Engaging students in the reading process is challenging when they are unable to connect to texts. It is important to provide inclusive and diverse texts (IDTs) in the language arts curriculum. To promote a positive reading experience, all students need to read IDTs with non-stereotypical depictions of girls, women, people of Color, and more. This…

The authors demonstrate how teachers can scaffold instruction that invites students into the learning process by presenting engaging, relevant material. Employing five steps, the authors describe how to curate and sequence text sets: access learners' funds of knowledge, begin with the end in mind, consult the curriculum to determine areas that…

Perhaps no factor has a greater influence on children's literacy learning than exposure to engaging, authentic, culturally relevant texts. This concise practitioner resource and course text helps K--8 teachers make informed choices about using children's literature in their classrooms, from selecting high-quality texts to planning instruction and…

Nobody disagrees that reading is good for students' language development. The more they read texts that they can understand, the more confident and adept they become. However, it can be quite a struggle to get students started on their reading journey. We suggest that this is partly due to a lack of access to comprehensible and compelling reading…

This study applied a qualitative approach and investigated the processes of motivational change through goal setting in extensive reading (ER). The one-year ER program integrating goal setting was introduced in a Japanese university. Interviews were conducted with four selected participants from among 23 students. The results revealed different…

Students must be proficient readers of nonfiction texts to be successful in school and life. Since engaging students in this genre can be challenging, this article focuses on how students can respond digitally and socially to nonfiction through the use of free, secure social networks. Not only can students become more engaged in learning when…

Linked text sets (LTS) offer a promising approach to bring together adolescent students and complex texts, such as those required by the Common Core State Standards, using strategic scaffolding. LTS include a variety of print and media texts that address a guiding question that is meaningful to students such as, "Why is growing up so…

This mixed method study, grounded in Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, examines if nonfiction e-books read independently by children enrolled in a summer reading program will increase vocabulary, improve comprehension, and enhance motivation to read as compared to children reading nonfiction trade books with adult support. Findings indicate…

"A Reason to Read" is the culminating work of the ArtsLiteracy Project, an ambitious and wide-ranging collaborative that aims to promote literacy through rich and sustained instruction in the arts. At the heart of the book is the "Performance Cycle," a flexible framework for curriculum and lesson planning that can be adapted to…

Considering the nature of the complex prose that K-12 students today must learn from, in light of the Common Core State Standards, students need to read informational texts on a meaningful level-and with enthusiasm. Teachers, Brozo says, need to achieve three goals: motivate students to read informational texts, expand students' background…

Numerous research studies prove that wide reading improves children's comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, fluency, and writing. The author, a sixth-grade language arts teacher, describes the classroom conditions and instructional practices that encourage wide reading and increase her students' reading motivation such as choice in…

This paper is a study of the reading trends and perceptions of Muslim Malaysian undergraduate students towards Islamic English websites as pedagogical materials in English language classrooms. Data was collected through a set of questionnaires to 180 students from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and Universiti Sultan…

This qualitative study aims at detecting areas that requires to be developed in the EFL reading program in elementary stages in Kuwaiti public schools by using children's literature. It also examines the reading program in the public elementary curriculum. The participants were six English language major students from the College of Basic…

Noted scholar, teacher educator, and IRA past-president Linda Gambrell answers readers' questions about motivating young and struggling readers.

Day after day, teachers hand out reading assignments; students ignore them; and both groups spend another day at school discouraged, less than enthusiastic, and bored. While principals struggle with stagnant test scores, teachers wonder how they can possibly work more diligently toward instructional outcomes. Getting students excited about reading…