Twenty-five undergraduate preservice teachers in the literacy block (a six credit hour block of reading and language arts methods courses) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln wrote their literacy autobiographies to fulfill one of the course requirements. These autobiographies help students' develop insights into their literacy past and present.…

Noting that most junior high level curricula do not take into account students' rapid mental and physical changes, the articles in this focused journal issue recommend works and teaching strategies that harmonize with these student needs. The titles and their authors are as follows: (1) "Adolescent Development and the Growth of Writing…

A pilot study examined the effect of a read-aloud literature program on the attitudes of middle school students toward reading. A randomly selected group of 70 teachers and 1,673 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students from four regions of the United States and one region in Europe participated. Testing the hypothesis that student attitudes…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with the following topics: (1) guiding the learner through a textual passage with an associate passage; (2) use of direct-functional study skill technique in seventh grade social studies classes; (3) three types of…

This review of research summarizes major studies in the teaching of literature in the following areas: the history of literary instruction and attitudes toward teaching literature in the United States, the objectives of English literature instruction, curriculum experimentation and innovation, instructional procedures, juvenile and adolescent…

A longitudinal study of student reading attitudes was conducted in 30 schools (20 elementary, 10 middle) using the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey instrument (ERAS). The instrument tested attitudes toward both recreational reading and academic/school reading as part of the Reading Excitement and Paperbacks Project (REAP). REAP participant…

"No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) attempts to ensure educational equity for all K-12 students. However, for the conceptual goals of NCLB to become reality, pre-service teacher training models must be modified to include a deeper understanding of individual differences and how these play out in classroom dynamics. The "Three Literacy…

This collection development aid lists more than 10,000 titles of children's materials available in a variety of formats (in addition to print materials, the guide also includes sound recordings, video cassettes, microcomputer software programs, CD-ROM products, and videodiscs). This 20th anniversary edition contains several special features,…

With important implications for all language arts teachers, grades kindergarten through 12, this book is about what one teacher and her eighth grade students learned together as collaborating writers and readers. It is also a book about adolescents themselves: how they learn, what they believe and value, and what others can learn from and about…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The ten titles deal with the following topics: passage integrity and type of instruction in prose learning; college student self-concept and reading gain in two instructional methods; the consequences for adults of childhood…

Describes Colonel Francis Parker's efforts to humanize beginning reading, discussing how they offer guidelines for present day lesson planning. Reveals that his aims were to connect reading with children's interests and backgrounds, with content area studies, and with modes of expression such as speaking, drawing, oral reading, and writing. (SKC)

Surveys the reading and viewing habits of British teenagers. Discovers that, although U.S. horror fiction (R. L. Stine, Stephen King) tops the lists, a wide diversity exists among the less popular authors. Reveals marked gender differences in amount of time spent viewing videos, television, and computer games. (MJP)

Focusing on reinforcing students' reading skills at home, this pamphlet emphasizes that parents should read aloud to children, talk to them about their experiences, take them places, limit their television-watching, and take an interest in their reading progress. Children's success and interest in reading is said to depend largely on whether they…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 28 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) abled and disabled sixth grade readers' knowledge of story structure under three conditions, (2) the impact of typographical factors on the visual information…

Extending Beginning Reading was a research project based at the School of Education, University of Manchester, England, from September 1973 to December 1977. The project, aimed at helping readers seven years and older improve their reading skills, is detailed in this book, in which most of the seven sections contain implications for teachers. The…