To assess the informational and recreational reading needs of the inmates in Texas prison units, surveys were conducted at one male and one female correctional facility. Prison populations were identified by age, race, and educational level. Subjects for the preference study were asked questions regarding: (1) reading background; (2) book…

Proposes a classroom model for developing an interest in reading for pleasure and increasing literary competence among intermediate or advanced second-language students. The model employs a reading syndicate web through which students read collectively literary texts and share their individually acquired knowledge and appreciation to enhance the…

Preservice teachers' needs as readers were considered during the development of a program intended to motivate these teachers to spend part of their summer reading education trade books, resulting in a marked increase in the number of trade books and books in general the teachers read. (CB)

Describes a recreational reading program implemented at the Diagnostic Learning Center in Houston to increase home involvement and improve reading attitudes and habits of disabled readers. (MKM)

Presents an interview with Greg Bear and David Brin, two science fiction writers who started Reading for the Future, an international project geared toward secondary school students that shows teachers and librarians how science fiction inspires young readers. Discusses programs that have come out of this group; standards for books geared toward…

Provides three teachers' perspectives on students' reading choices. Discusses reading choices of high school students. Outlines teacher strategies of discovering what books students enjoy and how to help them enjoy others. (PM)

Examines reading interests and reading responses to American young adult fiction among students from the multiracial culture of Singapore. Finds that Singapore teenagers need little motivation in reading American young adult fiction because of their positive attitude towards language acquisition. Notes that the teenagers can be sidetracked by the…

Describes the successful implementation in a Georgia elementary school of the Reading Millionaires Project, a reading incentive program to promote recreational reading and to create student interest in reading. (SR)

Presents a short historical and sociological analysis of reading in the Soviet Union from the beginning of the twentieth century to perestroika. Discusses some sociocultural problems associated with reading, including the prevailing social, economic and political crises in all spheres of life, particularly the cultural. (RS)

The history of reading is a fast growing and controversial area of the emerging field of book history. Methods for researching the evolution and patterns of literacy and of reading habits are not yet established, and knowledge of information sources is still limited. (MSE)

Discusses how a fifth-grade teacher gained a new perspective on the reading habits of a reluctant male reader identified as having a specific learning disability in language. Notes that the student became enchanted with nonfiction, forcing the teacher to reevaluate her value system that placed reading, writing, and speaking above all other forms…

Presents tips for giving successful teen booktalks, including advice on delivery, teasing students and getting their attention, selecting books that have sections that will interest them, stretching the truth, and, and limiting the presentation. Includes a sampling of young adult books and examples of scripts used to get teens' attention. (AEF)

Readers' Theatre is a presentation by two or more participants who read a script. The focus is on effective reading of the script, rather than on a memorized presentation. Discusses preparing the scripts; getting started; the Readers' Theatre Fable Festival; and how Readers' Theatre can be used to enhance the reading and writing program. Includes…

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, audiobooks began to gain a place in libraries and became part of library collections and services. The growing interest in including them in school and public libraries was concurrent with widespread use of audiocassettes at home and in business. Children and adults enjoy listening to audiobooks as much as…

Spanish was the first language of the majority of the author's 9th and 10th grade students who came from the Caribbean and Central and South America. Parents often worked late hours, and many students were employed, or had family responsibilities after school. Based on the realities of their lives, her students' engagement in reading was…