To identify and make available reading-related Bible references for reading teachers, a computerized text of the 1611 King James Bible was generated, using reading-related terms extracted from Bible concordances and student papers. Such words as "read," book,""word,""study," and "language" generated about 4,800 references. Thirteen annotated…

A study was conducted to determine whether students' preferences for reading or for viewing television were related to the quality of their leisure reading choices. The families of 198 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students were asked to complete television and reading logs for four weeks. Sixty-six students were identified from this sample as…

Americans tend to regard persons without the ability to read as being less than fully functioning members of society. There are at least four ways in which educators can deal with what appears to be a prejudice in favor of literacy while also ensuring widespread literacy: by educating parents and the general public that other means to…

Three aspects of sex differences in reading achievement were investigated, based on data from school records and test results for first through fourth grade students in two parochial schools. The three aspects that were studied included (1) the relationship between sex-typed perceptions of reading and reading achievement, (2) changes in students'…

Based on the premise that young people's positive attitudes toward reading and writing can be shaped through the use of literature that treats those activities as valuable, a content analysis was conducted of Caldecott Medal winners from 1938 through 1981 and of Newbery Medal winners from 1922 to 1981 to determine how these books dealt with…

To gather information about reading as it relates to older adults, 267 people, ranging in age from 60 to 93 years, were asked to complete questionnaires. Specific information elicited concerned reading habits, reading materials, time spent in reading daily, time spent watching television, reading interests, preferred television shows, and reading…

A longitudinal study examined the relationship between the emergent literacy knowledge of preschool entrants and their subsequent reading performance, 5 years later. Subjects were selected randomly for the preliminary class lists of 6 separate preschools located in a mid-size midwestern city. Within the first 4 weeks of preschool, 8 informal…

A study investigated why children choose not to read. Subjects, 21 fifth-grade students attending a Catholic school in Vancouver, British Columbia, completed "clock-sheets" detailing their activities outside of school over a 5-day period, were administered a measure of locus of control, completed a reading attitude survey, and were…

A study examined the ways teachers and children in a preschool classroom enacted informal book-reading and other informal book-related events. Four key patterns in children's activities and teachers' curricular responses were identified: (1) children naturally selected their own "themes" for reading at the book center, and often these themes were…

This study investigated during a 2-year period how middle school students spend their time when not in school. Nearly 75 middle school students participated in the study. The subjects' out-of-school activities were first investigated in April of 1997 when subjects were in the fifth grade. The same students were studied again in April 1998 when…

Despite its supposed importance, children's emergent interest in literacy has been seldom studied. As a result, no easy-to-use and psychometrically sound measure of children's emergent interest in literacy exists. This study made an initial attempt at validating such a measure. On three separate occasions, 24 parents and their 2- to 3-year-old…

During the 1979-80 school year, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) surveyed approximately 29,000 nine-year-old students regarding attitudes and achievement in reading and literature. Findings from this study were used for an analysis of the relationship between reading achievement and television viewing. The following…

A study was conducted to draw attention to how sixth graders use their leisure time and to suggest some implications for reading and literacy instruction. Subjects were 723 sixth-grade students in six middle schools in Northern California. The sixth-graders completed the California Media and Library Educators Association Literature/Reading Survey…

A study examined the effectiveness of a community college district-wide reading program designed to foster reading by faculty, students, administrators, and staff. The Reading/Writing across the Curriculum Committee of the Metropolitan Community Colleges selected Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Galapagos," a novel which met criteria as to length,…

A study examined how regular listening to oral reading by teachers affected fourth and sixth grade students' reading comprehension, attitudes towards reading, and time spent doing independent reading. Subjects, 221 students from six diverse school systems in Connecticut, were read to for 20 minutes, three times per week, for 12 weeks. Pre- and…