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…

Identifies and measures process variables in the home environments of 84 fifth-grade students that might directly relate to their leisure reading behavior. Finds a direct linkage between socioeconomic status, home characteristics, and learning environment and children's reading habits. (DR)

This study examined the recreational reading attitudes, intentions, and behaviors of college students. The theory of reasoned action provided the framework for the investigation and prediction of the students' intentions and behaviors. Two hundred and one students completed questionnaires developed according to the guidelines for the construction…

This study described and compared the reading of sixth and eighth grade students both in and out of school using a unique data set collected with the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). On average, students read forty minutes a day out of class and seventeen minutes a day in class indicating that reading is a common leisure practice for…

Determines the relationship between attitude and reading behavior in adults. Finds that adults with positive attitudes toward reading spend more time in daily reading and read a wider variety of materials than do adults with negative attitudes. (MG)

Studies eight students (grades five-nine) to discover whether students with less than average interest in reading would spend a greater amount of time engaged in interactive fiction. Finds that students spend more time with interactive fiction, if they are successful at the quest. Discusses implications for English and reading instruction. (MM)

Describes an English teacher's successful "guided independent reading" program for reluctant adolescent readers. She teaches her classes around large themes, chooses mirroring student interests, allows in-class reading periods, and monitors student progress. Students then work in groups to present their book to the rest of the class.…

Describes how reading for pleasure for 20 minutes of each class period in a beginning, intermediate-level reading course for adults in English as a Second Language resulted in language development in terms of reading, writing, and comprehension, as well as increased confidence. (SR)

This study examined the effects of students access to print through public library card ownership and class trips to the community library. Reading performance, attitudes toward reading, time spent reading at home, number of books at home, and family visits to the public library after school were compared between students who had library cards,…

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…

A practicum developed and implemented reading strategies to increase the positive attitudes toward recreational reading of a third-grade target group. The practicum focused on five central strategies for achieving objectives: alternative book reports, home leisure reading, guest reader program, read-aloud student response journals, and writing 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)

Probes the association of reading achievement and attitude with productive factors in learning by regressing on 18 indices of seven factors the scores of more than 2,000 17-year-old students from a National Assessment of Educational Progress sample. (FL)

This report describes strategies for increasing levels of interest in reading for enjoyment. The targeted population consisted of first, second, and third grade students in three elementary school districts. The schools were located in middle class and affluent suburban communities of a large city in the Midwest. The problem of lack of interest in…

Outlines the steps in presenting a "book talk." Argues that it can be an effective way to broaden children's awareness of literature while developing their verbal skills. (FL)