Potentially serving as the primary national literacy initiative, the Reading Seed Programme (RSP) by PUSTAKA Negeri Sarawak aims to enculturate a reading culture from an early age. For instance, RSP was invented to promote reading culture by having the pregnant mother read to their infant until the child was three years old. The process is vital…

This study applied a qualitative approach and investigated the processes of motivational change through goal setting in extensive reading (ER). The one-year ER program integrating goal setting was introduced in a Japanese university. Interviews were conducted with four selected participants from among 23 students. The results revealed different…

This qualitative study investigated the ways in which 84 parents from predominantly low-income communities described supporting their third graders' reading skills, motivation, and habits. Thematic analysis of open-ended parent interviews indicated that parents actively and deliberately scaffolded their children's progress toward developing…

The influence of motivation on readers' behaviors has received wide attention in literacy scholarship. The importance of readers' motivations for reading becomes critical when considered in relation to readers' engagement with reading activities and their perceptions of themselves a competent. This article presents a qualitative study of…

Reading volume is an important consideration for teachers wanting to improve literacy outcomes for students. The authors begin by reviewing evidence for reading volume and the ways in which reading volume can be changed. They identify four factors--access, choice, classroom discussions of texts, and book talks--that composed an intervention…

This article reports on the extensive reading (ER) component of a reading intervention programme to improve first-year students' reading proficiency. To make the intervention more practical and to accelerate improvement, an ER component was included in the programme. Two groups of first-year students (high-risk and low-risk) were required to read…

Extensive graded reading (EGR) was carried out with a cohort of 600 engineering students in a university in northern Japan. Pre-and post-surveys were conducted to discover changes in the general reading habits of students, their attitudes toward the assessment method and how goals changed over the course of study. The first survey was carried out…

The National Literacy Trust's Premier League Reading Stars programme (PLRS) is a reading intervention for children aged 8 to 13 that captures the motivational power of football to inspire children and young people to read more and to improve their literacy skills. PLRS is delivered by teachers and librarians. The programme delivers statutory…

As a well-known advocate for promoting wider reading and reading engagement among all children--and founder of a reading program for foster children--Pam Allyn knows that struggling readers often face any printed text with fear and confusion, like Max in the book Where the Wild Things Are. She argues that teachers need to actively create a…

Reading is often thought of as a skill, something to be learned and practiced. But reading can also be considered a creative art, capturing the imagination of the reader in ways that result in creative thought and expression. School librarians have a unique opportunity not only to support classroom-based reading skill building but also to serve as…

Today's adolescents must meet increasing demands for high levels of literacy. However, low self-efficacy and motivation for reading often prohibit adolescents from developing and sustaining positive reading habits. Consequently, educators must provide opportunities for students to experience reading as a rewarding and useful endeavor. Research…

The reading patterns and habits of young and old are changing as reading migrates from the printed page to the computer screen. Now, new forms of expression such as remixes and mash-ups are emerging from interactive digital environments. How can school librarians help students read with understanding in dynamic digital environments? How can they…

In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) released a grim report on the state of literary reading in America. "Reading at Risk" (www.nea.gov/pub/ReadingAtRisk.pdf) detailed a dramatic decline in recreational reading across all segments of the American population--young and old, black, brown, and white. It also included the projected…

In the rapidly changing globalized world, school librarians cannot prepare today's students for every possible outcome, but they can give them the skills that will make them adaptable in 21st-century learning and work settings. The mission for school library programs is to ensure that students are effective users of ideas and information by being…

Many reading programs today overlook an essential component of literacy instruction--helping children develop an enduring love of reading. This authoritative and accessible guide provides a wealth of ideas for incorporating high-quality children's books of all kinds into K-6 classrooms. Numerous practical strategies are presented for engaging…