To address middle school students' lack of motivation for recreational reading, the practicum reported here integrated activities designed to improve student attitudes toward reading into a middle school reading program. A target group of 75 students in sixth and seventh grades grouped homogeneously in remedial, average, or enrichment classes…

Paying particular attention to the far reaching impact and policies of the goals and ideas identified in the report "America 2000: An Educational Strategy," the papers in this book focus on the strategies, practices, and research that may guide the future of literacy instruction for persons of all ages. Papers in the book are:…

A study explored the effects of individualized, integrated language arts instruction on the attitudes of poor readers. A total of 63 elementary students participated in the study, 33 in the treatment group and 30 in the comparison group. Twice a week for a period of 12 weeks, the treatment group received reading instruction which incorporated…

A cross-curricular comparison focused on learner interpretations of beginning reading and writing instruction in skills-based and whole language inner-city classrooms across kindergarten and first grade. Subjects, 48 low socioeconomic-status students in four classrooms in two midwestern cities, were observed during literacy instruction twice…

Three studies determined if the Summer Step reading program (a residential camping program implemented on the campus of Camp Baskervill Episcopal Outreach of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, using a personalized, contextualized reading approach) was effective, if children's self-esteem was enhanced by participation in the program, and if the…

To provide a differentiated language arts program to meet the needs of highly able and gifted readers and to encourage interest in reading and the development of state reading goals, students in the sixth grade of a middle school in Maryland were grouped by ability for their language arts/reading classes. Students were exposed to a wide variety of…

A practicum was designed to increase the amount of time parents read to their kindergarten children. Fifteen parents in a suburban area participated in a series of teacher-presented workshops to discover the value of reading aloud, learn strategies for presenting literature, and practice reading aloud to their children. All seven of the behavioral…

A study investigated how second-grade learners, identified as less proficient, continued their literacy learning in a whole language classroom. Subjects, six second-grade Chapter 1 students, were observed during independent reading time twice per week over a period of 8 months. Additional data collection procedures included participant…

Among those who share the responsibility for developing the reading habit in children are the child's family, schools, libraries, publishers, booksellers, and the mass media. There are many ways to read, just as there are many kinds of reading materials, including poetry and narrative stories. Some children read only to follow the plot, others add…

The majority of current college freshmen see no place in their lives for reading as an opportunity for intellectual or emotional enjoyment. They read only the most utilitarian texts--appliance instructions or road signs, for example. A teacher cannot "make" students read anything, but he or she can help them find ways to like reading;…

A high quality reading readiness program should be available for each student beginning reading. Such a program should be sequential and should emphasize (1) securing the students' interest in reading, and in achieving reading skills, (2) attaching meaning to content being studied in a reading readiness program, (3) providing for each student's…

Designed to help teachers encourage positive student attitudes toward reading on their own, this guide provides a developmental reading framework to introduce students to books beyond the basal series and to enhance reading motivation. Following an introduction, the guide covers the following subjects: (1) goals and objectives for both teachers…

The papers in this collection represent a wide spectrum of approaches, philosophies, viewpoints, and techniques of scholarly endeavor in their treatment of reading and its cognitive processes. The 48 articles, presented at the 1977 meeting of the National Reading Conference, are arranged according to the following categories: (1) reading and…

Recognizing the importance of parental involvement in a child's learning to read, this resource guide is designed to aid teachers in working with parents to achieve optimal learning experiences for children. The first chapter shows how responsibilities can be shared between home and school in the areas of physical and mental health, use of the…

Designed to help teachers, especially Title I teachers, improve reading programs, this handbook presents guidelines for (1) enhancing the diagnostic-prescriptive reading system approach to teaching and learning, (2) promoting the continuity of learning from level to level, (3) broadening the range of skills taught, and (4) developing interest in…