The views of the learners are arguably the most important consideration in planning for classroom literacy instruction, yet they are often ignored by policy-makers and by teachers. In order to match the literacy curriculum to the learners, it is essential for teachers to consider the programmes they offer from the learners' points of view. This…

Describes 10 "literacy day" activities that one California elementary school has used successfully schoolwide, typically one such day per month, to make reading fun and purposeful, while developing a sense of community. Includes: spread-a-quilt day; teacher exchange day; turn off the TV; Dr. Seuss day; community readers; schoolwide…

This article reports a project undertaken in a Caribbean high school among 17 students in a low stream Year 3 class of reluctant readers (mostly boys) who had been experiencing repeated failure. The project, aimed at promoting leisure reading among the adolescents, ran for 16 weeks. During this period, reading materials--mostly those in which the…

This study looks at the effects of a Web-based summer reading program on the reading behaviors and attitudes of high school students. The school librarian and five English teachers based the program content and Web site on reading and Web design research. The study investigates whether the technology-based program had positive effects on student…

Draws from 15 documents indexed in the ERIC system in order to demonstrate ways to build positive attitudes toward classroom reading tasks. (DD)

Describes how the district committee of the West Des Moines Schools (Iowa) changed its reading program. Explains how the role of a basal was redefined, how trade books were incorporated, how the program encouraged independent reading, and how writing was given a major role in reading class. (JK)

Investigates book selection strategies of fourth graders involved in a literature-based reading program. Examines types of information that guided the students' selections. Finds that the program was a motivating factor for students because their attitudes toward reading improved. Notes that to maximize reading growth, students should be reading…

This paper examines the high levels of social connectedness and civic engagement between the [North] Brisbane School of Arts and the local metropolitan newspapers in their eagerness to establish and promote a reading club that would curb what they felt was the local community's preoccupation with reading popular novels. The Brisbane Literary…

The causal effects of a voluntary summer reading intervention on children's reading activities and reading achievement were assessed in a randomized experiment involving 331 children in Grades 1-5. Children were pretested in the spring on a standardized test of reading achievement (Stanford Achievement Test, 10th ed.), on the Elementary Reading…

A study investigated the attitudes toward reading of Western Kansas students in grades 1-6. Of the 156 students in the sample, 45 participated in the study group while 111 constituted the control group. The independent variables were participation status, achievement in reading, gender, socioeconomic class status, intelligence test scores, and…

Notes that teachers are now spending a great deal of time teaching reading skills and ignoring activities that encourage students to engage in the total reading process. Recommends techniques and activities designed to encourage reading for enjoyment and comprehension. (FL)

Presents three brief articles containing suggestions from teachers on teaching reading: a summer reading program that successfully kept beginning readers reading over the summer; an inquiry project in which third graders saw the power of being literate and the profusion of literacy activities in the nonschool world; and engaging students in active…

Summer book groups enhance and sustain student literacy behaviors over the break, making available an enjoyable social forum for critical-thinking and critical-reading practices to occur naturally. Significantly, the book groups grant faculty and students an informal space to connect meaningfully through reflective discussion of texts. Because…

Divided into sections on the reading process, positive effects of literature in a reading program, and basic instructional elements of a literature-based reading program, this 39-item annotated bibliography of journal articles and monographs dating back to 1968 presents research concerning the use of literature in the reading curriculum. An…

Proposes that the illiteracy problem should be addressed by encouraging children's love of reading while they are developing reading skills. Analyzes why current programs are ineffective and recommends following the approach of the "Open Sesame Program" in New York City, which employs creative methods to teach English to Spanish-speaking…