Over the last years, in many countries worldwide, there has been a decline in the reading skills of upper secondary school students, and their ability to read and understand advanced literature. Seeing this as an alarming change for the worse, governments, educational bodies and interested groups have taken various measures to address the issue.…

This article offers a savvy guide to the best graphic nonfiction books for teens. Many of these titles work well with teens, offering them quick access to facts and an enjoyable encounter with books and information literacy. In putting together this list of essential titles for high schoolers, the author searched for graphic nonfiction that is…

This Striving Readers evaluation examined the impact of a targeted intervention for struggling adolescent readers and investigated the impact of a whole-school literacy model on students in participating schools. This study was conducted in ten middle, nine high, and two 6-12 schools in seven rural school districts serving large percentages of…

Lance Armstrong (2000) authored a book titled "It's Not About the Bike -- My Journey Back to Life," regarding his battle with testicular cancer. It became a "New York Times" Bestseller and was selected by the "School Library Journal" as one of the "Best Adult Books for High School Students for 2001." The goal of the project described in this…

Students and teachers are feeling the brunt of "No Child Left Behind," trying to make meaningful academic growth with ever decreasing resources. School library media specialist are considered one of the most valuable resources in any school building. As the ultimate "resource manager," library media specialists can contribute…

In this article the author presents a meta-analysis of the findings from several studies conducted over multiple years with various types of learners that investigated exemplar/signature pedagogical practices incorporating video to motivate otherwise reluctant and struggling learners. Noting that newer technologies are making today's learners less…

The "elephant in the room" when we talk about preparing critical thinkers for the 21st century, Gallagher believes, is U.S. students' lack of reading proficiency and their general disinclination to read. Gallagher's provocative argument is that a significant factor behind the decline of reading in young people is a set of practices…

The reading students are required to do for school bears little semblance to the reading they do outside of school. Students today are reading the same texts in school that students read a generation ago, but the varieties of text used outside of school are much different. One result is that many students are unmotivated to become readers.…

This article features two library media specialists who discovered a way to motivate high school students to read. When most people go to the movies, the "coming attractions" or movie trailers are as anticipated as the popcorn! This Americana movie tradition hooks people again and again on what they will come back to see next. So, it's no surprise…

Students in Ginger M. Eikmeier's high school classes link themes and terms from their readings to episodes of "The Simpsons." Because students are already familiar with "The Simpsons," Eikmeier believes that using the show supports students' comprehension and retention by activating prior knowledge. Additionally, it shows students that she cares…

It can be difficult for school psychologists to become involved in research within their day-to-day role. This article details real world research undertaken in a single high school to identify and address mechanisms which were contributing to boys' literacy underachievement. In an attempt to promote reading engagement and motivation amongst high…

Shouldn't reading be aesthetically, emotionally, and intellectually enjoyable? Yet, as literature becomes complex in middle and high school with multiple characters, points of view, or difficult language, many adolescents forgo the idea of discovering enjoyment in literature. Based on the author's experience as an educator, researcher, and…

Two high school teachers of Deaf students and two teacher educators present this article about the use of graphic novels as an important genre for teaching literacy and academic skills in the high school classroom. During a summer session for failing Deaf students at a state-sponsored school, two English teachers taught and documented their…

Many secondary students have given up the joy of reading. When asked why they don't read for pleasure, students came up with many different reasons, the first being lack of time. High school students are busy with after school jobs, sports, homework, etc. With the growing number of students enrolled in AP classes, not only is there not much time…

Our methods for educating Deaf adolescent Latino struggling readers need to change in order to maximize their learning. As with all students, this begins with identifying student strengths and building on these strengths to help students gain new and productive skills. We need to find out what motivates these Latino Deaf readers and what will…