A common refrain I've been hearing from both teachers and parents is that students have difficulty settling down and reading for extended periods of time. In fact I'm also hearing that amongst my adult friends. So many distractions even when we're not physically busy with our phones or laptops.
I started doing a little research around the topic and discovered that it's been the subject of quite a bit of academic and popular research, in particular following the extended periods of lockdown and isolation around Covid-19.
What is reading stamina?
Reading stamina is the ability to focus and sustain reading for a period of time without either being distracted or distracting others. The period of time depends on the age and developmental stage of the child and is generally considered to be:
Why bother improving reading stamina?
It is generally agreed that reading is important, so why do we need to add the component of stamina to the skill of reading? As students move up through school academically the demands put on them for independent study and research increase. We always attempt to offer our resources in multi-modal formats including video and audio. However, families wishing their children to succeed academically, in particular if they are on track for a university education will need to be able to process and increasingly large volume and sophistication of reading material.
A discerning and information literate population are able to read and research beyond the headlines and sound bites of modern media to understand topics more deeply and not be taken in with misinformation.
How to improve reading stamina?
Just as we would not expect our children to run a marathon tomorrow, so too reading stamina needs to be gradually built up over a period of time. Researchers have some consensus on the elements that contribute to building reading stamina
Creating a positive attitude to reading is a combined effort between home and school. Students who are successful in their reading efforts often have a more positive disposition to reading which creates a virtuous cycle of reading more and becoming even better at reading. Students who are read to by their caregivers and who see reading modeled at home are also more likely to have a positive attitude to reading. Further more, when students have ample choice and variety in texts of different genres and formats that engage them, they are more likely to have a positive attitude to reading.
When students are able to see themselves in literature through a variety of texts that reflect their lives and realities, they feel recognised. At WAB our libraries attempt to have a diverse collection that reflect all our students as well as offering them the opportunity to learn more about the experiences of others.
When students are allowed to take responsibility for and have choice in their reading, they are less likely to be "aliterate" i.e. able to read but not want to read. It would also be a good idea to involve your child in a discussion about reading stamina and if this is an area of concern to jointly come up with a plan on how to progress towards more reading endurance.
Pleasure reading volume is one area of reading stamina that unfortunately declines as students enter high school. Researchers have found high-school students spending as much time as kindergarteners engaged with literature-based reading. Unfortunately low engagement with reading was strongly correlated with poor academic performance. Reading as a skill is developed through time and effort spent on 
reading.
Another function of stamina is reading time - and with the many and varied competing interests of our students we are often told they do not have time to read. The one sure way of dealing with this issue is to actually schedule in extended time for reading. Initially it may be 10 or 15 minutes before or after a meal, or while waiting for the bus, but gradually this should increase to 30-45 minutes of uninterrupted, non-distracted reading.
Some resources WAB has to offer:
References and further reading
Buckler, Joy, and Daniel P. Grace. "Effects of Student Choice on Reading Stamina." (2017).
Davis, Vicki. “5 Ways to Improve Reading Stamina in Adolescents.” Cool Cat Teacher Blog, 1 Feb. 2022, https://www.coolcatteacher.com/5-ways-to-build-reading-stamina/.
Hiebert, Elfrieda H. "The forgotten reading proficiency: Stamina in silent reading." Stamina, silent reading, & the common core state standards. Santa Cruz, CA: Text Project (2014).
Kittle, Penny. Book love: Developing depth, stamina, and passion in adolescent readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2013.
Merga, Margaret K. “Should Silent Reading Feature in a Secondary School English Programme? West Australian Students’ Perspectives on Silent Reading.” English in Education, vol. 47, no. 3, Sept. 2013, pp. 229–44. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1111/eie.12026.
Paul, Pamela and Russo, Maria. How to Raise a Reader. https://www.nytimes.com/guides/books/how-to-raise-a-reader. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Robb, Laura. Ten Surefire Tips for Maximizing Student Reading Stamina. 7 Jan. 2016, https://edublog.scholastic.com/post/ten-surefire-tips-maximizing-student-reading-stamina. Accessed 29 Mar. 2022.
Snider, Grant. “Books Are...” Books Are..., 2018, http://www.incidentalcomics.com/2018/06/books-are.html.
Weycker, Lindsey. "Filling the Reading Void: Studying Reading Stamina in a Suburban High School through Action Research: A Companion Research Study." (2018).
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