To promote independent reading in middle school, teachers must understand why adolescents choose to read or not read a specific book. Yet, there is limited research on the factors that students consider when evaluating books that teachers have introduced them to in class. This study aimed to describe factors that 43 Grade 7 and 8 students noted as…

Because close reading and critical analysis of multiple sources is central to social studies, understanding teachers' perspectives about productive textual engagement is imperative. This comparative study explored twelve 5th through 11th-grade social studies teachers' perspectives about supporting students' textual engagement via think-aloud…

Current standards push for elementary students to have text-based and text-centric discussions of what they read. This study explored what bilingual third-grade students talked about during small-group text-based discussions of informational texts. The author conducted a qualitative analysis of 10 video-recorded discussions, five of books matched…

Culturally relevant text selection and pedagogy support students' motivation, engagement, literacy outcomes, and positive identity formation. Nevertheless, there is limited research on teacher preparation that fosters these outcomes. We explore 17 preservice teachers' challenges and successes with culturally relevant text selection and pedagogy…

Authentic learning experiences are those in which students engage with texts as well as the behaviors of reading and writing within contexts of real-world use beyond traditional academic use. This study provides quantitative analysis of how students (n = 200) engaged with an adult pen pal in a shared literacy experience. Findings indicate that…

A growing number of television programs direct their viewers to access an Internet website for further information on a presented topic. The explicit link between television programs and companion Internet websites, both of which communicate information through multiple modes, can be considered a form of intertextuality. Do college students…

Although experts may debate the literary value of series books and bemoan readers' reluctance to move away from familiar characters and settings, the fact remains that they often draw reluctant readers to the printed word. There is no evidence that reading series books ruins the literary health or moral fiber of readers (Tunnell & Jacobs, 2008).…

This study examined children's and adolescent trade books portraying school-age characters with dyslexia. All of the books are contemporary realistic fiction, geared to elementary and adolescent readers, and published in the United States between 1993 and 2003. After an extensive search, seventy-two books were located. An analysis of the…

Everyone has a literacy component to their lives. Family literacy refers to the ways people learn and use literacy in their home and everyday lives. Many times there is a disconnect between family and school literacies. Schools do not have systematic ways of tapping into the wealth of knowledge families possess and linking that knowledge to school…

Describes aspects of bibliotherapy (the use of books to help children and adolescents cope with emotional problems): its history, what it is, its processes, techniques in administering it, implementation precautions, its limitations, and studies of bibliotherapy. (SR)

Describes a procedure called Generating Reciprocal Inferences Procedure (GRIP), which teaches inferential comprehension using direct or explicit instruction, a generative process, and reciprocal questioning. (RS)

Delineates the main functions of illustrations in relation to text in picture books. Examines the significance of illustrations to readers. Focuses on picture storybooks because they are most common among young children. Notes that illustrations in picture books are meant to delight, capture attention, amplify or tell a story, teach a concept, and…

Examines the written responses of Hispanic, African-American and Caucasian elementary students after listening to various African-American stories to see whether engagement with text is related to student's ethnicity. Finds that students were equally capable of engagement in the African-American stories regardless of their ethnicity. (RS)

Finds that although pictures do not seem to increase comprehension of the material, students prefer texts with them. Concludes that pictures provide no cognitive benefit but do have an affective impact on students, the nature of which was not determined by the research. (SRT)

The purpose of this article is to describe an action research study on the discourse patterns that seemed to best promote "developed" discussions of literature with fifth-grade struggling readers in an urban school. Developed discussions are those in which a substantial topic is maintained and the teacher-student talk included interpretations of…