ABSTRACT
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading (SEM-R) is a reading enrichment approach that has been shown to be effective in increasing elementary and middle school students’ reading achievement and attitudes toward reading. Standardized reading achievement scores show that many students are unprepared for success in college or jobs, especially minority students and children living in poverty. The SEM-R includes three categories of reading instruction: broad exposure to appropriate texts and areas of possible interest, higher-order thinking skills training and methods instruction, and opportunities to pursue self-selected activities. Teachers consistently reported positive changes in their teaching practices and excitement about reading and higher-order thinking skills instruction. They also found students participated in more advanced conversations about what they were reading. Readers in the suburban school also benefited from the program, with significant differences evident in measures of reading ability between the SEM-R and control groups.
