University educators work with preservice teachers who often feel overwhelmed when facing high school science classrooms full of reluctant readers. These struggling students often have various special-education modifications or are English language learners (ELLs) with different degrees of language proficiency. Teachers report that these students…

The extent to which children's reading choices could be predicted by their motivation and gender identity was examined. Two hundred and twenty-three children (average age 9 years 11 months) completed questionnaires measuring book reading choices, reading motivation, gender identity (identification with masculine and feminine traits) and a…

This article begins by explaining the student centered learning paradigm. Next, the article explains various features of a student centered approach to education and how extensive reading (ER), as it is most often practiced, fits with those features. The bulk of the article suggests how ER might be implemented to make it even more learner centered.

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to discover the impact on adolescent reading motivation as students were given an opportunity to select recreational reading material and read consistently during class time. This study also explored the motivational impact of student engagement from dialogue with peers about their reading…

This article, drawing on research which aimed to explore how young children read English in Singapore, demonstrates how nine-year-old Singaporean children's voluntary reading of series books served the dual purposes of enabling their membership of the peer group through culturated reading and the independent development of their reading skills and…

Some years ago (in about 2007), this author was asked by Professor Neil J. Anderson, known for his expertise in second language (L2) reading, to identify his top-five priorities for teachers of L2 reading. As it turns out, it was an interesting intellectual exercise to narrow down key issues in teaching L2 reading to a grand total of five. To…

In 2011, a national strategy "Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life" was published in the Republic of Ireland. One key aspect of the strategy was that it placed a renewed focus on reading for pleasure in post-primary classrooms. The researchers involved in this article worked for the Professional Development Service for Teachers, a…

This article details one teacher's implementation of reading workshop in her second grade classroom. She provided a framework for authentic reading using the five components of reading workshop: time, choice, response, community, and structure. She found that reading workshop is a highly effective practice for not only increasing students'…

Much has been written concerning the challenges many teachers face in engaging African American males in reading practices. While much of this extant scholarship focuses on African American males at the pre-adolescent stage of development and beyond, little has been written regarding increasing reading engagement in African American boys in P-5…

Literature holds the potential to significantly influence the lives of readers, but what is the nature of this influence for very young readers? This study investigated the question: What are the relationships between beginning readers and their personal literature? A first grade class of 18 students individually assembled a collection of personal…

Allowing students to select their own books for independent reading has been linked to increased reading engagement, heightened motivation to read, and greater independence and efficacy in reading. However, there has been little exploration of the processes surrounding book choice in elementary classrooms, particularly teaching practices that…

Although adult readers may savor the chance to choose from a wide range of things to read, experiment with different genres, and discover exciting books on their own, high school students' reading choices in school are generally narrowed to a few standard classic novels, Gilmore argues. The list of recommended "good" books that most high schools…

By forcing gifted educators to teach in preparation for state testing and national assessments, the joy of discovery is becoming an endangered species, and learning is becoming a chore rather than an opportunity. Is it possible to strike a more reasonable balance? Kelly Gallagher suggests a 50/50 approach. Half of academic endeavor should be in…

Numerous research studies prove that wide reading improves children's comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, fluency, and writing. The author, a sixth-grade language arts teacher, describes the classroom conditions and instructional practices that encourage wide reading and increase her students' reading motivation such as choice in…

A great deal of attention is being paid to the lack of reading and academic success for adolescent males. In this article, we discuss three structures in a school where boys read (and perform) as well as girls. When instruction is guided by inquiry, when teachers model their thinking while reading, and when book choices are honored, all students…