This document discusses the author's personal opinion and feelings on teaching. She expresses her love for literacy and the hope to engage her students with the same feeling, yet not force it upon them.

This article explains how and why to involve teachers and students as playwrights "commissioned" to write, revise, read, rehearse, and perform Readers Theatre scripts that fulfill a dual purpose: inform (about curriculum topics) and entertain. Curriculum-Based Readers Theatre (CBRT) differs from traditional Readers Theatre in that its script…

In order to make predictions about a text, students must have prior knowledge or experiences about the topic and a means or a reason to retrieve this latent information and knowledge. The Imagine, Elaborate, Predict, and Confirm (IEPC) strategy takes the predictive process back to its origins in the imagination and extends it throughout the…

This article, based on a presentation made by the author at the 2003 California Library Association conference, provides examples of how librarians and teachers can use Science Fiction to provide catalysts for discussion in a variety of subjects; teach students how to question intelligently; and stimulate their imaginations, thus motivating them…

This book provides educators, parents and caretakers with a variety of instructional strategies for engaging K-8 students. These approaches are designed to enable all students to read easily and enjoyably by utilizing different styles and approaches. The techniques are not generally found in conventional classrooms, but are specifically targeted…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not adolescents who are deemed underachievers and who struggle to read school-assigned textbooks will engage with popular culture texts of their own choosing (e.g., magazines, comics, TV, video games, music CDs, graffiti, e-mail, and other Internet-mediated texts). The 60 student participants,…

A variety of approaches to the teaching of reading have been applied in primary classrooms. While much information is available on the teaching of reading in the early years, little is forthcoming to guide teachers of older students. This qualitative research served to identify the beliefs and pedagogies of two experienced year seven teachers in…

This document is the manual for the Arizona Reading Program (ARP) 2003 entitled "Lights, Camera, Read!" This theme spotlights books that were made into movies, and allows readers to appreciate favorite novels and stories that have progressed to the movie screen. The manual consists of eight sections. The Introduction includes welcome…

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for examining book use in early childhood settings, including the following dimensions: the book area; the amount of time provided for book reading; integration of books into the broader curriculum; the nature of the book reading events; and the nature of the home-school connection with respect to book…

Fostering the lifelong habit of reading is a vitally important goal that educators should embrace. When teaching and learning are connected to lifetime literacy efforts, students are in a better position to learn effectively and to develop the love of learning. Many teachers and administrators have demonstrated a keen interest in helping their…

Suggesting there are ways to make reading and writing more attractive to middle school students, this booklet offers strategies for parents to use to help their students keep reading. Sections of the booklet are: "Why Should I Encourage My Middle School Student To Read for Fun?"; "'You Don't Care What I Like': Listening, Talking,…

Investigating what 11 eminent literacy scholars with diverse philosophies could agree to regarding contexts and practices for teaching reading, this book presents comprehensive analyses of these findings, dubbed the "Expert Study," and their implications. It includes a reprint of the 1998 article "Points of Agreement: A Display of…

This book provides the library media specialist with activities designed to motivate students to read and with reproducible bookmarks, worksheets, and certificates . The book is designed to promote the enjoyment of reading in the elementary school. At the beginning of each unit, basic suggestions are included for using the activities, but the…

This curriculum unit takes the form of historical fiction, an original story for middle school students which revolves around the 16th-century Spanish conquest of Guatemala and the Mayan people. Incorporated into the story are many of the Mayan sites, ruins, geography, culture, legends, historical characters, and cities. The climax is set at the…

This year is the first for the collaborative effort between the Arizona Department of Library, Archives and Public Records, and Arizona Humanities Council and the members of the Arizona Reads Committee. This Arizona Reading Program manual contains information on program planning and development, along with crafts, activity sheets, fingerplays,…