According to Reading Rockets, “Reading stamina is a child's ability to focus and read independently for long-ish periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. Reading stamina can be compared to sports or music. You practice to build your running stamina for soccer or you practice the piano for your concert. It builds your muscles over time so that you don’t get tired.” In Ellington, we begin building reading stamina in Kindergarten and the length of time increases across the year and across grade levels. By February, independent reading time should be at least 10 minutes for K, 20-30 minutes for Grades 1 and 2, and 35-40 minutes for grades 3-6.