Reading motivation has been identified as a significant factor that contributes to academic achievement. However, research has demonstrated that reading motivation declines as students progress through the elementary years. Exploring younger students' reading motivation is warranted as it can identify practices that foster and sustain intrinsic…

Dyad reading is a modified version of the Neurological Impress Method in which a lead reader and an assisted reader sit side by side and read aloud a shared text in unison. This cooperative peer-assisted reading strategy has been shown to be effective in helping English-proficient and English-learning children. What is unclear is how dyad reading…

The purpose of this mixed research design study was to examine how teachers in a large urban Midwestern district used Thinking Maps® with students in elementary school general education and special education classrooms. In addition, this study examined the use of Thinking Maps® with 30 urban elementary school males in two schools: one second…

A descriptive study determined whether reading aloud to young children promoted literacy and enhanced their desire to read. Subjects, 20 second-grade children (aged 6 to 7 years) in Avenel, New Jersey, were exposed to read-aloud sessions on a daily basis for a 6-week period. During each week, a specific genre of books was read aloud daily. At the…

This report describes a program for improving students' attitudes toward reading. The targeted population consisted of second and third grade students in a growing middle class community. The problem of the lack of interest in reading and the poor quality of classroom work were evident in parent and student surveys, and teacher observations.…

This report outlines a program for improving reading fluency. The targeted population consisted of second and third grade students from three separate communities located in suburbs of a major metropolitan area. The need for fluency improvement is documented through teacher observations, reading fluency assessments, standardized reading test…

Describes a teacher's year-long effort to help a second grader who would not listen to stories being read aloud understand the purpose of storybook reading. Relates her efforts as a teacher-researcher to understand beliefs about reading. Examines story time for what is says about educational equity, and what such classroom rituals may deny some…

A study focused on the parent-child interaction and reading issues such as the correction of children's oral miscues, comprehension, and questioning techniques as the children and parents either took turns reading or as the parent listened to the child read orally from six multicultural selections. Subjects were four African-American second…

Results of two studies that investigated the effects of guest readers on the reading attitudes of second- and fifth-grade children in the Meridian (Mississippi) schools are presented. Twenty-nine second graders and 29 fifth graders participated. Local television personalities, school personnel, former teachers, and parents were among the guests…

Ten suggestions that can help the elementary school teacher expand and enhance the basal reading program are (1) collect additional material on the authors, genres, and art media found in the series; (2) supplement the program with audiovisual and human, as well as printed, resources; (3) meet with other staff members to plan the curriculum; (4)…

This report describes a program for improving reading abilities and attitudes for "at-risk" students. The targeted population consists of second and fourth grade classes in a low-income community. The problem of low parental involvement, lack of books in the home, low motivation, and lack of consistency among reading programs and teachers…

Describes and presents the outcomes of a project conducted at a predominantly African-American, urban elementary school in the southeast that involved having 51 first graders and 19 second graders read to their parents for 15 minutes per evening, Monday through Thursday. Details teachers' and parents' reactions and the impact on children's reading…

Noting that some elementary school children may have difficulty learning to read using basal readers, this paper describes the successful implementation of the Big Books for Beginning Readers reading program in a California elementary school. The first section of the paper discusses the problems students were having with reading, including a lack…