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…

Edward Fry's Graph for Estimating Readability (Extended) was used to determine the approximate readability levels of books within the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and "Little House" series. The findings indicated that the levels of readability did not remain the same throughout each series, with the Nancy Drew series ranging in reading levels from…

This report describes strategies for increasing levels of interest in reading for enjoyment. The targeted population consisted of first, second, and third grade students in three elementary school districts. The schools were located in middle class and affluent suburban communities of a large city in the Midwest. The problem of lack of interest in…

The action research project report began when the teacher researchers determined that students at Sites A and B struggled with reading achievement. The purpose of the project was to improve students' reading achievement through increased motivation, specific skill instruction, and additional practice time. The project involved 26 students: 17…

Using the Pizza Hut "Book It" Program which encouraged students to read a certain number of books per month, a study examined the effect of this program on standardized test scores. Subjects, 98 fifth grade students, were placed in high, middle, or low reading groups according to teacher assessment. Half of the students from each group…

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…

Focusing on the extent to which high school students are interested in their free-choice books and on the relationship between the students' reading level and the readability level of the chosen books, a study was devised to test the validity of Edward Fry's Readability Principle. This principle states that high motivation can overcome high…

A study explored the connection between reading and writing by examining the writing produced by three young readers of action comic books. The subjects were in grades four and five in a British Columbia (Canada) school and were identified by a survey as being avid comic book readers. During three writing sessions, they were asked to produce…

The purposes of this study were to survey expressed reading interests of first and second grade children from different geographic areas of the United States, with differing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds; to compare expressed reading interests of children in grades one and two in an attempt to determine if interests change; and to…

The significance of authors' reading notes may lie not only in their mechanical function as information storage devices providing raw materials for writing, but also in their ability to concentrate and to mobilize the latent emotional and creative resources of their keepers. This document examines records of reading found in the published…

This study describes the role of the ninth grade English teacher and the use of classroom resources in promoting recreational reading. The range of recreational reading and the reading interests of 2,255 ninth grade pupils in nine high schools near Albany, New York, were identified, and the factors which appear to be associated with pupils'…

This report describes a research study in which motivational strategies were used to increase student enjoyment of reading and to foster a life-long love of reading. The targeted populations consisted of primary and middle grade students in three different urban midwestern settings. The problem of motivating students to read was documented through…

Four readers, ranging in age from 62 to 82, were selected for intensive analysis of their reading strategies, habits, and interests. Interviewing provided demographic information and reading habits and interests. Each person read orally an unfamiliar expository selection rated at ninth-grade-level difficulty by the Dale-Chall Readability Formula…

A study examined whether a group of eighth graders whose teacher read orally to them for 10 minutes daily would develop greater interest in reading for pleasure than similar students who did not experience the teacher reading orally to them. Subjects, 36 urban and suburban youngsters, were divided into an experimental and a control sample.…

The purpose of this study was to compare the individualized reading prescriptions prepared by a digital computer, classroom teachers, and reading teachers with those prepared by a panel of experts. Selected fifth graders were administered three instruments: the Gilmore Oral Test; selected items from the McGraw-Hill Prescriptive Reading Inventory…