Discusses the planning and implementation of a sixth-grade sleepover in a school library to celebrate National Library Week and to provide literature enrichment. Topics include student selection criteria; preparation; schedule and sample of activities; commentary and evaluation of event. Sidebars offer information on items to bring for overnight…

Reviews reasons why many teachers are moving away from the basal approach to teaching reading. Describes literature-based instruction, and suggests the adjustments that teachers and students will need to make. Describes two plans for literature + basal partnerships as an intermediate step between the basal and a totally literature-based approach.…

Offers specific suggestions to teachers of elementary and middle school English-as-a-Second-Language students for helping their students develop a positive attitude toward reading. Teachers can help students become readers by developing their sense of control and competence in tasks, materials, and the environment. (Author/VWL)

What students do after school depends on where they go, their gender and family characteristics, and with whom they spend time. Most students go straight home, play or watch TV, and are unsupervised, but not alone. Schools equalize learning opportunities for poorer students. Time at home affects recreational reading opportunities. (Contains 10…

Describes a questionnaire study of Australian undergraduates and a community sample that investigated the reading of books as a recreational activity and considered individual characteristics. Topics include the amount and nature of reading, attitudes toward reading, measures of social resources, scores on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire,…

Discusses the history of literature-based reading programs, including the early history, growth of libraries and recreational reading, individualized reading, emergent literacy, reading aloud, whole language literature-based reading programs, teacher education, and the future. (SR)

Asks seventh-grade boys (in a middle-class school and a school where 82% of students were eligible for Chapter 1 funding) about comic book reading. Finds that those who reported more comic book reading also reported more pleasure reading in general, greater reading enjoyment, and reading more books. Finds no difference in frequency of comic book…

Notes that teachers need to demonstrate a love of reading in order to pass it on to their students. Discusses ways to encourage a love of reading through book groups, reading goals, daily oral and silent reading, and sharing the impact of reading with students. (SC)

This article explains the importance of alphabet books in early reading development. Alphabet books encourage literacy development in the following ways: (1) unlock the symbols of language; (2) connect knowledge to other sources; (3) provide book usage knowledge to young children; (4) complement children's enjoyment of books; and (5) aid early…

Neither a bibliography nor a history of genres through historical sequences of listings by author, this book is a guide for those who help readers identify genre authors and titles of desired types in both libraries and bookstores. A secondary purpose of the book is as a text for library school students, aimed at familiarizing them with the common…

Written for teachers of adult literacy students and administrators of literacy programs, this book discusses a multitude of ways to use books appropriate for adult new readers. The book's first six chapters provide annotated lists of 639 books suitable for new readers, including titles, authors, dates, publishers, and suggested reading levels.…

A study examined gender differences in reading attitudes among school age children. The hypothesis was that school age children in grades K-8 regard reading as a predominately feminine activity. Subjects were 269 students, grades K-8, from a low-income, urban school setting. Students completed Reading Attitude Surveys, modified from the Downing…

Two studies focused on children's reading but employed very different procedures and techniques. The first study examined the link between the levels of children's reading comprehension and the quantity of reading they did. Subjects, 198 children chosen at random from years 5, 6, and 7 of a single elementary school in Adelaide, Australia,…

Intended to make the job of finding the right book for the right child easy, this book lists the "Children's Choices" selections (recent books recommended and voted on by children themselves) for 1992, 1993, and 1994. Each of the over 300 entries (about 100 for each calendar year) is annotated and includes publication information.…

Students in a senior (grade 12) basic English class were not motivated to read books unless required to do so by their teacher; they did little or no reading for pleasure. To increase recreational reading and instill a love of reading in the 17 subjects, a practicum, in the form of a reading program lasting about 2 months, developed strategies…