This paper focuses on a 1997 pilot project carried out in five secondary schools in South Africa that examined children's reading and information use. This study (n=958) was part of a larger study from 1995 and 1996 carried out in the United Kingdom. The primary goal was to examine what young people are reading at the end of the 20th century. The…

Reports results of interviews with children ages 4 to 12 regarding their reading interests that were conducted by graduate students in a children's literature course. Common themes are discussed, including enthusiasm about reading, positive reading experiences, adult influences, positive attitudes, and reading preferences. Possible reasons causing…

Illustrates through examples how elementary and secondary students can be motivated to enjoy books by making a connection to reading through listening to audiobooks. Sidebars include comments from fifth-grade English-as-a-Second-Language students about audiobooks, selection/usage tips for librarians, and a list of selected audiobook publishers.…

Discusses a foreign-language-reading approach through which students are exposed to various books that they self-select and discuss in literature circles, noting 49 college students' reactions to the approach in a French language class. Student surveys indicated that the method had a positive impact on their reading comprehension and attitudes,…

Although the highly popular Accelerated Reader (AR) book reading incentive program claims to motivate children of all reading ability levels, very little independent empirical research has examined this assertion. To help fill this void, we used two related three-factor mixed designs with Method (AR vs. Control), Gender, and either Grade Level…

This dialogical project is framed within critical inquiry methods to bring an Amish teacher's voice to the forefront. Henry, an Amish middle school teacher, and two university teacher educators in northeastern Indiana collaboratively critiqued educational literature written about the Amish culture from the past 15 years. Building on critical…

This collection of 17 papers provides a blueprint for teachers who want increasingly sophisticated methods for monitoring student growth and can serve as a resource for in-service educators as literacy instruction changes. Papers in the first section of the book examine literacy assessment as it pertains to school-age children. Papers in the…

An examination of the literature on how parents reading with their children affects children's interest and ability in reading was informative. Especially useful were 3 articles--those of Scarbrorough, Dorbrich, and Hager (1991); Ridout (1992); and Martin (1993). The first article states that not all children follow in their parents' desire for…

A practicum addressed the problems of low reading levels, deficient writing skills, and poor attitudes toward reading. The objectives were to increase reading levels, improve writing skills, and improve attitudes toward reading and in this process to improve critical thinking skills. The target group was a sixth-grade language arts class of 23…

A study examined how teachers' attitudes and beliefs affect their enactment of literature-based curriculum materials, whether student attitudes differ in accordance with the teacher's orientation, and whether student achievement in reading and writing differ in whole language and traditional classrooms. Two "whole language" and two "traditional"…

Interest is a powerful psychological factor in learning. Middle school students need to be involved in both selecting reading materials and choosing the method of appraisal. Approaches used need to encourage, not hinder interest in reading. Some student projects that have been used as evaluation tools are dioramas, pictures, pantomime, oral…

This practicum focused on the use of repeated taped reading instruction with modeling to improve fluency, comprehension, and automatic word recognition in five students (ages 11-13 years) with learning disabilities for a period of 10 weeks. The instruction also involved the teacher giving corrective feedback and having the students answer story…

A supplemental reading intervention program was designed and implemented to increase the reading comprehension for at-risk students. Subjects, 11 fourth graders in two different classes, were chosen on the basis of below grade reading level as evidenced by both classroom performance and national achievement tests' score. The 10-week reading…

Intended for use by teachers who wish to help students select library materials for personal and classroom reading, this instrument is designed to assess student reading attitudes and knowledge. The instrument is divided into upper elementary, junior high school, and high school levels and consists of questions that assess (1) how students feel…

The Success in Reading and Writing Program used in the District of Columbia Public Schools in 1985-86 is described and evaluated. The program, used in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, employed a variety of materials, as well as the students' own writing. Instruction lasted approximately 2.5 hours each school day. The program connected reading…