Most people have struggled with reading in one situation or another, depending on their appreciation for the content, their prior experiences, and the texts. This department column shares ways for educators to help literacy learners unlock their potential with instruction anchored in their skills, knowledge, ways of learning, interests, and…

The Presidential proclamation proclaiming 1987 the "Year of the Reader" is presented in full followed by suggestions to help parents and teachers increase students motivation to read. (DB)

To identify reading materials suitable for learning disabled adolescents, teachers should determine areas of student interest, predict the student's reading level, and determine the material's readablity. Then the match between the student and material should be evaluated in terms of reading level, interest, word recognition, and comprehension.…

Presents the concept of bibliotherapy and discusses the value of books--particularly modern fiction and poetry--for helping individuals to cope with death and other personal crises. Several specific titles are recommended for adults. (MES)

Suggests way of introducing books to children and lists resources containing ideas for promoting reading. (RH)

This report by the NCTE Committee recommends books for children in three categories--primary, intermediate, and advanced--and includes a short summary of each book. (JL)

Twelve books are recommended for use with gifted children to attract their love for learning, adventure, and fantasy. Brief reviews and illustrations describe recent books in such subjects as architecture, authorship, creative writing, language, art, and parody. (DB)

Gives ideas for expanding eighth graders' interest in the newspaper beyond the comics and the sports and theater sections. (RB)

Reviews series mysteries for children and adolescents in two categories: mysteries for girls ("Nancy Drew,""Doris Fein") and mysteries for boys ("Hardy Boys,""Race against Time"). Characters and plots, appeal of the series, and series books and adolescents are discussed. Eight sources are given. (EJS)

Intended to serve an instrumental purpose for middle-grade teachers, this paper presents brief annotations of eight novels of interest to middle grade students and more elaborate comments and teaching activities for two well-known novels. The eight novels are "How to Eat Fried Worms" (Thomas Rockwell); "Number the Stars" (Lois Lowry); "Cousins"…

Contends that unusual and off-beat books can stir student curiosity and put interest back in high school English classes. Discusses 11 such books and explains how they may be used. (FL)

Describes a technique that allows children to share their reading interests with others. (FL)

This volume, a companion to "Talk That Book: Booktalks To Promote Reading," presents 263 new booktalks on classics and best sellers that serve a wide range of interests for all ages and reading interests. Usually, booktalking is an oral presentation of 10 or 20 booktalks lasting about 30 minutes; however, this book can also act as a…

Describes three junior novels, "The Contender,""Harlem Summer," and "Mary Jane," to use in motivating Black disadvantaged students to read. (MKM)

Offers suggestions for improving reading programs at boys' boarding schools, including (1) providing inservice training for teachers, (2) developing material selection procedures that consider boys' reading interests, and (3) capitalizing on the boarding school environment. (FL)