A study investigated the contention that secondary school literature programs have offered, and continue to offer, what could be construed as a literary canon, a relatively small body of literary texts to which a majority of students have been and are continuing to be exposed. Several surveys of the literary works teachers assign, dating back to…

Provides a rationale for teachers' use of reading for enjoyment as a means of developing reading ability and literature appreciation as opposed to a basic skills approach to teaching reading. (MKM)

Discusses literature for transitional readers (8 to 11 year olds who can read fairly lengthy stories independently, but need to sharpen and extend reading comprehension and critical thinking skills). Outlines developmental characteristics of these readers, and characteristics of the literature they tend to favor. Includes references to 73…

Presents an annotated listing of books about all kinds of heroes for elementary school students. Stories include the young King Arthur; an assertive, baseball-playing heroine who becomes a princess; an older brother dealing with his younger brother; a Christmas story; civil rights icon Rosa Parks; and the cow who jumped over the moon. (SM)

Reviews the Choose Your Own Adventure series designed by Bantam Books to engage children in reading and writing that is exciting and unusual. (FL)

Discusses research related to the relationship between interest in reading materials and reading achievement. (FL)

If the classroom English teacher is to be given any assistance in determining the most appropriate literary experiences for developing students' literature appreciation, it is imperative that research create a clearer understanding of the factors involved in developing discrimination in literature. (RL)

Noting that the technological revolution in book production has led to more effective means of distribution and increased the number and variety of reading materials available in the world, this report examines several issues connected with the international circulation of books. Following a brief introduction to the subject, the various sections…

Library historians and historians of literacy have been more creative than journalism historians in using individual-level historical data such as deeds, wills, depositions, surveys, and census figures to study reading behaviors of the past. For example, the series of family cost of living surveys conducted in the United States by state and…

Presents an example of one five-year-old child's efforts to learn to read. Concludes that teachers can make learning to read easier by knowing the interests of their students and by providing them with books and other materials that stimulate those interests. (FL)

Discusses two research questions that literature teachers must continually answer--their students' reading interests and how well their students read a text. Shows how research has both complicated and clarified these questions. (RL)

Argues for the importance of "read-it-agains," books that have a special appeal to young people because of their sensitive and relevant use of language. Reviews specific books for those in the primary, intermediate, and middle school grades. (TB)

Although there is a paucity of research-based information about the literacy of the aged, educators, researchers, and authors continue to propose certain practices and advocate certain positions, often while operating under unconscious or unexamined biases against the elderly. What research has been done indicates that literacy instruction that…

The relatively few empirical studies that have concentrated on the relationship between television and children's interest and achievement in reading reflect two schools of thought. One group assumes a negative relationship, hypothesizing that time previously devoted to reading has been replaced by increased television viewing. Research in this…

A "Learning" magazine editor recommends five books for teachers: (1) "Hunger of Memory" (Richard Rodriguez); (2) "Cushla and Her Books" (Dorothy Butler); (3) "Uncivil Liberties" (Calvin Trillin); (4) "Selected Letters of James Thurber"; and (5) "The Selected Letters of Mark Twain." A…