Suggests 12 activities to make humor an integral part of the reading/language arts curriculum. (MKM)

Criticizes the lack of good literature in popular basal series and advocates the reading of good fiction as vital to producing an active, responsive reader. (MKM)

Details a study that examined how attitudes toward reading varied among subgroups of the general population--the subgroups were composed of sixth-grade students; college students; adults, aged 18 through 22, who had never attended college; and adults, aged 60 and older. (FL)

Suggests that the acronym "SCIENCE" may be used as a guide to evaluating seven factors that should be promoted by a reading program: success, curiosity, interest, enthusiasm, nurture, challenge, and enjoyment. (MKM)

Presents a read-aloud from Lois Lowry's novel "Anastasia Krupnik" showing how Anastasia's first experience writing a poem helped form negative attitudes. Discusses the selections and offers suggestions for teaching poetry and for integrating poetry in other classrooms. (SR)

Shows how interactive read-alouds encourage children to verbally interact with the text, peers, and teachers, providing a means of engaging students as they construct meaning and explore the reading process. Discusses approaches to read-aloud events, conceptual foundations, and planning interactive read-alouds. (SR)

Discusses how the differing views held by teachers and immigrant parents and their children affect early reading instruction, secondary content reading, and reading involving technology. Demonstrates that immigrant students and their parents hold different beliefs about reading and schooling than those held by many teachers. Concludes it is…

Discusses why it is important for teachers to demonstrate positive reading/thinking behaviors throughout the school year. Discusses five examples of such demonstrations in the classroom. (SR)

Describes how the attitudes toward textbooks of students enrolled in a study strategies class underwent change as they worked with a particular psychology textbook. Notes that the students wrote to the author, who in turn wrote back. Argues that students' affective responses to textbook reading may be the most undervalued dimension of content area…

Follows four female language-minority students through their last semester in high school and first semester in college. Focuses on these students' perceptions of reading and writing they encountered across the curriculum. Finds that what they found more challenging in college was not necessarily predicted from a developmental perspective but…

Outlines the author's process of teaching Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" not in the order it was written. Incorporates PowerPoint presentations, and has students lead discussions. Concludes her method enables students to create beyond guidelines. (PM)

Discusses Readers Theatre, an instructional activity that combines several effective research-based practices, and leads to increased engagement with literacy even in very resistant readers. Considers the theory and research behind Readers Theatre. Describes the process of choosing and writing texts for performance, and preparing for performances.…

Describes five African American women learners who were participating in a community-based General Education Development program. Argues that a lack of engagement is in part due to the "scripts" of school reading, which they have carried with them into adulthood and which alienate them from the act of reading. (SG)

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assess reading attitudes of normal adult readers (N=84) and to examine relationships among attitude and other reading-related factors. Positive reading attitude was associated with high reading comprehension test scores, higher education attainment, and high self-rating of reading ability.…

Describes the effect on remedial reading students of engaging in reading activities with trainable mentally handicapped children. Reports that the students requested additional opportunities to share reading activities with the mentally handicapped students. Notes that students developed a Big Book that described their experiences during the…