Today's teachers are required to spend most of their English/Language Arts time in teacher-directed instruction with required text, which is primarily informational. Little, if any, time is allocated to self-selected independent reading (Garan & DeVoogd, 2008). In addition, some teachers do not understand the importance of independent reading…

In early 2017, Scholastic, in conjunction with YouGov, conducted a survey to explore the attitudes and behaviours of English- and French-speaking Canadian children and families around reading books for fun. The key findings of this research, based on a nationally representative sample of 1,939 parents and children, including 371 parents of…

In late 2015, Scholastic, in conjunction with YouGov, conducted a survey to explore family attitudes and behaviours in Australia around reading books for fun. The key findings of this research, based on a nationally representative sample of 1,748 parents and children, including 358 parents of children aged 0-5; 695 parents of children aged 6-17;…

In summer 2015, Scholastic, in conjunction with YouGov, conducted a survey to explore family attitudes and behaviours in the United Kingdom around reading books for fun. The key findings of this research, based on a nationally representative sample of 1,755 parents and children, including 349 parents of children ages 0-5; 703 parents of children…

In fall 2015, Scholastic, in conjunction with YouGov, conducted a survey to explore family attitudes and behaviours in India around reading books for fun. The key findings of this research, which are presented in this report, are based on a sample of 1,752 parents and children, including 350 parents of children aged 0-5; 701 parents of children…

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…

Word frequency was determined for library books that primary-grade children selected for free reading. A survey of librarians determined which books these children selected. This list was reduced to 80 books through evaluations by elementary school teachers. A computer analysis of each word in these books revealed 105,280 running words. When…

This article presents easy computer projects to send students into the summer feeling good about the past year and looking forward to the next. The projects involve printing summer reading book lists, making bridges to the next grade, publishing books of class events, designing reading posters, and creating summer calendars. (SM)

Offers a detailed plan for a book swap, which not only helps place new books in the homes of most children but also places books in the homes of children who may have no books at all. (SR)

A study compared the choices of Charlottesville area children with those from Children's Choice lists, published annually in "The Reading Teacher." Subjects, 62 third- to sixth-grade students, were interviewed before they checked books out of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Main Branch in Charlottesville, Virginia. Children were…

A practicum was designed to motivate first-grade students in a rural community in the southeastern United States to read independently for pleasure in the classroom and at home. A whole language program was implemented which did not include the use of basal readers or workbooks. Children's literature was the primary source used for reading…

Several points need to be addressed when selecting humorous books for children. First, people of all ages react to humor in different ways; therefore, what one child finds funny another may not. Care must therefore be taken in sharing books with and recommending books for children. Second, humor itself is difficult to define, but humor should…

Combining award-winning literature with effective instructional approaches, this book discusses how to select and use nearly 100 Newbery titles (representing almost one-third of the entire Newbery collection) to spark student interest and enthusiasm for reading. Chapters in the book discuss instructional approaches which include literature…

Intended to make the job of finding the right book for the right child easy, this book lists the "Children's Choices" selections (books recommended by children themselves) for 1989, 1990, and 1991. Each of the book's over 300 entries is annotated and includes publication information. Entries are grouped by the following reading levels:…