In the context of the current debate about teaching reading, research to ascertain primary teachers' personal and professional reading practices was undertaken. The study explored teachers' reading habits and preferences, investigated their knowledge of children's literature, and documented their reported use of such texts and involvement with…

Many reading programs today overlook an essential component of literacy instruction--helping children develop an enduring love of reading. This authoritative and accessible guide provides a wealth of ideas for incorporating high-quality children's books of all kinds into K-6 classrooms. Numerous practical strategies are presented for engaging…

Twelve books are recommended for use with gifted children to attract their love for learning, adventure, and fantasy. Brief reviews and illustrations describe recent books in such subjects as architecture, authorship, creative writing, language, art, and parody. (DB)

Intended to serve an instrumental purpose for middle-grade teachers, this paper presents brief annotations of eight novels of interest to middle grade students and more elaborate comments and teaching activities for two well-known novels. The eight novels are "How to Eat Fried Worms" (Thomas Rockwell); "Number the Stars" (Lois Lowry); "Cousins"…

Describes a technique that allows children to share their reading interests with others. (FL)

This volume, a companion to "Talk That Book: Booktalks To Promote Reading," presents 263 new booktalks on classics and best sellers that serve a wide range of interests for all ages and reading interests. Usually, booktalking is an oral presentation of 10 or 20 booktalks lasting about 30 minutes; however, this book can also act as a…

This article describes, "Getting Acquainted with Young Adult Literature," a book club geared specifically toward teachers, launched by Angela Boccuzzi-Reichert. Angela is a media specialist at Merton Williams Middle School. The club is the perfect way to familiarize teachers with contemporary young adult literature--and ultimately expose hundreds…

Listing 81 chapter books for children published between 1996-1999, this annotated bibliography gives interest level ratings, reading level ratings, a brief summary, and theme assignments. The 13 theme categories listed in alphabetical order include Adventure-Survival, Autobiography-Biography, Death, Divorce, Good Reading, Handicaps, Historical…

Elementary Teachers today are under enormous pressure to teach children to read better. Teachers sometimes lose sight of the fact that if we can inspire children to want to learn, to want to read more about a topic, everyone wins--even the people whose sole interest is reading test scores. In the social studies, we want students to be thirsty for…

Presents strategies to help elementary teachers encourage their students to read by matching students with books that contain the right balance of supports and challenges. The four strategies are: getting to know the books, making initial matches, determining reading level, and redirecting students based on findings. (SM)

Presents an annotated listing of books about all kinds of heroes for elementary school students. Stories include the young King Arthur; an assertive, baseball-playing heroine who becomes a princess; an older brother dealing with his younger brother; a Christmas story; civil rights icon Rosa Parks; and the cow who jumped over the moon. (SM)

Presents a way of interesting students in high school literature by starting with children's books. The technique involves teacher modeling, using illustrations to motivate writing, and linking a children's book with a more advanced work on a similar topic. (SKC)

Examines the lack of information about how children evaluate what they read and why they select particular reading materials. Offers approaches to understanding reading preferences and ways to encourage evaluative skills. Suggests six criteria for selecting good children's literature and ideas about using children's magazines to help express…

This book offers readers both a glimpse into the world of children's nonfiction and practical tips on teaching these texts in the classroom. The book looks at the first 10 years of the National Council of Teachers of English's award for excellence in children's nonfiction. In the first section of the book, Orbis Pictus Awards Committee members…

This guidebook builds on a previous work, extending leveled books up through the elementary grades and covering all the different genres that are important to students. More than 6000 leveled titles for Grades 2-6 are featured in this guide, including both fiction and nonfiction--as well as popular series books and short story collections--and…