Young children's experiences in being read to are often the first in a chain of events leading to the acquisition of reading skills and a love for reading. When asked to write accounts of their early memories related to literature, 75 students in university-level children's literature courses mentioned their mothers more frequently than any other…

Recounts observations of a child's interactions with Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, noting that she exhibited "passionate attention" toward the characters by becoming involved with them and discussing them often. Shows that the child's comments grew from observations to criticism over time, and her passionate attention to Ramona expanded…

Notes that poor readers often equate reading difficulty with failure and exhibit stress reactions, and suggests that teachers take these feelings into account to help with remediation. (JC)

Examines the relationship between television viewing and reading achievement within a framework of television and reading constructs such as media availability and parental media behavior, children's use of print and broadcast media and measures of their attitudes and orientation toward television and print. Includes the questionnaire. (PD)

One component of the Reading Plan for Michigan is to develop and implement methods of assessing children's progress in acquiring early literacy skills and of communicating their status and progress to other teachers and parents. This document presents an assessment and instructional system, the Michigan Literacy Progress Profile 2001 (MLPP 2001),…

Aliteracy is defined as the quality or state of being able to read but the lack of interest in doing so; aliterates can read, but they never read for the love of reading. Aliteracy is said to be prevalent among college students. Also prevalent among college students are risk behaviors that contribute to poor health. Problem behavior theory links a…

A study investigated attitudes and preferences concerning reading among fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students in Portuguese-language schools in the United States. Extrinsic factors influencing students (parents, teachers) were also analyzed. The research took place in 10 schools in 5 states. Data were obtained using questionnaires (students)…

A longitudinal study described the language and literacy abilities of urban at-risk children at several points over a 3-year period; provided the children with small-group literature-based reading/language arts instruction; and compared these children's progress in literacy achievement to other similar groups. Participants in the study were…

A visually oriented educational model that was originally developed for use with children was adapted for use with adults in an adult basic and literacy education class. The four-step visual literacy model required students to perform the following actions while reading an entire novel: visualize, inquire, read, and apply. A General Educational…

A low-cost reading program at De Anza Junior High School, Ontario, California, designed to motivate reluctant junior high school readers and to develop an early interest in books in preschool children is described. A background history of the Preschool Story Hour is given and sources of books are suggested. Junior high students who may be…

The Chapter 1 Developer/Demonstration Program, Learning to Read Through the Arts (LTRTA), offers intensive reading and reading-oriented arts instruction to Chapter 1-eligible students. During the 1988-89 school year, the program served 100 ungraded special education students and 716 general education and limited English proficient (LEP) students…

A study examined the beliefs of parents in relation to their responsibilities and the school's responsibilities in the area of teaching reading. Parent interviews were conducted with three sets of parents of children receiving remedial instruction and two sets of parents of gifted children, all in fifth grade. All parents were from a rural area…

"The Brownies' Book," a periodical for Black children created and edited by W. E. B. Du Bois and published for 2 years, from 1920 to 1921, was a radical departure from traditional children's publications. It challenged the "selective tradition" in children's literature that negatively depicted Afro-Americans and Afro-American…

This booklet focuses on reading motivation, especially on specific steps to motivate the middle school child to learn. The main topics explored are: finding or making time for reading for pleasure; filling or flooding the house with interesting reading materials; and reading as a way of life. Practical questions from parents are answered and…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 21 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of a six-months school entrance age difference on reading, mathematics, and language achievement in primary school children; (2) relationships…