Examined book choices of below-average, average, and above-average readers in a fourth-grade literature-based reading program. Found that book selection criteria were mentioned at different frequencies with below-average readers, whose criteria included pictures and friends' recommendations. Word length, print size, and book length influenced…

To the traditional arguments for teaching children to read can be added the contemporary idea that literacy is a tool, the necessary skill for full participation in society, and the ticket to social mobility and success. New reasons for reading books have emerged from recent gains in the understanding of the comprehension process and the nature of…

Experiencing literature is the first step toward becoming a literary critic. The primary task of the literary critic is to understand and explain what is experienced and then to interpret works of literature in relation to all the literature the student knows. To help children grow as critics of literature it is necessary to broaden their…

A study was conducted to compare students' recreational reading levels to their independent, instructional, and frustrational levels determinable with an informal reading inventory. Subjects, 20 second grade and 20 fifth grade students, were administered the Basic Reading Inventory. In addition, the school's librarian recorded titles of four books…

It is difficult to single out a primary factor leading to the establishment of one's attitude toward reading, but environment, particularly the home, probably provides the greatest influence. Because teachers influence students, they have the potential for influencing students' attitudes toward reading. Whether teachers are seen as readers or…

This study examined the influences of the home on children's attitudes toward reading, perceptions of reading, reading habits, and reading achievement. Participating in the study were 38 low-income white children (and their parents) from nine first-grade classrooms involved in the Florida Parent Education Follow Through project. Data were obtained…

A total of 29 teachers and 227 students served as subjects in a two-phase study to identify the factors that influence teacher judgments of students' reading interests across grades kindergarten through grade six. The first phase of the study identified 29 cues affecting both student reading preferences and teacher judgments of those preferences.…

Eighty-one fifth grade students from a suburban parochial school were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups in a study designed to determine the effect of daily sustained silent reading (SSR) on student reading habits and attitudes toward reading. One teacher supervised 40 students in daily fifteen-minute periods of SSR, using…

This paper uses the term "informational books" in place of the label "nonfiction" and proposes that the difference in connotation might promote a change in students' attitudes toward content reading. Several examples of informational books and their use are provided, showing classroom teachers and librarians how to enhance learning while providing…

Paperback publications are an ideal way to supplement the adopted textbook series of the New Orleans Public Schools or to provide common reading materials for special courses or for special students in special schools. Though established guidelines are helpful in making decisions about what books should be read by students, there is no system-wide…

One of a series prepared by the Hawaii Newspaper Agency, this teaching guide offers suggestions on using the daily newspaper to "turn on" the resistant reader. Sample materials describe how to use the 5 w's (who, what, where, when, why) and a H (how) to answer questions, read without words, play beginner's bridge, use comics for…

Offers a plan for organizing and implementing a schoolwide reading week entitled, "Drop Everything Else, Read" (DEER). Presents explanations and directions for eight reading activities which focus on animals. Includes materials that can be duplicated and used by students as bookmarks and certificates. (ML)

Reveals (1) some sex differences in children's reading preferences, but indicates some overlap; (2) that minority and nonminority children differed to some extent in their preferences, but had more similarities than differences; and (3) that children's reading interests have changed little in two decades. (FL)

Compares reading interests of 8- to 11-year-old children from the United States and England. Finds that (1) American children showed greater interest than English children in science, poetry, and biographies; (2) categories of jokes, mystery, crafts, and adventure were popular in both countries; and (3) expected sex differences between reading…