Teachers must make changes in their reading programs that reflect a desire for students to compose lives in which reading matters. Strategies presented include getting serious about independent reading, building a literate environment, making every child bookish, setting up reading partnerships, and ideas for home-school reading support. (SM)

Investigates why children are attracted to scary books, and what they find scary. Addresses children's fears through scary books and the instructional value of scary books. Discusses successful classroom experiences with scary books and notes selection considerations. Offers literature study ideas and a 100-item bibliography of scary books. (SR)

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…

Examines the real-world literacy contexts in which children find themselves. Discusses research at multiple sites over five years looking at how teachers struggle day by day to work out how to acknowledge and build on the language and cultural diversity of the students in their schools. Explores and illustrates four distinct "constructions" of…

A longitudinal study of 363 elementary school students over five years investigated the degree to which reading comprehension, vocabulary, reading pleasure, and reading frequency later in life can be predicted and the way that path models and common factor models explain these relationships. Linkages among these factors are explored. (SLD)

A study evaluated the effect software for self-assessment and management of reading practice had on reading achievement and motivation in two primary schools in Aberdeen, Scotland. The program utilized was The Accelerated Reader (AR) which was designed to enable curriculum based assessment of reading comprehension within the classroom. Students…

This study investigated the reading styles of 57 students in grades 3, 4, and 5. Special attention was given to the independent variables gender, grade level, and at-risk status. A total of 224 comparisons were made from which 8 main effects were observed: (1) females reported greater preference for music while reading than males; (2) special…

A study collected baseline data which measured students' attitudes toward reading in academic and recreational settings; determined if reading attitudes in academic and recreational settings changed over time; and investigated whether difference in attitudes toward reading exist between grades or when students were grouped by sex. Subjects were…

The Victorian and Edwardian British cared deeply about what their children were reading. While some feared that unsuitable literature would ruin both the children of the nation and the nation itself, many viewed the power of reading as a key to boundless imaginative and intellectual opportunities. This book examines the role of child literacy in…

A program was designed to improve the progress of average and below average readers in a first-grade, a second-grade, and a sixth-grade classroom in a multicultural, multi-social economic district located in a three-county area northwest of Chicago, Illinois. Classroom teachers noted that students were having difficulty making adequate progress in…

A year-long study determined the long-term effects of a comprehensive learning approach to elementary reading and writing instruction on students' achievement, attitudes, and metacognitive awareness. Subjects, 529 students in 29 second- through sixth-grade classes in a suburban Maryland school district, participated in the Cooperative Integrated…

The effectiveness of using volunteer reading tutors to work with students with reading difficulties was examined. Changes in academic engaged time, active responding time, achievement, and student attitude were assessed, along with information from tutor evaluations. Nine intervention and 8 control students (grades 3-5) with mild handicaps…

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…

A study was conducted to determine the attitudes of teachers and students toward a program of uninterrupted sustained silent reading (USSR) operating in their school. The 14 teachers and 136 students in grades three through six were questioned about their attitudes toward the program. Teachers were also asked for opinions about USSR's effect on…

Learning to Read Through the Arts offers intensive reading instruction to Chapter I eligible students through the integration of a total reading program with a total arts program. In 1983-84, the program was offered to a total of 625 general education students, 140 bilingual students, and 100 special education students (all in grades 2-6). Reading…