The Directed Reading Using Music Strategy (DRUMS) is a type of reading strategy that can lead to the teaching of reflective thinking skills, increased reading comprehension and vocabulary, along with increased motivation for learning. Research indicates that contemporary song lyrics aid reading comprehension and can be used as motivational text. A…

The Newbery and Caldecott awards were established to encourage authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers to produce the most remarkable works to stimulate the mind, satisfy the curiosity, broaden horizons, and raise the hope of all children. With its vivid annotations for all winning titles and honor books since the awards' inception (Newbery…

Shared reading lets elementary teachers show children what reading is about. Teachers read the text aloud and encourage students to read along. All levels of readers can participate. Teachers can do letter or sound searches to help children understand how to use what they know about letters and spelling patterns in order to read unfamiliar words.…

This Digest focuses on motivating the low performing adolescent in a remedial reading or subject area classroom--the idea is that students who are disengaged from their own learning processes are not likely to perform well in school. The Digest points out that such adolescents are often caught in a cycle of failure and that secondary teachers must…

The Texas Reading Club is designed to encourage youth to read for pleasure and to promote library usage.A statewide theme is selected each year that emphasizes ways in which reading expands young minds and encourages children to use their imaginations. The year 2000's theme, "Invent the future! READ!," emphasizes ways in which reading…

Describes Accelerated Reader (AR), a computer software program that promotes reading; discusses AR hardware requirements; explains how it is used for book selection and testing in schools; assesses the program's strengths and weaknesses; and describes how Grant and Madison Elementary Schools (Muscatine, Iowa) have used the program effectively.…

Based on research findings, informed opinions contained in the professional literature, and examples from school personnel of "what works," this report focuses on strategies that educators can use to improve secondary school students' reading skills and enhance interest in reading. Many of the strategies in the report are applicable…

This book for early childhood educators is a practical guide for developing literacy in children between 3 and 7 years of age. Although many aspects of literacy are addressed, such as reading, speaking, listening, and writing, the predominant focus of the book is on reading. The book is not about theory, although theoretical aspects and current…

Teachers can confront issues of students' infrequent reading and infrequent choice of content area texts by using specific instructional strategies that are highly motivating. Five research-based language arts strategies that many teachers use to successfully teach content area information are: (1) previewing vocabulary and content; (2) developing…

This book, part autobiography and part manual for teaching dyslexics to read, argues that dyslexia can be more a gift than a handicap. It recounts the life of a dyslexic reader who became an educator, i.e., how "luck" enabled him to learn to read, and how "ignorance" and "stubbornness" enabled him to teach other…

The objectives of this "reading club" manual are to encourage reading; to provide a handbook for library staff and volunteers to use as a whole or in parts to complete their reading programs; and to aid librarians in helping participants in the reading club experience a feeling of accomplishment by providing ideas that are fun for…

The goal of the Texas Reading Club is to encourage the children of Texas to become library users and lifelong readers. This manual was created for the 2002 Texas Reading Club, a program of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The theme, "Read Across Texas!" invites children to explore the history, geography, and culture of…

This book offers a framework called Learner Support to help teachers, grades 1-6, identify and support children who need extra help in their reading development. During 15-minute, one-on-one sessions using real literature, teachers learn to help struggling readers use reading strategies, incorporate sight word review, complete cloze procedures,…

This resource guide contains worksheets and ideas that can be used to promote reading and library use in a school library setting. The pack provides a framework around which a program of library and information skills training can be built, and suggests activities for reinforcing the lessons learned at each stage of the process. Many of the…

Book Club started over 12 years ago with the goal of creating an alternative context for reading instruction--one that would get students excited about reading and discussing books. Since then, Book Club's combination of excellent literature, relevant writing activities, and student-led discussion groups has proven effective in classrooms. This…