The purpose of this action research project report was to increase engagement during independent reading for 32 fourth-grade students and 26 seventh-grade science students. At Site A, data was collected from August 27, 2012 through December 14, 2012. At Site B, data was collected from September 24, 2012 through December 14, 2012. Students'…

This action research project was developed in order to increase student literacy, particularly in the area of reading, for students who were considered at-risk. The targeted student population was 2nd grade students who were served within a primary cross-categorical special education program. The classroom was housed in an elementary (K-2) school,…

This study was done to see if readability levels printed on recreational reading books were as accurate as when the Fry formula and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level were applied to them. Three descriptive passages from each of 60 recreational reading books were analyzed using the Fry formula and the Flesch-Kincaid formula. The data was compared to…

There has been a recent surge in the popularity of youth fantasy books; this can be partially attributed to the popularity of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Librarians and others who recommend books to youth are having a difficult time suggesting other fantasy books to those who have read the Harry Potter series and want to read other similar…

A survey was given to 866 students in the Westfield Public School (New Jersey) to ascertain whether or not elementary age children were strongly influenced by Corporate America in their reading selections. Respondents were in either second, third, or fourth grade. The children were asked three questions about their favorite character and favorite…

Ten easy-to-read books were examined for readability using Fry's Readability Graph and Betts' criteria for oral reading performance. Five first-grade and second-grade children read selected passages from each of the ten books. A correlation of 0.73 was obtained between rank orders according to readability graph scores and according to oral reading…

To determine the relationship of the expressed reading interests of fourth grade students to their free selection library book choices, 12 boys and 9 girls were administered an interest category inventory and recorded their free selection choices on a special record sheet. Analysis of the data revealed a moderately positive correlation between…

The effects of modeling procedures on the reading selections of gifted and nongifted students were examined in a group of ten gifted sixth graders, eight gifted fifth graders, and eight nongifted fifth graders. Both adult and combined peer/adult modeling procedures were investigated. Data on selections from the 150 books available in the classroom…

In this study it was hypothesized that if a young reader repeatedly chooses a serial book for pleasure reading, then appreciation and ability to choose and recognize quality works will diminish. Four sixth-grade English classes recorded their independent reading choices for five months. Those who habitually read series books were chosen for the…

This study focused upon the reading interests, habits, and attitudes of high school junior English students. A survey instrument was used to collect data concerning differences among groups of students (sex, race, and academic placement) in terms of preferred reading materials and areas of interest, specific reading interests, actual reading…

In a study designed to discover whether interest in reading materials influenced a student's comprehension, 47 seventh grade students, reading one to two grade levels below their grade placement, were assigned a self selected story of high interest and a story of low interest. The 12 short story selections were assembled on the basis of research…

The two readers used in this study were both editions of the Ginn Basal Reading Series. Illustrations in the older Revised Editions depicted no black characters. The newer 100 Editions introduce black characters in the illustrations. The research tested children's preferences for these basal readers by sex, grade level, achievement levels within…

The purposes of this study were: (1) to investigate the general interests and the reading interests of pupils in first grade through third grade and (2) to investigate teachers' skills in interpreting interest data and in choosing literature for children. The sample consisted of 521 pupils and 18 teachers. Reading interests of the children were…

The purpose of this study was to obtain information about which remedial reading materials and methods secondary teachers of English and reading, chairpersons, and supervisors of reading in South Carolina are using with students having difficulty in reading. A questionnaire survey was sent to all the schools teaching grades 9-12 in the state of…

The students of the targeted sixth grade class exhibited low standardized test scores in reading. Despite many efforts, this problem reached a crisis point in the fall of 2001, when the school as a whole placed at the bottom of the district on the state standards test, which was taken by this group of students in the spring of their fifth-grade…