Although reading is a vital component of academic, career, and social success, the majority of adolescents struggle to read proficiently. As a result, there has been increased attention on reading instruction for older adolescents and on what programs, methods, and tools are highly effective in improving their reading achievement. Since motivation…

Many students struggle with reading as they transition from the elementary to the middle grades and the literature becomes more complex. Many students may also have personal experiences that interfere with them seeing any importance, value, or enjoyment in reading literature, especially books assigned in school. As a result, "struggling readers…

Extensive reading motivates learners to read a large number of texts on a wide range of topics because the students themselves select the reading material based upon its relevance to their interests, knowledge, and experience. Students read texts that match their language level, and they choose the time and place to read. Extensive reading "is…

The lobby of the college building echoes with the noise of teenagers milling around a table filled with books. Hands flutter over the bright covers, picking them up, flipping them over, thumbing through pages. Welcome to an Elon Academy Saturday at break time, the mid-point pause in this monthly gathering of the more than 70 student participants…

Middle school students are not reading for pleasure as frequently as they formally have, due to the influx of video games, cell phones, MP3 players, and other electronic device. This is not even to mention the common stresses of the average middle school student. Current research on reading motivation finds that as children move from upper…

Audiobooks are excellent tools to help students build literacy skills as well as improve listening, writing, and vocabulary competencies. In many shared or independent reading situations, audiobooks offer support to reluctant and struggling readers, special-needs students, and English-language learners. They are also embraced by voracious readers.…

Reading logs have become a practice in many elementary schools. Although lack of autonomy undermines intrinsic motivation (Lepper, Greene, & Nisbett, 1973), no study has examined the effect of logs. Second and third-grade students (N = 112) were assigned either a mandatory or voluntary log and surveyed about their motivation to read at…

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;…

A challenge facing high school educators is that which includes motivating students to learn, helping students engage in their learning, and providing adolescents the tools that they can use in comprehending the many forms of texts that are presented to them. Many students have access to libraries and technologies yet they do not avail themselves…

Previous research has indicated that there is no relationship between traditional homework completion and academic achievement among elementary grade students. Yet, elementary school teachers continue to utilize this practice. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between nontraditional, differentiated reading…

Using emergent motivation theory, this study analyzes the relationships between high school students' perceptions of their reading skills, task challenge, and personal control over assigned reading activities and their reading engagement (i.e., interest, enjoyment, and concentration) during science instruction. The study also examines how…

Using a developmental assets framework, we examined the influences of family resources, routines, and stress on preschool-aged children's emerging literacy development. Data were collected from 85 children as well as from their parents. Using path analysis, the results revealed that the more regular the routines in the household, the more likely…

Something wonderful happens when children are asked to choose their own books and are given ample time to read and discuss them. They become hungry readers with an appetite for books! This simple strategy was the basis for developing the program known as PIE (Personalized Independent Enrichment) and its recipe for reading success. The goal of the…

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 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…