Lack of motivation to read is the culprit of many students' struggles in literacy achievement, resulting in wider gaps in reading achievement and resulting inequities in schools across America. When students are provided with the ability to choose the text they read for English class, they have an increase in interest and commitment to read, which…

Poet and essayist Gary Soto considers the senses while reading and the purpose of maintaining a reading life. According to the author, it's the pleasure of a story, and the intimacy of getting to know the characters well enough to exercise tenderness (or dislike) toward them. It's to weigh but not judge the behavior of characters, who are like…

The author and Karin Perry conducted surveys with educators for the past five years asking them about their reading habits and preferences. To date, they have more than 2500 responses. They paint a picture that all is not well on the teacher front. This article presents a few observations from the data. On average, educators report reading one to…

This paper reports on the text selections of two English teachers from different schools in New South Wales, Australia who participated in a larger research study that explored the decision-making of teachers planning for and teaching Stage 5 (Years 9 and 10) English. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon these teachers' reasons for…

This research investigated reading support and book preferences of fourth grade English language learners (ELLs) who were struggling readers. This qualitative research focused on three case studies. Interviews were conducted to explore ELLs' perceptions on reading motivation, reading programs, and types of support they received. Descriptions of…

Teachers are influential in motivating and improving attitudes towards reading. This article reports on an investigation of eight teachers of 10- to 12-year-old students from five New Zealand schools and the strategies they used to improve attitudes to reading. Each school had been identified as implementing effective reading programmes by a panel…

Based on more than twenty years' experience working to get boys interested in reading, the author now offers his first readers' advisory volume. With an emphasis on nonfiction and the boy-friendly categories of genre fiction, the work offers a wealth of material including: (1) Suggestions for how to booktalk one-on-one as well as in large groups;…

This paper examines the high levels of social connectedness and civic engagement between the [North] Brisbane School of Arts and the local metropolitan newspapers in their eagerness to establish and promote a reading club that would curb what they felt was the local community's preoccupation with reading popular novels. The Brisbane Literary…

Describes a high school language arts elective course on the novel, based on copious reading both in and out of class, a mix of assigned books and personal choice books in a broad range of difficulty in sophistication, and a wide range of activities, discussions, and writing. Notes enthusiastic responses, individual victories, and the sense of…

The author of a new guide to selecting books boys (preschool through junior high) will enjoy discusses the social view of reading as feminine, the limited cultural vision of masculinity, and the ability of books to offset these one-dimensional images. (Author/AEF)