A 15-minute reading inventory was administered to 188 students in seven rural districts to assess and compare the reading maturity of the college-bound juniors and seniors in those districts. Results showed that on a leisure reading attitude scale, the college-bound students had an average score of 60 points with 20 being the lowest and 100 the…

Suggestions directed to parents and family members for turning everyday home activities into opportunities for learning are based on three principles: reading and researching; reinforcement and reward; and review and reapplication. It is proposed that establishing a good home learning environment includes setting regular, daily times to work with…

Two types of problems are found in the reading performance of children with poor work habits: a child may have mastered skills but performs inadequately in tasks due to poor work habits, and a child may never have mastered skills because of such habits. Work habit behavior is the student's tendency to apply himself or herself to learning tasks by…

A study was conducted to determine the attitudes and preferences of 38 intellectually gifted intermediate grade students toward their recreational reading habits. The students' parents also were surveyed to describe the children's reading readiness development. The results showed that the students preferred books over other materials, liked…

To examine the relationship between reading performance and television viewing, the state of Connecticut's third assessment of educational progress in reading included questions relating to the reading materials available in students' homes, their television viewing habits, and their attitudes toward reading. Approximately 8,000 students in grades…

Offering a synthesis of research and thought on the notion of newsreading as a form of play, this paper focuses on newsreading as a symbolic action of incorporating cultural attitudes by reading a newspaper. Sections of the paper discuss the following topics: (1) play, culture, and communication--defining play in its cultural and communicative…

When two adults read eleven paragraphs, assigned a meaning to the target word in each paragrah, and answered questions about their strategies for dealing with the difficult/unknown words, they exhibited four strategies, outside of actual definition, that skilled readers use to deal with such words. The most often used strategy is paragraph…

This discussion of methods, experiences, and theory provides educators and parents with an approach to learning to read that emphasizes learning to think and becoming a functional reader who can enjoy using this skill throughout life. Included are simple, inexpensive suggestions for improving reading, such as more attention to regular school…

A sample of 1,048 seventh through twelfth grade students in Richmond, Virginia, was surveyed to determine whether they read the local morning newspaper, what features or types of news interested them, and what exposure they had to other daily newspapers and to television. Survey results are as follows: nine out of ten students were exposed to…

This program of Italian studies considers five areas of major importance. The college student is advised on: (1) the study of Italian in the United States, (2) preparation for the study of Italian, (3) studying the language, (4) the study of literature, and (5) related studies and study abroad. The section on language study emphasizes a review of…

The speaker challenges his audience to devise imaginative and effective means of obtaining for children ready-access to books that will help them develop an image of the future worthy of the previously undreamed-of capability, health, and welfare enjoyed at the present time. It is up to the present generation, he says, to help children achieve the…

Certain aspects of the cognate background, especially the social science background, of those who teach young children were investigated. The sample population was 164 inservice teachers taking course work through the University College of the University of Maryland. Behind the study was the feeling that children are not being made aware of the…

To study the local newspaper reading habits of teenagers from six schools in Florida as compared with those of teenagers from six schools in other states, a four-page questionnaire was administered to a total of 887 students in English and journalism classes. Among reading categories listed on the questionnaire were domestic news items, world…

A study of one of the model "Reading is FUNdamental" (RIF) programs located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was made to determine the success of the program and to formulate suggestions for changes. RIF is a program in which free or inexpensive books are made available in a community through schools, libraries, and other local organizations…

Results of a national survey of family practice residency programs concerning the prevalence, organization, content, success factors, objectives, and nonacademic functions of journal clubs stressing the development of critical professional reading habits and the effective use of professional literature in patient care. (MSE)