A number of studies have shown that low-income and minority students undergo larger summer reading losses than their middle-class and White classmates, and that reading is the only activity that is consistently related to summer learning. The purpose of this study was to explore whether reading books during summer vacation improved fall reading…

Many studies have examined the relationship between environmental processes and literacy outcomes. However, nearly all of this research has examined biologically related family members living together, thus confounding genetic and environmental influences. The purpose of this study was to address this issue using a sample of 262 adopted children…

This article summarizes some of the recent research on boys and reading that has been primarily conducted in Australia but is also available online to international readers. The research makes it clear that many boys are still reading, but competing claims on their busy lives easily sidetrack them from making reading their main activity. Educators…

This study investigated the prospective relationships between reading performance and reading habits among Finnish children during the first and second grades of primary school. One hundred and ninety-five children were examined twice during their first primary school year and once during the spring term of Grade 2. The results showed, first, that…

This study examines the longitudinal relations among early literacy experiences at home and children's kindergarten literacy skills, Grade 1 word reading and spelling skills, and Grade 4 reading comprehension, fluency, spelling, and reading for pleasure. Ninety French-speaking children were tested at the end of kindergarten and Grade 1, and 65…

Encouraging the love of reading is a vitally important priority that has positive consequences for students' literacy growth, both now and in the future. Children need daily, in-school opportunities to enjoy reading and become immersed in reading as a lifetime activity. Although a wide variety of considerations are useful for promoting the reading…

A descriptive study examined whether reading aloud to children regularly would have an effect on creating independent readers. Subjects, 269 preschool through third-grade students in Cranford, New Jersey, were given a questionnaire to be completed by the parents. Ninety-one questionnaires representing 200 children (ranging in age from 3 months to…

School administrators should realize that independent reading is an important and integral part of the language arts program, that it takes into consideration important skills and strategies, and that it requires risk-taking in a supportive environment. Principals can provide such support by working cooperatively with teachers during every phase…

This easy-to-use book addresses the needs of the teacher who has always wanted to do more with poetry in the classroom. It presents a sequence of activities that allows young children to listen to, learn, read, and write poetry--these activities have been used in dozens of classrooms and proven to be successful in a wide range of settings. Topics…

Designed to appeal to children who are entering the world of poetry for the first time, this collection combines the traditional with the contemporary. It could be used equally well at home or in the book corner of a primary classroom. The collection includes poems by such classic children's writers as A. A. Milne, Ogden Nash, Christina Rosetti,…

This collection of materials is part of the Project LEAP (Library's Educational Alternative for Preschoolers) program which, in response to the need for quality literature in child care settings, has created 100 storytime kits, 80 puppet shows, and a model 300-title child care center library. The collection of materials is in 3 parts: (1) a…

Administrators can acquire a broader range of material drawn from Shakespeare and, by implication, from other great authors as sources for a fuller cognizance of life. The vast field of Shakespearean scholarship and criticism overshadows the works themselves. Nevertheless, adults can rediscover Shakespeare through performances and recreational…

"Postcards from America" is the publisher's name for a set of five high-interest low-level novellas written on a second-grade reading level and featuring a multicultural mix of adolescent characters (African-American, Mexican-American, Asian-American, and Caucasian). For recreational reading, the novellas in this set offer a mix of…

This study investigates the application of Krashen's Input Hypothesis, studying the relationship between exposure to the target language and language acquisition within the context of the English-as-a-foreign-language secondary classroom in Spain. The project studied the effect of additional reading instruction with emphasis on reading for…

In February 1990, the largest national sample survey of adult participation in learning ever undertaken in Great Britain was conducted. Interviews were conducted with 4,608 people aged 17 and over in England, Wales, and Scotland. The research was designed to provide comparable information to the largest previous study, which was carried out 10…