Researchers concerned with curriculum differentiation for gifted and talented students have long promoted the benefits of providing opportunities for students to explore their personal interests within the regular curriculum. Many literacy researchers have also concluded that teachers can improve students' (especially boys') attitudes toward…

A study examined how much time college students spend reading for pleasure, when they do the most pleasure reading, and whether or not parental encouragement plays a role in pleasure reading habits. Subjects, 219 female and 113 male college seniors at a small public liberal arts university, completed three questionnaires as part of the…

Explores whether innercity children in the intermediate grades expressed a greater preference for reading stories and books which depicted innercity settings or pleasant middle-class settings. (RB)

Discusses how romantic novels can be used to generate interest in the secondary school classroom. (DF)

Research study examines high school students' reading interests across several variables. (RB)

Surveys the Reading Is Fun-damental Program (RIF) in Cleveland, Ohio, which makes it possible for disadvantaged children to select and own books. (RW)

Reports the results of a longitudinal study that associated reading achievement with volume of reading and the selection of a book with its content, appearance, and its popularity with the reader's friends. (AEA)

Describes how a love of reading paperbacks led to a love of literature and makes a plea for quality children's paperback books. (MKM)

Surveys some recent fiction which reflects both the diverse interests and varying reading abilities of 11-18 year olds. Presents brief reviews of 26 novels touching on themes such as family, first love, social issues, adventure, fantasy, and thrillers. (RS)

Finds no foundation for the fear teachers and parents have that "light reading" (comic books, magazines, and novels) will limit higher-level reading. Notes that the vast majority of doctoral students at a major southern California university responded affirmatively to light reading as youths. (RS)

Annotates 29 fiction and nonfiction tradebooks chosen by middle, junior, and senior high school students' votes. (RS)

Offers 10 strategies to enhance reading skills through wildlife reference books and other literature. Lists 10 nonfiction and 33 fiction references as resources for initiating a positive relationship among children, wildlife, and reading. (MG)

Elementary Teachers today are under enormous pressure to teach children to read better. Teachers sometimes lose sight of the fact that if we can inspire children to want to learn, to want to read more about a topic, everyone wins--even the people whose sole interest is reading test scores. In the social studies, we want students to be thirsty for…

The reading interests of children should be considered by teachers in order to increase positive attitudes toward reading, the amount of their reading, and their reading achievement. Since findings show that using trade books to teach reading has strong positive effects upon children's reading achievement, a study examined children's choices of…

A study was conducted to analyze and compare the reading interests of adults from three educational levels. Fourteen adults in a community college reading center, 20 adults from various professional occupations, and 23 adults from a reading education class were given a reading interest inventory concerned with their reading habits and preferences…