The results of a questionnaire survey of reading habits of Canadian children in Greater Vancouver and Okanagan areas of British Columbia are presented in this book along with a discussion of various advantages of individualized reading programs. The chapters in this book include "Children's Reading and Society,""Preferences in…

Discussed are several studies that have examined the effect of sex differences on learning to read. Various findings have suggested 1) sex differences in anxiety manifest themselves early in children's academic careers; 2) girls tended to perform better on readiness measures; 3) boys scored significantly higher on a criterion test administered…

Aspects of reading motivation and the amount and breadth of reading done were studied with 105 fourth and fifth graders. Children's reading was found to be multidimensional, and their motivation predicted reading amount and breadth even when previous amount and breadth were controlled. Intrinsic motivation was a better predictor than extrinsic…

PIRLS is the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. This rigorous international survey compares the reading attainment and attitudes to reading of over 200,000 9- and 10-year-old children in 41 countries. It is the only international study to provide information on the reading habits of primary-aged children: the survey collects…

From Reader to Reader is a reading incentive project designed to encourage voluntary reading and promote informal discussions about books among elementary school children. It was developed by members of Alpha Upsilon Alpha Honor Society of the International Reading Association and receives support from the Center for the Book in the Library of…

Concludes that there are fewer differences in children's reading preferences between sex, age, and nationality than educators have been led to believe. (FL)

Describes the effect of book talks by a school library media specialist on the reading habits of low- and high-ability fifth-grade students at Butterfield Trail Elementary School in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (JL)

A study investigated why children choose not to read. Subjects, 21 fifth-grade students attending a Catholic school in Vancouver, British Columbia, completed "clock-sheets" detailing their activities outside of school over a 5-day period, were administered a measure of locus of control, completed a reading attitude survey, and were…

The practicum described in this report consisted of a reading program that was developed and implemented to improve attitudes toward leisure-time reading with an increased book involvement among elementary students. A target group of 30 students in a fourth grade self-contained class was established for the program. The program contained three…

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)

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)

This research explores the impact of CD-ROM storybook features on the reading behaviors of 6- and 7-year-old students with limited exposure to CD-ROM storybooks. Six categories of behaviors were identified: tracking, electronic feature dependency, distractibility, spectator stance, electronic feature limitations, and electronic features as tools.…

A study investigated the relationship among reading style, instructional method, and reading achievement. Subjects were 213 second-grade students attending a large school in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, with 84 students using a basal reader series with a phonics emphasis, 90 students using a basal reader series with a mixed emphasis, and…

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…