This paper describes the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ), including information on how the MRQ can be used and how to administer and score it. The MRQ assesses 11 possible dimensions of reading motivations. It can be used with children in late elementary school and middle school. Scores on the MRQ have been shown to relate to…

This study investigated the effects of story mapping on reading comprehension. Subjects, 20 second-grade students of below-average reading achievement, were presented over a 10-week period with activities in story mapping utilizing a variety of story map frames. The Metropolitan Achievement Test was administered as a pre- and posttest. Results…

Noting that many teachers may be moving gradually toward holistic teaching while still using many traditional materials and practices, this book presents a reading inventory that retains some traditional methods and descriptions as well as naturalistic assessment methods and descriptions that are more consistent with current thinking about…

A study was conducted to determine if second grade teachers use gender biased literature and if these teachers are unintentionally sending biased messages to their students. Sixty-two second grade students and their three teachers were included in this study. The study was conducted in an upper-middle-class suburban elementary school. Several…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a parent workshop on reading strategies would increase students' use of reading strategies and improve both parent's and child's attitudes toward reading at home. Fourteen parents from an affluent suburban first grade attended. The parents represented students from below average to above average…

A study examined whether students' reading ability affected their level of aesthetic reading response when reading level-appropriate literature. During the study, 28 fifth graders read books and wrote responses to what they read. Responses were scored on a rubric valuing aesthetic responses that demonstrated personal experiences. Students' reading…

A study examined how students developed as readers from their own point of view. Reader autobiographies and questionnaires were collected from 272 advanced, general, and basic level 12th-grade high school students from a variety of high schools in the state of Georgia. In addition, three students who were characteristic of the three types of…

A practicum was designed to encourage 60 at-risk young children in a Chapter 1 reading program at a rural primary school to read for pleasure so that they would eventually increase literacy development. The parents, teachers, and volunteer readers would increase the amount of time spent reading aloud to the children in the Chapter 1 reading…

The goal of a practicum was to improve students' attitudes towards reading. Subjects, 35 third graders, were representative of the community's social composition. Activities encouraged increased reading time in and out of the classroom. Parents were asked to encourage their children to read and to participate by reading with them, to them, or…

A practicum encapsulated a reading skills assessment and intervention program utilizing computer-aided instruction and support activities for four 3-week sessions. The primary target population was the 43 juvenile delinquents at a Florida juvenile detention center who completed posttest measures. A total of 280 students participated in the…

To investigate the effects on students' reading attitudes and interests of sustained silent reading as opposed to reading aloud, a study divided 50 urban third graders into two groups, with 25 in each group. One group of students engaged in an 8-week period of sustained silent reading which was teacher directed before and after the reading…

This report describes a plan for developing metacognitive reflection in readers in order to improve reading comprehension in both fiction and nonfiction texts. The targeted population was sixth graders at two sites: one in an upper middle-class neighborhood of a large city, the other in a rapidly changing community in a collar suburb of that same…

This study examines 240 preschool teachers' self-reported literacy beliefs and practices. Participants taught three- and four-year-olds in publicly funded preschools that are part of the Virginia Preschool Initiative program. Teachers completed a Preschool Literacy Practices Checklist that asked about their beliefs and practices regarding…

A study determined if a paired reading program had an effect on reading achievement and reading attitude of a selected group of 10 third graders. Student pairing was based on the results of a Student Attitude Survey which was one component of portfolio assessment. Within the survey, "at-risk" readers identified "more able"…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not periodicals would be useful in motivating low performing sixth grade readers. Two groups of remedial reading students from a New Jersey suburb were studied over a four month period. The control group was taught reading skills using conventional materials such as novels and short stories.…