Tens of thousands of students begin each new school year with the hope that they will finally find "the" teacher who will help them succeed as readers, writers, and learners. This book shows how teachers can provide the type of differentiated instruction that struggling readers need by drawing on students' individual and cultural backgrounds, as…

Designed to increase sixth-grade students' leisure time reading, this practicum study investigated the effectiveness of a computerized independent reading contest. An existing word processing program was modified to encourage the sixth-grade students to read. A list of 25 books was developed. Students used the computer program to respond to…

A study investigated whether middle-school students who identify recreational reading as a hobby obtain significantly higher reading achievement scores than those middle-school students who have not identified recreational reading as a hobby. Subjects, 55 students in grades 4, 5, and 6 at the Earle Elementary Public School located in a…

Surveys middle school teachers' perceptions of what is considered to be important in the reading program at their schools. Finds that teachers perceive that skills mastery strategies receive greater emphasis whereas practices having to do with processes of becoming a reader receive significantly less emphasis. (SR)

Investigates, in a pilot study, the range of reading experiences offered to British junior level students. Finds that quiet reading periods (although brief and frequently disturbed) and the sharing of texts were common features in the classrooms observed. Finds a wide range of reading experiences in some cases but aimless and superficial reading…

Investigates the effectiveness for improving reading comprehension of a three-step paraphrasing strategy. Finds that the use of the cognitive strategy improved reading comprehension scores for all students, both with and without learning disabilities, in the experimental groups. (SR)

Presents the perspectives on books and reading of two middle school boys, both reluctant readers who were passionate about reading self-selected materials outside of school. Argues that the perspectives of these renegade readers can inform educators who want to improve students' engagement with reading. (SR)

A study determined the relationship between life stress and reading comprehension test scores on the IOWA Tests of Basic Skills. Subjects, 41 middle-school students attending Lincoln School in Garwood, New Jersey, were surveyed as to the amount of life stress prevalent in their lives. In addition, the Iowa scores for reading comprehension were…

Investigates the strategic literacy knowledge, abilities, and potential of five Latino/a subjects (three were bilingual). Employs qualitative research methods and cognitive strategy lessons. Finds that students, with instructional support, implemented the focal strategies emphasized during the experiment and engaged in extended discourse which…

Investigates whether or not SRQ2R (Survey, Read, Question, Recite, Review) usage is facilitated by pretraining in text structures or main ideas. Finds that SRQ2R was effective in improving fourth- through ninth-grade students' higher-level thinking skills and their comprehension of expository material. (RS)

Reports on what British junior level teachers in the United Kingdom are doing in terms of giving formative/diagnostic feedback on literacy at Key Stage 2 classrooms. Finds that teachers made judgments about and provided feedback on a wide range of literacy events, even thought these interactions may not have been viewed explicitly as assessment.…

Reveals that the reading performance and dispositions towards reading of three adolescent readers (a successful, a moderately successful, and a struggling reader) observed in day-to-day classroom reading over five months varied according to the context of their reading, the materials they read, and their reading purpose. None, however, could be…

Investigates reading preferences of an ethnically and economically diverse group of sixth-grade students from three middle schools. Shows that light materials (scary series books, comics, and magazines) top the list for every sub-group of students. Finds very limited availability of preferred materials in school; and shows that most students…

Examines reading-style preferences of 53 Jamaican students with learning disabilities in New York public schools. Indicates that variables most strongly preferred by all students were persistent, kinesthetic, tactual, environmental, motivational, and mobile. Students also preferred reading in the morning. Finds least preferred variables were…

A study examined whether sixth grade students taught formal study skills would obtain significantly higher reading achievement than those not taught these skills. Study skills can be broken down into ten or more skill areas including: study habits, time management, test taking, lecture notetaking, reading comprehension, vocabulary, test anxiety,…