Offering instructional strategies in an informal, easy-to-read, yet scholarly approach, this book presents instructional strategies and activities for children who are having difficulty learning to read. In contrast to other books that offer highly analytic and prescriptive approaches, the activities in the book are arranged around general areas…

Four essays consider aspects of ensuring that every child can succeed in school. The first, "Appearing Acts: Creating Readers in a High School English Class" (Joan Kernan Cone), explores the self-perceptions of students and uses them to inspire their enthusiasm for reading. The cultural sensitivity of the teacher is instrumental in…

This action research project implemented a program for motivating students to read so that they would become enthusiastic, lifelong readers. The targeted population consisted of first- and second-grade students in a middle class community located in a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The problem of lack of motivation in reading was documented…

A study investigated effects of a parent volunteer program--a component of the Summer Reading Program of the University of Maryland at College Park--upon children's self-perceptions as readers and their motivation to read. Subjects were 10 students in grades 4 or 6 who were identified as achieving below grade level and who were low motivated…

This book aims to show parents how to instill the love of reading in their children and how to nurture that love throughout their lives, even in the face of television, video, and computer entertainment. The book is based on the concept of "reading pathways," developed after more than 20 years of classroom observation and interviews. It…

A study investigated how literature-based reading/language arts materials were being used in two "exemplary" third/fourth grade combination classes, the influence of teacher epistemology on classroom instruction, and whether teachers were enacting the whole language emphasis mandated by the state. One of the two participating teachers…

A practicum was developed which implemented various strategies to increase consistently below average reading comprehension scores of eighth-grade students. A targeted group of 16 students with middle ranking stanine scores was selected. Objectives included raising reading comprehension scores using task specific strategies, developing a more…

A study described the cognitive and metacognitive knowledge of a sixth-grade proficient bilingual reader who was a Latina by comparing her reading processes and strategies with those of a marginally proficient bilingual reader and a proficient monolingual reader. Data collection processes included prompted and unprompted think-alouds, interviews,…

A program was designed to improve the reading interests of students in a rural middle school. An analysis of the problem indicated that the students were not reading many library books. One of the probable causes for the lack of interest was related to the small amount of recreational reading done by students. A search of the literature revealed…

This report describes a program for increasing levels of leisure time reading and heightened awareness of age and ability appropriate literature with an effort to encourage targeted students in grades 2, 3, and 6 to become lifelong readers. The targeted population lives in a growing rural, low to upper middle class community located in north…

The purpose of this study was to determine if reading aloud to children regularly would have an effect on their motivation and desire to read independently. Subjects, 100 fourth and fifth grade students in Wayne, New Jersey, participated in the study. One fourth and one fifth grade class were read to on a daily basis for 30 minutes. The second…

This guide describes "Parent Power," a program designed to help parents help their children become better readers. The guide makes such suggestions as pre-reading the book before reading it to children; reading about a variety of subjects; and showing children the importance of reading by parents reading and modeling the reading process…

As college students in a literacy foundation course became pen pals with third graders, individual voices from each group were heard and, on both ends, it was a meaningful, authentic learning experience. The college students from a homogeneous environment were able to communicate with a diverse population of children. The children shared book…

This issue of "Progressions" shares the lessons learned by the Lilly Endowment's Education Division from partnerships with educators, librarians, parents, and community activists. The articles look at individual components of the endowment's overall plan to promote reading among youngsters in grades five through nine, and to introduce…

This paper describes a study which examined kindergarten students' concepts about authorship and how these concepts affected their view of themselves as readers and writers. The teachers' role in helping form students' attitudes was also examined. Thirty-eight children from two kindergarten classrooms and their teachers were interviewed. The…