Describes the characteristics of the Tech Prep reader and writer. Recommends a language learning environment to foster literacy for these students, and provides a 17-item annotated bibliography of adolescent literature to motivate these reluctant readers. (SR)

Many young adults enjoy graphic novels because the genre differs so dramatically from the books that educators traditionally have encouraged adolescents to read. Growing up with television and video games, contemporary young adults look for print media that contain the same visual impact and pared-down writing style and contribute to their…

The overarching pedagogical goal of this formative experiment was to facilitate engaged reading and writing in a language arts classroom of seventh- and eighth-grade native Spanish speakers who were assigned to a team composed solely of second-language learners for the entire school year. Fourteen students participated in the study. An…

The Texas Reading Club is designed to encourage youth to read for pleasure and to promote library usage.The theme for 2001 is "To the Library and Beyond!" and emphasizes ways in which a visit to the library leads young minds to explore world geography and cultures, nature and the environment, college and careers, computers, and great…

The Newbery and Caldecott awards were established to encourage authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers to produce the most remarkable works to stimulate the mind, satisfy the curiosity, broaden horizons, and raise the hope of all children. With its vivid annotations for all winning titles and honor books since the awards' inception (Newbery…

Each year the Newbery and Caldecott Medals are awarded by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's books published the previous year. With its annotations for all winning titles and honor books since the inception of the awards (Newbery in 1922 to be awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished…

Presents an annotated list of nonfiction titles for young adults that are popular with all types of readers, especially reluctant readers. (AEF)

Presents an interview with Greg Bear and David Brin, two science fiction writers who started Reading for the Future, an international project geared toward secondary school students that shows teachers and librarians how science fiction inspires young readers. Discusses programs that have come out of this group; standards for books geared toward…

Presents tips for giving successful teen booktalks, including advice on delivery, teasing students and getting their attention, selecting books that have sections that will interest them, stretching the truth, and, and limiting the presentation. Includes a sampling of young adult books and examples of scripts used to get teens' attention. (AEF)

In this study 251 Australian university students, with a mean age of 26.46, indicated their preference for different types of reading material. A subset of 136 participants additionally reported how many hours per week they typically engage in recreational reading and non-recreational reading, indicated their motivation for recreational reading,…

The Follett library software system is the literary conscience of St. Francis High School. It reports on overdue books, checkout statistics, and online catalog search records. The circulation numbers tell that reading is a tough sell for today's teens. As the school's custodian of books and information, the author describes his efforts at leading…

Can students identify the practices that motivate them to read? If asked to evaluate which components of a reading program are beneficial in motivating them, can they identify a particular practice and explain why it was helpful? These were the two major questions asked of 22 fifth-grade students reflecting on their fourth-grade experience. A…

Encouraging the love of reading is a vitally important priority that has positive consequences for students' literacy growth, both now and in the future. Children need daily, in-school opportunities to enjoy reading and become immersed in reading as a lifetime activity. Although a wide variety of considerations are useful for promoting the reading…

This Digest focuses on motivating the low performing adolescent in a remedial reading or subject area classroom--the idea is that students who are disengaged from their own learning processes are not likely to perform well in school. The Digest points out that such adolescents are often caught in a cycle of failure and that secondary teachers must…

A method of facilitating leisure reading time in the classroom is described here. It encourages leisure reading as a natural, uninterrupted process at school, so students may see how enjoyable reading is and transfer those positive feelings to reading at home. Each Wednesday, junior high school students in Centerville, Indiana, spend an average of…