Recent surveys show that many adults do not read extensively. Senior citizens, despite increased leisure time, do not acquire reading habits if they have previously failed to develop systematic reading habits. Rather, reading behavior of retired persons tends to closely reflect previous reading habits, educational attainment, and socioeconomic…

This report contains the best national data available to provide a reliable and comprehensive overview of American reading today. While it incorporates some statistics from the National Endowment for the Arts' 2004 report, "Reading at Risk," this new study contains vastly more data from numerous sources. Although most of this information is…

Points out that reading has to be made something that those learning to read want to do, now, and in the future, and argues that people who can read should help those who cannot. (EL)

Apparent reading deficiencies among entering workers, combined with increasing demands for highly skilled workers, have led business and industry to increase their training and education efforts. One aspect of this effort requires understanding the reading demands people in various occupations are likely to encounter. This study examines the…

Concludes that a structured approach to students' private reading is vital to their reading progress, that children need access to books that will increase their enthusiasm, that they need time for reading each day, and that careful monitoring of all aspects of their reading is essential. (FL)

The field of college developmental reading does not have a unified, agreed-upon approach to creating effective and efficient readers at the college level, as Reynolds and Werner (2003) have pointed out. For example, Keefe and Meyer (1991) assert the appropriateness of a holistic, whole-language approach for adult readers, while Bohr (2003)…

A study was conducted, as a means to encourage literacy beyond "book reading" that stressed the importance of taking into account the range of literacy events that exist in people's lives everyday. It was found that literacy learning could take place within the everyday context of living, and that these events can reveal the kinds of mental…

Concludes that encouraging students to read and helping them develop alternative reading behaviors can spark interest and lead to reading independence. (FL)

The types of vocabulary in three short novels were analyzed to determine the text coverage of the most frequent 2,000 words of English, and the vocabulary needed to gain 97-98% coverage of the running words in each text. It was found that a 5,000-word vocabulary was necessary for adequate coverage in pleasure reading. (Contains nine references.)…

This article provides an overview of research about how teachers, parents, and others can help young people develop literacy practices for success in school and life beyond school. The authors, members of the International Reading Association's Commission on Adolescent Literacy, present the results of its review of the literature in the form of…

Describes a behavior modification program aimed at encouraging students to increase the frequency of leisure reading done at home. (EL)

Examines differences in reading habits of developmental college students with varying levels of reading proficiency. Finds that subjects spent an unusually low amount of time on academic reading and even less time on nonacademic reading. Finds no significant differences between high- and low-proficient readers with regard to amount of time spent…

Even though Swedish students (age 9 and 14 years) placed third in the recent IEA study, reading instruction in Swedish schools is apparently no better than in other countries taking part in the IEA study. No strong correlations between type of reading instruction and students' reading skills have been found. Schools in Nordic countries work under…

THE EFFECTIVE READER SHOULD DEVELOP WORD ATTACK SKILLS, AN ADEQUATE VOCABULARY, AND THE ABILITY TO ADJUST READING RATE TO THE PURPOSE FOR READING. THESE SKILLS ARE INTRODUCED AND REINFORCED AT EVERY GRADE LEVEL WITH INCREASING DEGREES OF REFINEMENT FROM YEAR TO YEAR BY BOTH READING TEACHERS AND CONTENT AREA TEACHERS. LESS OBVIOUS BUT EQUALLY VITAL…

Over the summer, many children lose ground in the reading skills they are building at school. Weave reading into the family's summer, and children will go back to school refreshed, excited, and ready to pick up where he or she left off. Advice for parents and caregivers includes: seek out books and reading materials that tie into children's summer…