The authors share findings from a recent study of teens who freely select to read texts typically marginalized by schools (dystopia, vampire, romance, horror, fantasy), revealing the distinct functional and psychological benefits of pleasure reading. The students who participated in the study that the authors report on were eighth graders who…

Using the pocket classics can be a painless way to introduce the classics to eighth-grade students. Condensed versions of the classics can take the sting out of the reading, stimulate students' interest, and help prepare them for high school. To offer students in one eighth-grade class some control over their own learning, a contract system was…

Reports on a case study which shows how a middle school student was transformed through her interactions with her teacher, the novels she read, and her journal. Discusses how a single text, "Dicey's Song" by Cynthia Voigt, became the touchstone that the student returned to throughout the school year, generating the potential for…

This practicum was designed to provide a setting where negative attitudes toward reading in eight eighth-grade literature students (in a small private school in a large southeastern city) would be modified. The practicum aimed to provide students with regular opportunities for successful experiences in reading, and to promote the enjoyment of…

Describes the author's first teaching year in an eighth-grade literature class in which the students had no interest in the topic. Introduces "authentic talk" to engage the students. Discusses how the students' interest in reading increased as they read and discussed favorite works of children's literature. (SG)

Reveals the phases through which an apathetic eighth-grade class of poor readers went on their way to becoming active learners. The phases included: (1) discussing attitudes and goals; (2) positive environment; (3) sharing literature through oral reading; (4) reading for an audience; and (5) active learning. (SKC)

A pilot study examined the effect of a read-aloud literature program on the attitudes of middle school students toward reading. A randomly selected group of 70 teachers and 1,673 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students from four regions of the United States and one region in Europe participated. Testing the hypothesis that student attitudes…