Suggests that reading programs should be structured to include group work and interaction so that children gain a sense of "I-Thou" community through reading instruction. (JC)

Compared 20 good and poor readers in a second-grade French immersion program to 20 good and poor readers in regular English second-grade classes on various indexes of reading accuracy and speed. Found that English-only students achieved independent reading in greater numbers than French immersion students did in either French or English. (MDM)

Describes a teaching unit for junior high school content area classes that is intended to provide students with effective strategies for reading nonfiction. The unit involves independent reading, research, and writing activities which culminate in the publication of student-written nonfiction books on topics of the student's choice. (SKC)

Recounts observations of a child's interactions with Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, noting that she exhibited "passionate attention" toward the characters by becoming involved with them and discussing them often. Shows that the child's comments grew from observations to criticism over time, and her passionate attention to Ramona expanded…

An examination of how well the Canadian public library is meeting the needs of the serious reader interested in self education, as compared to new and secondhand book stores and academic libraries, found that the public library is the most important and effective agency in providing materials for this group. (CLB)

Describes the use of cooperative learning centers (CLCs) in an inner-city fourth-grade classroom. These seven CLCs focused on mathematics, language, writing, learning with kindergartners, computers, interest group, and free reading, with students taking weekly turns at being the center "specialist" or group leader. The effectiveness of…

Intermediate level students of English as a second language reach a critical stage in their language learning after which motivation wanes if no specific attainable goals are offered as encouragement to progress. The ability to enjoy recreational reading can provide those goals, but students must make the transition from dependence on the teacher…

Surveys the reading and viewing habits of British teenagers. Discovers that, although U.S. horror fiction (R. L. Stine, Stephen King) tops the lists, a wide diversity exists among the less popular authors. Reveals marked gender differences in amount of time spent viewing videos, television, and computer games. (MJP)

An extended-school program for at-risk first graders was designed to accelerate each child's progress in reading and writing over the summer. The instructional framework for the class consisted of independent reading, shared reading, interactive writing, journal writing, a spelling activity, learning centers, guided reading, and reading aloud.…

One of the main challenges that US schools face in educating English language learners is developing their academic literacy. This paper presents case studies of two K-12 schools that successfully employ high-technology environments, including laptop computers for each student, toward the development of English language learners' academic language…