Building a culture of reading in secondary schools is "like training for a marathon or losing 50 pounds: Every big shift is built--and sustained--by small, incremental steps." In this article, "Book Love" author Penny Kittle describes specific strategies that middle and high school educators can use to set the conditions for…

Barry Gilmore, a principal at Hutchinson School in Memphis, Tennessee, has set out to create a culture of literacy at his school. In this article, he outlines 10 steps for fostering such an environment. Among other recommendations: publicly celebrate reading, create channels for booksharing, read and write across content areas, value disciplinary…

"Writing is a core skill for living, not just for school," writes high school English teacher Penny Kittle. Although it's important to teach students the conventions of grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, teachers don't need to approach this task "like scolds, red pens in hand, stamping out sin, and punishing…

Although adult readers may savor the chance to choose from a wide range of things to read, experiment with different genres, and discover exciting books on their own, high school students' reading choices in school are generally narrowed to a few standard classic novels, Gilmore argues. The list of recommended "good" books that most high schools…

As a well-known advocate for promoting wider reading and reading engagement among all children--and founder of a reading program for foster children--Pam Allyn knows that struggling readers often face any printed text with fear and confusion, like Max in the book Where the Wild Things Are. She argues that teachers need to actively create a…

The lobby of the college building echoes with the noise of teenagers milling around a table filled with books. Hands flutter over the bright covers, picking them up, flipping them over, thumbing through pages. Welcome to an Elon Academy Saturday at break time, the mid-point pause in this monthly gathering of the more than 70 student participants…

Every student is directly enabled to experience the full majesty and power of the literacy lion. Strategies for multiple intelligences that can help generate reading strategies specifically tailored to students are presented.

Sustained silent reading programs have many names, but share similar guidelines. Students read for enjoyment for an uninterrupted time daily, choose their own books and whether to finish them, observe teachers modeling good reading habits, and are not required to take tests or write book reports on their reading. (9 references) (MLH)

A balanced approach to reading instruction favors cultivating reading as a strategic activity that requires intentionality, interest, and motivation on the part of the learner. Includes references. (MD)

American students don't read because they associate reading with pain. Successful reading styles programs identify students' reading styles, use reading methods and materials matching reading style strengths, demonstrate high achievement expectations and respect for learning style differences, use reading materials reflecting student's interests,…

Studies suggest that primary children are teacher-motivated, prefer structure, movement, and intake while reading, and use tactual and kinesthetic senses to learn to read. Older students are less teacher-motivated, need less movement, intake, and structure, and more choice of materials, and use visual and auditory senses to learn. (Author/JM)

To raise the literacy achievement of secondary school students, some schools train their whole faculties in general reading and writing strategies to implement across the curriculum. Content-area teachers often resist this approach, however, fearing that setting aside time for literacy instruction will dilute the academic rigor of mathematics,…

The essential point of this article is the value of reading comprehension as compared to the value of reading rate. (RK)

What students do after school depends on where they go, their gender and family characteristics, and with whom they spend time. Most students go straight home, play or watch TV, and are unsupervised, but not alone. Schools equalize learning opportunities for poorer students. Time at home affects recreational reading opportunities. (Contains 10…