Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) – Benefits

It has become increasingly popular among school teachers and administrators, to institute Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) programs in their schools.

But what is SSR? And what are its benefits?

Well, SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) is a form of recreational reading in which the reader devotes 10 to 20 minutes daily to read quietly.

It is only natural to read in silence because reading is in and of itself is a personal act which is done in silence. But when the educational institutions organize SSR sessions for its students. They reap their benefits.

Below are some of the important benefits:

1. Makes Reading Interesting

The children find SSR programs improving the joy of reading and thus making reding more interesting. Because not teachers nor the administrators choose the reading material for the children, rather the children themselves are allowed to choose the topic and book of their interest from the library. 

In this way, they don’t feel forced, and as also there are no test or quizzes involved, so they are not under any form of pressure. So, they read what they love reading, and it naturally improves their interest. The parents should try to do the same thing with their children.

2. Better Comprehension

Children who read in silence get more comprehension of what they are reading because while in silence they are more focused on the understanding, meaning and vocabulary of the text rather than the pronunciation part of it. So, SSR programs make them understand subjects easily, which are not quite easy to comprehend otherwise.
Also, some schools ask the students at the end of the SSR session to summarize what they learned to the class, which also helps them in recalling and preserving the knowledge. 

3. Strengthen Vocabulary

Instead of children being taught the vocabulary in a formal class setting, in SSR programs, the children are made to find meanings of new words they come across in a book. This gives them an interesting activity of figuring out the new vocabulary to understand better the book they are already interested in. So this speeds up the building of vocabulary.

4. Improved Writing Skills

When children delve deep into silent reading, they comprehend better the structure of the text, the grammar, the spelling etc. Writing is undoubtedly connecting with reading, so the children’s writing skills improve while they read silently with comprehension. 

Some teachers would ask the children to write down the dialogues they loved the most while reading. This will train them to write what they read. 

5. Improves Speed

Since there are no delays caused while reading due to vocalisation, silent reading improves the speed of once reading. And also it saves energy and prevents fatigue in children due to reading, so they tend to read quicker. 

6. Reduces distraction

When students read in silence, they are disturbing each other with their vocal reading. So they are less concerned about their fellow students about what they are reading and how they are reading. This prevents the students from being distracted often, and thus helps them to achieve the intended purpose of reading a book.

This SSR method not just will work a student, but to anyone who would like to achieve maximum benefit from reading a book. So, try this method when you read your favourite book next time, and let us know how it went in the comments.


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