Without proficiency in content reading skills, seventh grade students were at risk of not being able to achieve understanding of what they read in non-fiction texts, a skill that is absolutely necessary for college-bound students. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate whether an approach that involved specific and focused…

Designed to consider whether pictures might facilitate word identification and word learning and to determine the most appropriate design of pictures to aid in independent reading, this instrument consists of 24 sentences and accompanying pictures that completely or partially represent the noun information in the sentence. Substitutions for the…

The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a district-wide professional development effort based on a modified Ramp-Up Program, designed to help high school teachers improve the reading skills of their students. Ramp-Up is a two-year course that seeks to accelerate the learning progress of entering high school students who…

A study tested the hypothesis that students who were required to read a book of their choice for 15 minutes per night would have a more positive attitude toward reading than similar students who did not have that assignment. The Estes Attitude Scale for reading was given to two classes (high group and low group) of sixth graders in central…

A study investigated the use of a collection of English language books by Doshisha University (Japan) students of English as a Second Language (n=300). Four levels of readers, graded by vocabulary content were used in eight classes that offered individualized reading instruction. Students were given instruction in using graded readers, strongly…

The purpose of this study was to determine if reading aloud to children regularly would have an effect on their motivation and desire to read independently. Subjects, 100 fourth and fifth grade students in Wayne, New Jersey, participated in the study. One fourth and one fifth grade class were read to on a daily basis for 30 minutes. The second…

A practicum addressed the problem of 8 second and third grade nonindependent readers (students at a small private school) who were not choosing to read library books. The literature review disclosed using sustained silent reading, sharing responses to reading and planning for more available time to read in the classroom and at home as viable ways…

A study determined the relationship, if any, between students' learning styles and the types of books they choose to read independently, as well as the amount of time they spend reading independently. Study participants were 72 seventh-grade students attending a middle school in Cobb County, Georgia, who had scored 70 or above in any of the four…