Reports on a year-long study of how children's literacy practices enhanced their understanding of themselves and their social worlds. Finds that children's reading and writing benefited them personally and socially, enabling them to understand a complex urban landscape, to explore new social identities, and to wrestle with social problems and ways…

The results of a course held in response to requests from the member states of UNESCO, this report presents the abridged content of lectures, discussions, and observation visits concerning the methods and experiences of the 19 participants in promoting reading habits in 16 Asian and Pacific countries. The report notes that one of the key issues in…

This short guide, intended for parents, offers 10 suggestions from "Becoming a Nation of Readers," the Report of the National Commission on Reading, along with specific ideas to help children become better readers: (1) help children acquire a wide range of knowledge; (2) talk with children about their experiences; (3) encourage children…

Elementary school children were questioned about what and why they read. The 20 children, four each from kindergarten and grades one, three, four, and six, included 12 boys and 8 girls. The teachers were asked to send two good readers and two poor readers from each grade, without indicating which children were good or poor readers. During…

A study was designed to formulate a taxonomy of the literary response processes of children. Three fifth grade girls reading above grade level were asked to read two books that treated a common subject (the death of a child) in different ways. Interviews with the children were recorded so that their literary responses could be analyzed for…

All sixth grade pupils in the largest elementary school in New Orleans were involved in a study to assess the effects of social reinforcement on the use of library books. The number of library books used by both experimental and control groups was ascertained and compared. Standard arithmetic procedures were used to establish baseline,…

Reports on a project to increase reading frequency in the home among working class disadvantaged White children. Concludes that in spite of many adverse factors decreasing the likelihood of increased reading frequency, the majority of families became and stayed involved with the project over its three-year span. (SRT)

A study examined shared reading discourses as part of an ongoing research project seeking to understand the sociolinguistic complexity of literacy practices at home and school for a number of specific families. Subjects included three socially and culturally diverse families who shared story reading events, constructed meanings about literacy, and…

Promoted by effective advertising and disseminated by word of mouth, many schools have adopted Accelerated Reader[R] as a supplementary reading program or as their primary reading program. Accelerated Reader[R]'s philosophy is that by using the system, students are motivated to read more and better books. A study investigated whether seventh grade…

This feature tells how one teacher would arrange a sensible reading program that not only teaches children how to read but how to use reading as a skill. It also reports on how five schools encourage the reading habit. (Editor/SJL)

Outlines several ways to teach children to want to read, including surrounding them with books, becoming a role model, reading aloud to students, providing time for pleasure reading, and reading during reading time. (SR)

Describes the successful implementation in a Georgia elementary school of the Reading Millionaires Project, a reading incentive program to promote recreational reading and to create student interest in reading. (SR)

Compares students in active comprehension and teacher-posed question groups. Finds no difference between groups in the number of target books borrowed but significant differences in the type of comments students made as well as the length of their responses when they were asked how they liked the special reading class. (SR)

Chronicles significant changes in an elementary school teacher's perception of herself as a reader as revealed through her journal entries and contributions to class discussions while taking a graduate course in children's literature. Suggests that personal beliefs and habits of reading can influence how teachers teach children. (RS)

Argues that elementary school students need more experience with nonfiction reading materials. Describes how teachers can promote this by reading to children every day; systematically including nonfiction books, magazines, and other materials; encouraging children to include nonfiction reading during their daily silent reading time; and making…