Over the past four years, educators and researchers from the University of Connecticut have worked with urban high-poverty schools to implement an alternative reading instruction program called the Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading (SEM-R). Based on Renzulli's Enrichment Triad Model, the SEM-R works through planned enrichment experiences to…

Studies the views of parents and teachers on how they might effectively support independent readers. Examines children's views on parental involvement. Finds that the survey heightened interest in reading and literature among children and their parents. (MG)

Reviews research on students' attitudes toward reading. Argues that, given more free reading time and more choice about what to read, students are more likely to form the habit of lifelong reading. (SR)

Eighty-one fifth grade students from a suburban parochial school were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups in a study designed to determine the effect of daily sustained silent reading (SSR) on student reading habits and attitudes toward reading. One teacher supervised 40 students in daily fifteen-minute periods of SSR, using…

Describes New York City teachers' emphasis on independent reading, with the rest of their reading curriculum growing out of needs identified during that time. They begin with mini-lessons, then create social supports for reading, make independent reading central and collaborative, reinforce what works, make time for solitary reading, and learn…

This study presents and tests a hypothesized structural model that attempts to explain the relationship of writing in English as a foreign language by Taiwanese university students to a variety of factors. Investigated were factors considered to be inhibiting (writing apprehension and writer's block), factors considered to be facilitative (free…

This paper discusses the evaluation of the Intensive Reading Instructional Team (IRIT) program, a supplementary reading and language development program for third and fourth graders in the Hartford, Connecticut, public schools. The IRIT program and evaluation design are described, with tables illustrating evaluation data. Results indicate that the…

The effects of the Wisconsin Prototypic System of Reading Skill Development, combined with teacher inservice training, on the performance and attitudes of primary pupils and their teachers were examined. Experimental and control subjects were students in grades 2 and 3. Teachers served as their own controls, having instructed the control a nd…

The impact of two methods of individual instruction, guided reading and the learning center approach, on undergraduates in an educational psychology course is investigated. Objectives are (1) to determine which method is more effective in terms of cognitive gains, and (2) to compare attitudes toward the two methods. (JMD)

POWER (Providing Opportunities with Everyday Reading), stressing reading in the content areas, is a program for high schoolers driven by continuous improvement and teamwork. Improved test scores and enhanced attitudes toward reading result from high teacher commitment and sustained interest achieved through this teacher-led program's design. (MLH)

The purpose of this study was to determine if reading aloud to children regularly would have an effect on their motivation and desire to read independently. Subjects, 100 fourth and fifth grade students in Wayne, New Jersey, participated in the study. One fourth and one fifth grade class were read to on a daily basis for 30 minutes. The second…

To investigate adolescent reading habits and interests, a reading interest survey was administered to 103 male and 133 female sophomore English students from two high schools with similar socioeconomic backgrounds but different individualized reading programs. In the first school, students read and made book reports on three novels of their own…

A STUDY OF THE SPECIFIC BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS OF WRITING GROUPS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI WAS CONDUCTED IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE BACKGROUND PROFILE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE CONSIDERED POOR WRITERS, I.E., STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED D OR E IN WRITING FOR THE SEMESTER PRIOR TO THIS STUDY. DATA OBTAINED FROM STUDENT ANSWERS TO A QUESTIONNAIRE ARE…

Studied discrepancies between Canadian first-graders' home and school literacy contexts regarding the contexts' potential to promote self-regulated approaches to reading and writing. Examined the extent to which differences were reflected in the children's attitudes toward and engagement in reading and writing at school. Found some discontinuity…

Overviews an undergraduate English-as-a-Second-Language reading course's design and pedagogical processes as well as the ways students were involved in inquiry. Findings indicate that transferring second language research tools into learners' hands and inviting students to reflect critically on their own reading can increase their metacognitive…