A study investigated the attitudes toward reading of third-grade students involved in a whole language program. The sample consisted of 71 students--48 students participated in the study group, and a control group consisted of 23 students. The independent variables were participation status, gender, socioeconomic status, race, qualification for…

A study examined how many of 11 key words in 4 famous Mother Goose nursery rhymes were understood by parents of first graders. The first questionnaire (designed to determine if context clues were helpful in deciphering what words meant) was returned by 37 parents in an urban school district and by 49 parents in a suburban school district. The…

This report discusses a program to increase student self-esteem in order to improve student reading achievement. The targeted population consisted of students in grades first, second, and third. The study took place in the northwestern suburbs of a large metropolitan area in Illinois. The problems of low self-esteem and low reading achievement…

A study determined if the Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) method would raise levels of critical thinking in students. Subjects, 20 third-grade students, used the DR-TA for 30 minutes each day for a period of approximately 8 weeks. Subjects were pre- and posttested using the Thinking Skills Assessment and the Reading Attitude Inventory.…

Reading is an important activity for all children to be able to do regardless of ability. Many children in classrooms around the country struggle with reading and need some extra support and attention. Determining student attitudes can help the teacher to provide the necessary services to those that need help to improve their reading. Students in…

A study examined whether first-grade children comprehended less-familiar vocabulary from four "Mother Goose" nursery rhymes and whether the children used auditory context clues and/or visual illustrations to comprehend unknown vocabulary in the nursery rhymes. Subjects, 40 children from suburban areas and 40 children from urban areas,…

A study determined whether reading aloud to children before entering school would influence their reading grade level as determined by their report card grade. Subjects, 85 first-grade children in a suburban school district in central New Jersey, took surveys home to be completed by parents. Results indicated that: (1) those children who were read…

A study compared and contrasted various early intervention reading programs, examining 12 early intervention programs in 10 school districts within 60 miles of the Denver metropolitan area. Programs selected were considered to be district-wide, had been in place for at least a year, had coordinators who agreed to be interviewed, were designed for…

This study investigated the effects of story mapping on reading comprehension. Subjects, 20 second-grade students of below-average reading achievement, were presented over a 10-week period with activities in story mapping utilizing a variety of story map frames. The Metropolitan Achievement Test was administered as a pre- and posttest. Results…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a parent workshop on reading strategies would increase students' use of reading strategies and improve both parent's and child's attitudes toward reading at home. Fourteen parents from an affluent suburban first grade attended. The parents represented students from below average to above average…

To investigate the effects on students' reading attitudes and interests of sustained silent reading as opposed to reading aloud, a study divided 50 urban third graders into two groups, with 25 in each group. One group of students engaged in an 8-week period of sustained silent reading which was teacher directed before and after the reading…

Reviews literature on different aspects of reading readiness, then presents a reading readiness material analysis inventory constructed according to the findings of the review. Explains how the instrument can be used by educators to compare readiness program materials. (FL)

A study compared two groups of children in an urban elementary school who were unready for second grade at the conclusion of first grade. A group of 15 students was retained in first grade while another group of 45 students was promoted to second grade. The California Achievement Test was used to measure the reading ability of both groups at the…

A study examined strategies for embedding literacy skills within a whole language program. A questionnaire was given to full-time whole language elementary school teachers who taught in kindergarten through second-grade classrooms. All the participants teach in suburban school districts in the Bay Area including San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, and…

A descriptive study examined whether reading aloud to children regularly beginning at infancy would have an effect on their future disposition to reading. Subjects, 487 kindergarten through third grade students in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, were given a questionnaire to be completed by the parents. Ninety-seven questionnaires representing 116…