Summary of The Power of Reading - Stephen Krashen

00:00:00 - 00:55:00

Stephen Krashen discusses the benefits of reading, specifically how it can improve grammar skills and academic achievement. He also shares studies that show students who read regularly are better readers overall.

• 00:00:00 The video discusses the 1987 TV show "The Oprah Winfrey Show" which focused on the story of six adult illiterates. Tenured professor Stephen Krashen was watching the show at home when the literacy crisis began, and since then he has been an expert on the topic. He discusses how the crisis began on the show, and goes on to say that it is a result of Oprah's influence.
• 00:05:00 Stephen Krashen argues that literacy in America has been on a steady increase for the last hundred years, and literacy levels are very high. He goes on to say that the problem is that the demands for literacy have been increasing faster than the level of literacy achieved. Krashen believes that the kind of reading that really counts is free voluntary reading, which is the reading that we do obsessively.
• 00:10:00 Stephen Krashen discusses the research behind the benefits of free voluntary reading for students. He shares studies that show that students who read voluntarily are better readers overall, and that teachers do better work with free reading than with workbook exercises or traditional programs.
• 00:15:00 The video discusses the benefits of reading, specifically how reading can improve grammar skills. The study found that students who read regularly performed better in grammar tests than those who did not, and the results were also replicated in another country.
• 00:20:00 Stephen Krashen discusses the power of reading, citing research that shows students who read frequently outperform those who don't. He also discusses the case of Geoffrey Canada, a successful educator who attributes his success to his reading habits.
• 00:25:00 Stephen Krashen discusses how reading can be improved through free voluntary reading, comic books being a form of reading, and how accelerated reader can be used as a way to reward kids for reading.
• 00:30:00 Stephen Krashen discusses the benefits of reading, specifically focusing on the effects of reading on academic achievement and mental health. He also discusses research on the accelerated reader program and how it may not be effective. He provides a conservative conclusion that reading itself can be a powerful motivator, and recommends that money be invested in books and library resources, rather than the accelerated reader program.
• 00:35:00 Stephen Krashen discusses the power of reading, explaining that one positive reading experience can make a reader. He also discusses the importance of access to books and the impact of poverty on reading.
• 00:40:00 Reading has a positive effect on academic achievement, even when compared to other factors such as poverty level or hours of instruction. This was discovered in a study of students in Philadelphia, PA.
• 00:45:00 In this video, Stephen Krashen talks about how reading can be beneficial for your brain, and how it's important to read regularly in order to stay cognitively healthy. He also mentions that it's important to be bilingual and to read for pleasure, in order to keep your mind young. Finally, he recommends that people start drinking coffee to improve cognitive function.
• 00:50:00 Stephen Krashen discusses the research on teenagers' reading habits and how it has not been thoroughly studied due to its difficulty to test. He also points out that teenagers are using the Internet for different purposes than in the past, such as entertainment vs. social interaction. He suggests that there may be something good going on with computer reading and writing, although more research is needed.
• 00:55:00 This lecture by Stephen Krashen discusses the benefits of reading for students. He predicts that reading will help students' language skills and social interactions.