S.S.R.

SSR stands for Sustained Silent Reading. In many classrooms teachers set aside a certain amount of time during the school day for their students to have SSR. This gives them an important opportunity to read a book that they have selected for their own pleasure. Without this alloted time some students would never choose to read for their own enjoyment. (I was one of those students back in the day.) The book typically comes from the school library, from home, or from the classroom library. That classroom library can be quite extensive, especially if the teacher has been collecting books for a number of years.

All this week I've been substituting in a third grade classroom. One of the students informed me that a teacher told his older brother that SSR does NOT stand for Sustained Silent Reading. "SSR," I was informed, "really means Sit down, Shut up, and Read!"