As literature with postmodern characteristics becomes increasingly common, teachers of adolescents need to consider whether they should use these decidedly different novels and how they might do so effectively. This article identifies the characteristics of post modern novels and offers reasons for adding them to the curriculum. It also provides…

The aim of this study was to examine reading media (braille, cassettes, screen-reader, screen-magnifier, large print, low vision aids, CCTV) used by visually impaired adults. This article reports the results of a research project involving 100 people with visual impairment. The participants were interviewed and asked to fill in a questionnaire to…

Educators know that an achievement gap exists between students of low-income and middle-income families, a gap that is especially evident in fourth grade and beyond. This essay explores issues related to this gap, including primary-level children being immersed in narrative text and, therefore, unprepared for the challenges of informational text…

Teachers know the value of reading aloud to support children's learning and to foster a love of books (Glazer & Giorgis, 2005). In fact, many teachers have dozens, if not hundreds, of books on a vast number of topics. However, for reasons that range from lack of time to curriculum constraints, teachers may not always carefully examine what they…

The purpose of this study was to explore how critical pedagogy, culturally relevant curriculum, and student centered instruction impacted student engagement in reading for struggling high school readers, including first- and second-generation immigrants. The researcher/practitioner (r/p) chose to highlight Latinas in the study to understand the…

Book challenges have become more and more frequent in recent years. In particular, those books that address issues most relevant to preteens and teenagers seem to be the object of many challenges. Many of the hundreds of challenged works represent literary classics and high-quality writing for young audiences. Teachers, administrators and other…

This article describes an approach to developing student reading materials that support middle school learners in a project-based, inquiry curriculum for grades 6 through 8. Reading materials are designed to encourage sense making beyond the classroom, as students read and write about science as it takes place in a classroom and as it occurs in…

This article addresses how Christians can read wisely and well as citizens of both God's kingdom and an increasingly secular society. I suggest that focussing on reading as a transaction between reader and text rather than on the morality of texts or the maturity of readers can provide a biblical approach for Christian educators seeking to invest…

Selection of appropriate passages is important for memorizing and at the same time they must be presented reasonably well. The ways in which the different students recitations are graded is discussed.

As multicultural education is becoming integral to the core curriculum, teachers often implement this aspect into their courses through literature. However, standards and criteria to teach and promote active discussion about this literature are sparse. This book introduces pre-service and experienced teachers to the use of literature to promote…

Just 10 years ago the Academy of American Poets initiated the observance of National Poetry Month to celebrate poetry and its place in American culture. Since then, the movement has continued to gain momentum with the emergence of Young People's Poetry Week in 1999, a focus on poetry slams as the centerpiece for Teen Read Week in 2003, and the…

Over the past decade in the United States, levelled texts, or "little books" with finely graduated levelling of text difficulty, have regained their status as a literacy staple for beginning readers. Despite their resurgence, questions remain regarding the reliability and quality of these books. In this study, we conducted a detailed…

BEFORE SELECTING MATERIALS TO TEACH READING, A SET OF CONSISTENT AND APPROPRIATE CRITERIA MUST BE DEVISED AND USED TO OBJECTIVELY ANALYZE AVAILABLE MATERIALS. A KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHILDREN, TEACHERS, AND OBJECTIVES AND PATTERN OF THE READING PROGRAM IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AIDS THE DETERMINATION OF THE CRITERIA. JUDGMENT MUST THEN BE USED IN SELECTION…

This topical bibliography and commentary discusses resource aids that help educators evaluate and select high quality reading materials for young adults. It discusses general resource articles as aids. Examples are: specific themes, booklists, and school system aids. It concludes that there are no succinct lists of criteria or resources; rather,…

The controversy over the effectiveness of various emphases in the teaching of reading--phonetic, look-say, decoding, electic-- is unlikely to end. This article, which analyzes reactions to an important 1967 book, provides a useful summary of the reading debate today. (Author)