Argues that observations of how children construct literacy and their responses to print-filled environments will help child care providers and families be better prepared to support children's emergent literacy. Provides advice on literacy development, supporting emergent literacy, developing positive attitudes toward reading, and developing…

Teachers must make changes in their reading programs that reflect a desire for students to compose lives in which reading matters. Strategies presented include getting serious about independent reading, building a literate environment, making every child bookish, setting up reading partnerships, and ideas for home-school reading support. (SM)

Briefly describes reading standards in Malaysian schools, outlines a class reader program, and provides samples of teaching files designed to help teachers implement the program. (one reference. (GLR)

Introduces reading research from Great Britain, Sweden, and Australia. Discusses three conclusions from this literature particularly relevant to college reading specialists. (SR)

Questions whether people during the past century had access to a range of reading materials and asks whether various groups of people acquired different levels of literacy skills. Concludes that the United States needs educational and cultural policies that will increase literacy skills while fostering the variety of materials read by citizens.…

A survey of 53 deans of graduate programs in social work provided information about their demographic characteristics, professional tasks, reasons for entering administration, professional preparation, reading activities, perceptions of the deanship, developments in higher education, and issues and challenges confronting the profession and social…

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)

Reports on a survey of the leisure reading of 700 teenagers in rural North Carolina which collected data on reading for pleasure, types of materials selected, favorite authors and books, differences in interests of boys and girls, reasons for reading, and how respondents find out about books. Implications for teachers and library media specialists…

Stresses the need to show students the value of traditional print resources while at the same time introducing them to the speed and efficiency of electronic resources in school libraries. Discusses speed of access, quality, electronic research, and electronic books and reading online versus reading a sequential, self-paced print book. (LRW)

Describes the grant-supported Read, Enjoy and Do (R.E.A.D.) program of the Park Forest (Illinois) Public Library intended to provide materials to help parents/caregivers make reading an enjoyable learning experience for children. Highlights the program's accomplishments, strengths, and weaknesses. Analyzes changed or altered grant needs and…

Examines the reading experiences of six African-American middle school girls. Finds that their book selection processes were different than those proposed by the professional multicultural education literature; they found affirmations, support, solutions, and decision-making skills in their reading; and that what mattered were the connections the…

Examined book choices of below-average, average, and above-average readers in a fourth-grade literature-based reading program. Found that book selection criteria were mentioned at different frequencies with below-average readers, whose criteria included pictures and friends' recommendations. Word length, print size, and book length influenced…

A longitudinal study of 363 elementary school students over five years investigated the degree to which reading comprehension, vocabulary, reading pleasure, and reading frequency later in life can be predicted and the way that path models and common factor models explain these relationships. Linkages among these factors are explored. (SLD)

Presents a debate between two English teachers (in the form of a critique of a March 1997 article in this journal, a response to that critique, and a rebuttal of that response) on the classics, student choice in reading, and teaching. (SR)

A study examined the reading performance of 16 individuals (ages 6-16) with Asperger syndrome. The Classroom Reading Inventory found students exhibited reading levels commensurate with their grade levels on Instructional, Frustration, and Listening Capacity. Silent Reading and Independent Reading levels, however, were below grade level. (Contains…