable in advocacy efforts for funding and program development.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440857997
Publisher:	ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/16/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	106
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Stephen D. Krashen is an influential and prolific author, linguist, and researcher who has written nearly 500 books and articles in the fields of literacy, language acquisition, neurolinguistics, and bilingual education.

Sy-Ying Lee is currently professor at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology and chair of the Department of Applied Foreign Languages.

Christy Lao, PhD, is a professor of education, founding director of the Confucius Institute at San Francisco State University, coordinator of the Chinese Bilingual Program, and principal investigator and director of several major federal projects.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

1 Compelling Comprehensible Input 1

2 The Three Stages 13

3 What Read-Alouds Do and What They Don't Do 23

4 Self-Selected Reading 37

5 Will They Only Read Junk? 47

6 The Complexity Study: Do They Read Only "Easy" Books? 55

7 What Have We Learned from PIRLS? 69

Conclusions 83

References 89

Index 99

Editorial Reviews

Summarizing decades of research about language development, this thorough title will guide understanding of reading comprehension in a new way. . . . Librarians will appreciate the socioeconomic reading statistics and discussion of how libraries instill in children a love of reading that leads to higher reading scores. Rounding out the volume are an excellent list of references and an easy-to-follow index to help navigate each study. VERDICT For school librarians working with elementary age students.” —School Library Jourbanal

“This is a scholarly look at a subject that many teachers and librarians grapple with. It is an important addition to the research into creating lifelong learners and readers.” —Booklist Online

“Do you need researched-based evidence to support the importance of independent reading? Then this research-heavy resource would be perfect for you. The authors present a thoroughly researched case that literacy comprehension and acquisition increases the most when what we hear and what we read is interesting or 'compelling.' . . . Overall, this book is full of research summaries.” —School Library Connection

From the Publisher

04/01/2018
Recent research on literacy demonstrates the valuable role of libraries. Summarizing decades of research about language development, this thorough title will guide understanding of reading comprehension in a new way. Krashen, Lee, and Lao discuss "Progress in International Reading Literacy," an international study of literacy in fourth graders. Is "light reading" valuable for kids? The authors make the case that Compelling Comprehensible Input (or books so engrossing that readers become spellbound) is key to language and literacy development. The lessons in this volume will help librarians, educators, and parents develop effective and enjoyable reading programs. Librarians will appreciate the socioeconomic reading statistics and discussion of how libraries instill in children a love of reading that leads to higher reading scores. Rounding out the volume are an excellent list of references and an easy-to-follow index to help navigate each study. VERDICT For school librarians working with elementary age students.—Paige Bentley-Flannery, Deschutes Public Library, Bend, OR

School Library Journal