THE FINDINGS OF A PILOT STUDY OF THE PERSONAL USE OF BOOKS BY ADULTS IN THE UNITED STATES AND OF THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THEIR READING ARE PRESENTED. CHAPTER I, "READING--A PERSONAL VIEW," PRESENTS EXCERPTS OF INTERVIEWS WITH BUSINESSMEN, HOUSEWIVES, AND STUDENTS OF THE CHICAGO AREA WHO WERE CHOSEN AT RANDOM AND WHO WERE WILLING TO…

Discusses ways to promote students' interest in current literature and in their own creative writing. Provides three examples of good high school literary magazines. (SRT)

Library circulation records for five years in one Hawaiian elementary school were analyzed to discover patterns according to sex and grade level; identify titles, subjects, and types of books circulated; and determine circulation of Hawaiiana and books about Asia. Bibliography of 129 titles mentioned in text is included. (11 references) (EJS)

Describes observations of recreational reading material selection by kindergarten and first-grade boys and girls. Discussion covers gender-related preferences in choices of recreational library materials, fiction and non-fiction choices, flexibility in reading choices, and gender roles. Observations made in 1983 and 1984 are appended. Five sources…

Advocates the use of classical mythology in contemporary classrooms because mythology features heroes or heroines that may serve as role models. (DF)

Whitehead disputes the interpretation given his work in an article written by Roger Knight. (DF)

Relationship between reader preference and protagonist characteristics, specifically sex and age of main characters, was examined. The study asked 2,487 male and 2,366 female students in grades 4 through 10 to rate the degree of importance of protagonist characteristics. (Author/JMK)

Describes a reading program that used community volunteers to read aloud to elementary school children. (FL)

Presents contributors' suggestions concerning (1) creative responses to recreational reading, (2) multisensory approches to spelling, (3) writing assignments for remedial readers, and (4) ways to keep track of students' reading interests. (FL)

This paper discusses the rationale for designing better literacy assessment for elementary school children. The "Literacy Profile" is a literacy assessment procedure designed to collect data about groups of elementary students and track literacy development more effectively than current standardized tests. It assumes that literacy…

Designed to help teachers, students, and parents identify engaging and insightful books for young adults, this book presents annotations of over 1,400 books published between 1994 and 1996. The book begins with a foreword by young adult author, Chris Crutcher, a former reluctant high school reader, that discusses what books have meant to him.…

As with the regular issues of "Biography Today," this special subject volume on "Authors" was created to appeal to young readers in a format they can enjoy reading and readily understand. Each volume contains alphabetically-arranged sketches. Each entry in the volume provides at least one picture of the individual profiled, and…

Used paired comparison to construct a reading preference inventory based on 14 reading themes drawn from previous research. Tested it using intermediate-grade children in three Canadian communities. (FL)

Six contributors suggest ways to (1) improve handwriting, (2) help children choose reading materials, (3) develop sight vocabulary, (4) use phonics with ESL learners, (5) use Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading, and (6) teach reading comprehension. (FL)

Twenty ideas to motivate reluctant young readers in kindergarten and elementary school classrooms are presented. The ideas include reading contests, prizes, classroom decor, and community involvement. (PP)