This article summarizes the findings of a 2017 qualitative, multiple case study that explored the factors that impact gifted students' recreational reading selections. It offers an overview of the steps school librarians and other educators can take to foster independent reading habits in gifted students.

Purpose: To become good at anything we need to practice. However, in the classroom context, much of the reading time is devoted to instruction rather than practice. Reading practice should be daily. Text choice, motivation and reading for pleasure all interact to support implicit learning. Design/methodology/approach: Review and synthesise the…

Can students read difficult but self-selected texts--and if so, how? In this article we describe what we learned about middle school students' use of background knowledge and specific vocabulary from interviews and surveys in our longitudinal study of magazine reading habits. Then we discuss the implications of these findings for structuring…

Many reading programs today overlook an essential component of literacy instruction--helping children develop an enduring love of reading. This authoritative and accessible guide provides a wealth of ideas for incorporating high-quality children's books of all kinds into K-6 classrooms. Numerous practical strategies are presented for engaging…

Although basic literacy will continue to be necessary for survival, mass communications and information technology are bringing about an inevitable and lamentable decline in reading for pleasure and in the love of literature for its own sake. (TE)

A recent study on the free selection of library books for recreational silent reading periods focused on the difficulty of material chosen and on the relationship between the students' reading ability and the readability of a book. Three groups of 24 students completed an interest inventory form, and their reading ability, sex, and reading…

ELEMENTARY TEACHERS ARE COMMENDED FOR DEVELOPING LIFETIME READERS. ELEMENTARY TEACHERS TELL STORIES AND READ ALOUD WITH ZEST AND NATURAL AFFECTION. THEY STRUCTURE THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT TO MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE AND CONDUCIVE TO FREE AND ENJOYABLE READING, AND THEY GIVE ATTENTION TO THE BASIC SKILLS OF LANGUAGE AS WELL AS TO THE CONTENT THAT…

In order to serve students it is helpful for the library to know the characteristics and reading habits of students. (4 references) (Author/DH)

A study compared the choices of Charlottesville area children with those from Children's Choice lists, published annually in "The Reading Teacher." Subjects, 62 third- to sixth-grade students, were interviewed before they checked books out of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Main Branch in Charlottesville, Virginia. Children were…

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…

Compares second grade and fifth grade students' recreational reading levels (when students self-select library books for recreation reading) in relation to independent, instructional, and frustration levels as determined with an informal reading inventory. Concludes that recreational reading levels should not be viewed as synonymous with…

Several points need to be addressed when selecting humorous books for children. First, people of all ages react to humor in different ways; therefore, what one child finds funny another may not. Care must therefore be taken in sharing books with and recommending books for children. Second, humor itself is difficult to define, but humor should…

The books listed in this annotated bibliography, selected to provide pleasurable reading for high school students, are arranged alphabetically by author under 35 main categories: (1) adventure and adventurers; (2) animals; (3) art and architecture; (4) biography; (5) careers and people on the job; (6) cars and airplanes; (7) great books that are…

The books listed in this annotated bibliography, selected to provide pleasurable reading for high school students, are arranged alphabetically by author under 49 main categories, including the following: (1) adventure and survival; (2) animals and pets; (3) archaeology and anthropology; (4) art and architecture; (5) biography and autobiography;…

Describes the successful implementation in a Georgia elementary school of the Reading Millionaires Project, a reading incentive program to promote recreational reading and to create student interest in reading. (SR)