This qualitative study aims at detecting areas that requires to be developed in the EFL reading program in elementary stages in Kuwaiti public schools by using children's literature. It also examines the reading program in the public elementary curriculum. The participants were six English language major students from the College of Basic…

The purpose in this study was to examine the longitudinal relationships of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation with reading literacy development. In particular, the authors (a) investigated reading amount as mediator between motivation and reading literacy and (b) probed for bidirectional relationships between reading motivation and reading…

Beginning with the premise that pleasure is a driving force in life, this article examines the relationships between pleasure, schooling and society across the past century. Through the examination of school texts, narratives, and histories of literacy instruction, a case is made that part of the move away from keeping pleasure at the heart of…

Reviews the debate about intrinsic versus extrinsic rewards for reading. Discusses the effectiveness of praise. Uses L. Vygotsky's notion of the Zone of Proximal Development to understand the development of motivation to read. Suggests that the motivation to keep reading will come from students' experience of success and their feeling of belonging…

Read Across America Day was created by the National Education Association in 1998. This column presents suggestions for classroom activities that can be used to celebrate this day. Suggestions include: (1) Making a Read Across America flag; (2) Taking pictures of staff with their favorite books; and (3) Sending out ballots asking students and…

Describes briefly several studies identifying classroom factors associated with literacy motivation in elementary school students. Discusses six research-based factors related to increased motivation to read: a teacher who is a reading model; a book-rich classroom environment; opportunities for choice; familiarity with books; social interaction…

Describes the implementation of a read-a-thon for UNICEF. Addresses the value of young children becoming involved in philanthropy. Urges others to try a read-a-thon or similar projects. (SG)

Explores recent children's books for those whose characters are moved and changed by literacy. Places the books into three categories (desire for literacy, power of literacy, and wonder of literacy) that overlap but give insight into ways to share literature with children and at the same time acknowledge common approaches to sharing the value of…

Suggests that the use of a personalized and rhyming approach makes reading more enjoyable and inviting to children because: (1) the sounds are appealing to the ear; and (2) the combination of personalization and rhyming keeps a child focused and maximizes repetitive readings. Concludes that personalization and rhyming are natural associations that…

Suggests a possibility of resolving the problem of reading motivation for some students. Considers that children and adults like to read about familiar places such as their home state with people and settings that they know about written by authors who live or have lived in that state. Includes a list of 50 books (arranged by state) for the upper…

Discusses recent work on the nature of children's motivations for reading, in particular a reading-specific measure of motivation called the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire. (SR)

Discusses how all children need the kind of hope that stories can give them. Suggests that educators and writers have been given the responsibility for nourishing the spiritual and intellectual lives of children. Describes the author's life growing up in a difficult time and how literature gave her hope as a child. (SC)

Presents primary and intermediate level activities that use predictions to help students think deeply about books. The primary activity uses a prediction chart to encourage thinking and enthusiasm about reading. The intermediate activity uses prediction book reports to change writing about books from merely retelling, to higher-level thinking. A…

The Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) contains 54 items that are posited to tap 11 dimensions of reading motivation. The structural validity of the MRQ was investigated with 2 samples: (a) 328 students in Grades 3-5 from 2 suburban mid-Atlantic elementary schools and (b) 735 students in Grades 3-5 in 2 suburban southwestern elementary…

Discusses how to use sustained silent reading to encourage elementary students in independent reading. The strategies include making independent reading a key part of every day, being sure students know the strategies they should practice, and concluding independent reading sessions by discussing strategies. The paper presents a list of 13…