When one educator was teaching English in middle and high school, she wondered why so many adolescents disliked reading. Even teen-aged protagonists and up-to-the-minute topics were not guaranteed to be "interesting." Yet something engages these young readers, at times and in some texts. To begin to get some answers, she interviewed…

Concludes that the affective goals subscribed to by many alternative high schools do have positive effects on some of the attitudes toward school, self, and others held by students, but that there is no relationship between measured attitudes and reading improvement. (FL)

The Estes Reading Attitude Scale evidences good internal consistency and solid convergent validity. It is a useful global reactive assessment of school-oriented attitude toward reading in intermediate grades. (Author/SB)

Describes a cross-age reading and writing program in which sixth-grade students (all average and low-average readers) were paired with kindergarten children to read and write collaboratively on a regular basis. Finds evidence from the students themselves, their parents, the teachers, and the school librarian showing how students' attitudes toward…

Argues that the purpose of teaching students to read includes challenging children to take up books that contain "dangerous truths." Discusses two such books: "Forged by Fire" by Sharon Draper and "The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963" by Christopher Paul Curtis. Includes children's statements regarding why they insist on being able to read good…

Outlines evidence regarding adolescents' reading abilities and dispositions toward reading. Shows how current practices in middle school reading instruction constitute a mismatch with these young readers. Suggests teachers should: focus on independent reading, provide access to varied reading materials, approach reading instruction as a…

Offers a narrative history of the life of one young reader, observing him at school and at home in grades K-2. Notes how the social practices and relationships he experienced at his blue-collar home bore upon the task of becoming a reader in school. Discusses increasing difficulties of negotiating between these two different cultural settings and…

Presents an open letter to English teachers outlining what the author hopes English teachers will teach his children about books and reading this year, focused on helping them love reading. Includes some thoughts about how to do so. Presents short annotations of 11 new or overlooked young adult books worth reading. (SR)

Describes a veteran teacher's (the author's) childhood memories of learning to read and of the enduring value of literature. Shares the path she has taken as a first and second grade teacher, and a teacher educator, using quality literature and experiences to lead children to reading and writing. (SR)

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the number of Accelerated Reader points accumulated by students and their level of self-efficacy and value of reading. The fourteen week study examined 68 fourth grade students who attended an elementary school in a suburban location near a large Midwestern city.…

Classroom teachers in the 1990s are encountering more and more students who are uninterested in learning. In fact, some students begrudge even opening up their books whether it be to read, spell or solve math problems. These negative attitudes are believed by many teachers to have a significant bearing on the students' ability to perform well in…

A study explored preservice teachers' attitudes toward reading through detailed case study analysis of their reading autobiographies. Subjects, 45 students in a required content area reading class in Hawaii, completed a reading autobiography assignment in which they considered their reading experiences from their earliest memory of being read to…

A study investigated ability grouping for reading within a heterogeneous classroom and the effect such grouping has on attitudes toward reading. Subjects, 23 students in an ethnically diverse third-grade classroom in central Virginia, completed reading attitude surveys. Classroom observations of the teacher and students were conducted. Results…

Factors were studied that influence attitudes of Asian English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners in order to better understand possible reasons why attitudes may change and ways they may be influenced. Special attention was given to cultural and education differences, difficulties relating to nonliterate adult learners, and strategies to assist…

This paper describes a program in which community members (retired citizens, parents, and others) provided tutorial services over a 12-week period to five learning disabled primary grade students in a resource room program. Comparison of pretest and posttest results showed a greater than 20 percent increase in reading scores. Weekly spelling test…