Facebook, texting, TV, sports and club activities, work, family obligations, schoolwork and hanging out with friends – these are the activities that make up the world of a teenager today. Add time for sleep to this mix, and a once-popular recreational activity called reading ranks among the lowest priorities of most teens. In the 21st century, characterized by high technology and high speed, reading proficiency is an essential tool for competing in today's global marketplace. However, numerous study results show a continuous decline in students' reading performance. The 2007 reading study conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts found that “reading has dropped to just eight minutes a day for young people ages 18 to 24” (To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence, p. 10). A National Assessment of Educational Progress reading survey conducted between 2005 and 2007 indicated that more students are reading below baseline standards and that the number of students performing at or above the proficient level is declining (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2009). Clearly, reading intervention is needed for students. Many school districts actively encourage an independent reading program for students such as SSR (sustained silent reading), DEAR (Drop Everything and Read), FVR (Free Voluntary Reading), or others of a similar nature. . These programs share common characteristics such as student choice in book selection, uninterrupted silent reading time for periods of 10 to 30 minutes daily or weekly, and free reading not tied to literature not studied in class. Recently, many school districts have reduced the time once spent on students' independent reading, as part of an ever-increasing trend to focus on standardized test preparation. Also, a landm...... middle of paper ......: Guilford Press.Trudel, Heidi. (2007). Making data-driven decisions: silent reading. The Reading Teacher, 61, 308-315.Waff, Diane and Patrice M. Connell. (2004). Trenton Central High School ssr: a case study. English Journal, 93, 13-15.Wu, Y. & Samuels, S. J. (2004, May). How the amount of time spent on independent reading affects reading achievement: A response to the National Reading Panel. Paper presented at the 49th Annual Conference of the International Reading Association, Lake Tahoe, NV. Retrieved from www. tc.umn.edu/~same001/web%20pdf.Warrican, S. Joel. (2006). Promoting reading amidst repeated failure: Meeting the challenges. The high school diary. 90, 33-43.Wilson, Janell D. and Linda H. Casey. (2007). Understanding secondary school students' recreational reading patterns. Improved reading, 44 (1), 40-49.