What Is “Time in Text”?
“Time in Text” refers to the instructional time students spend actively reading and interacting with text (i.e, finding text evidence, written responses that require evidence from the text). This includes reading for meaning and to build knowledge, practicing fluency, and applying decoding and comprehension strategies. It does not include activities such as isolated skill work with no connection to text. Also, teacher read alouds, although very important for building knowledge and listening comprehension, do not count as time in text.
Why Do We Emphasize Time in Text?
The ultimate goal is to develop independent, proficient readers capable of comprehending complex texts. Key research, including insights from Tim Shanahan, emphasizes:
- Students improve reading achievement when they spend a significant portion of instructional time reading text. • Active engagement (i.e., setting a purpose for reading, searching for text evidence to answer question, partner reading) with text helps students apply skills such as decoding, fluency, and comprehension strategies to ultimately improve understanding of the text and to build knowledge of the content.
- Structured, teacher-supported reading is more effective than unsupervised silent reading, particularly for struggling readers.
Guidelines for Time in Text
- K-2: Starting mid-year in kindergarten, aim for a minimum of 50% of literacy instruction involving students actively reading text (see time in text continuum). This can increase as students gain decoding proficiency.
- Grades 3-5: The target is 50-80% of literacy instruction focused on reading and interacting with texts (i.e., text evidence, written responses), including teacher led reading, partner reading, and rereading activities (i.e., close reading).
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