Suggests that while teachers may wish to guide students in their reading of literature--to give them only "good" literature and to help them see the "right" interpretations of it--such guidance leaves students' understanding to chance, and does not help them choose to think and construct values of their own. (JC)

Argues that the key to helping one seventh-grade boy make the transition from non-reader to reader was in changing his self-image as a non-reader. Shows how he became actively engaged in reading and writing when he felt valued, took risks, and developed his own ideas. Argues for more closely aligning students' lives within school and outside…

Applying reader response theory, a study explored the responses of 19 pregnant adolescents and teenage mothers to two dissimilar young adult novels, one about teenage pregnancy and one about adolescent alcoholism. Quantitative analysis, using a modified version of the Purves-Rippere (1968) system, and qualitative analysis of written answers to…

A study investigated how second-grade learners, identified as less proficient, continued their literacy learning in a whole language classroom. Subjects, six second-grade Chapter 1 students, were observed during independent reading time twice per week over a period of 8 months. Additional data collection procedures included participant…

The majority of current college freshmen see no place in their lives for reading as an opportunity for intellectual or emotional enjoyment. They read only the most utilitarian texts--appliance instructions or road signs, for example. A teacher cannot "make" students read anything, but he or she can help them find ways to like reading;…

Designed to help teachers encourage positive student attitudes toward reading on their own, this guide provides a developmental reading framework to introduce students to books beyond the basal series and to enhance reading motivation. Following an introduction, the guide covers the following subjects: (1) goals and objectives for both teachers…

Designed to help teachers, especially Title I teachers, improve reading programs, this handbook presents guidelines for (1) enhancing the diagnostic-prescriptive reading system approach to teaching and learning, (2) promoting the continuity of learning from level to level, (3) broadening the range of skills taught, and (4) developing interest in…

The Reading Enrichment/Achievement Demonstration Project (READ) has provided continuing studies, since 1976, of sustained silent reading programs that use paperback books. The 1980-81 Project READ involved 1,100 young people in the juvenile justice system who attended 25 alternative schools and community-based programs. The public school portion…

Recounts observations of a child's interactions with Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, noting that she exhibited "passionate attention" toward the characters by becoming involved with them and discussing them often. Shows that the child's comments grew from observations to criticism over time, and her passionate attention to Ramona expanded…

"The Brownies' Book," a periodical for Black children created and edited by W. E. B. Du Bois and published for 2 years, from 1920 to 1921, was a radical departure from traditional children's publications. It challenged the "selective tradition" in children's literature that negatively depicted Afro-Americans and Afro-American…

A preliminary study investigated whether regular periods of sustained silent reading (SSR) would positively affect verified silent reading comprehension scores for eighth grade students. The hypothesis tested was that students allowed 15 minutes of recreational reading (reading self selected material for enjoyment) five times a week for three…

Developed by the International Reading Association Library Resources and Reading Committee, this book is designed to help parents, teachers, and librarians provide children with books and reading experiences that will make reading a lifetime habit. Part One, "The Right Book for Each Child: Book Selection and Library Use," contains the following…

A study examined critical literacy and how texts, transactions, and talk enabled girls to examine their positions as readers and negotiate their identities in relation to novel characters and one another. Participants were eight sixth-grade girls of European American, African American, and Latina backgrounds and the participant researcher, a white…

Twenty-five undergraduate preservice teachers in the literacy block (a six credit hour block of reading and language arts methods courses) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln wrote their literacy autobiographies to fulfill one of the course requirements. These autobiographies help students' develop insights into their literacy past and present.…

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…