Adolescence is a critical time period when it comes to fostering lifelong interest and practices in reading, yet a decreasing number of middle school students are performing at Proficient and Advanced levels in reading. The purpose of this study was to examine whether providing middle school students with an increased level of choice in their…

The effectiveness of incorporating independent reading practice in schools has long been a subject of uncertainty. To shed light on this ongoing debate, this meta-analysis seeks to investigate the impact of in-school independent reading on three crucial measures--attitudes toward reading, word recognition, and comprehension--focusing on K-10…

Background: In many educational systems internationally, promoting reading for pleasure (RfP) is embedded within curricula and practice. Primary school teachers regularly and routinely engage in activities designed to encourage and sustain children's reading enjoyment. However, what are children's perspectives and experiences of these different…

Purpose: To become good at anything we need to practice. However, in the classroom context, much of the reading time is devoted to instruction rather than practice. Reading practice should be daily. Text choice, motivation and reading for pleasure all interact to support implicit learning. Design/methodology/approach: Review and synthesise the…

Enjoyment of reading books is related to reading proficiency, and fostering students' enjoyment of reading is imperative to support continued reading engagement. However, not all students understand that reading is important, and not all students are regularly engaged in recreational reading. Children typically read for pleasure less often as they…

This article provides an analysis of how a large, diverse Title I class of 1st-grade students spent independent reading time when an exemplary teacher provided instructional supports to foster engaged independent reading. The data derived from observational checklists that documented students' literacy-related, off-task, and transition behaviors;…

Many of us are plagued by negative memories of sustained silent reading. In some of these memories, we are the students, attempting to read a book that didn't hold our interest or trying to read over the din of our disengaged classmates. In other memories, we are the teachers, suffering through a ten-minute classroom management nightmare, deciding…

This article draws on a study which was designed to extend understanding of habitual and committed adolescent readers. The study brought together four theoretical perspectives -- the social, cultural, spatial and historical -- as a way of re-imagining the field of reading. The historical perspective is the one foregrounded here, offering views of…

This study examined the influence of classroom pedagogic reading practices and out-of-school practices in explaining why the reading attainment of Hong Kong Grade 4 students was superior to that of their counterparts in Taiwan in the 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. Analyses of scores from 9,301 students (4,712 from Hong Kong…

Reluctant and struggling readers, many of whom are boys, are placed in reading intervention classes; however, often the environmental conditions of these intervention classrooms are not conducive for fostering a student's love for reading. This article describes Cambourne's optimal conditions for literacy learning and the results from implementing…

The authors provide teachers with a rationale for engaging students in independent reading using a differentiated approach. By profiling types of readers, sharing observational tools, and offering teaching suggestions for each type of reader the authors give practical suggestions to facilitate reading engagement and make independent reading more…

In this study, we used a randomized design to investigate the effects of an enriched reading program on 226 urban elementary students' (third through sixth grade) reading comprehension, oral reading fluency, and attitude toward reading in 2 elementary schools. The Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading Framework (SEM-R) provides enriched reading…

A balanced approach to reading instruction favors cultivating reading as a strategic activity that requires intentionality, interest, and motivation on the part of the learner. Includes references. (MD)

Reading as a pastime is basic to creativity and intellectual mind expansion as well as to the appropriate development of listening skills. Reasons for the decline of listening and communication skills can be attributed in part to misuse of media, to latch-key children, to decreased support from parents for reading at home, to lack of sufficient…

Outlines several ways to teach children to want to read, including surrounding them with books, becoming a role model, reading aloud to students, providing time for pleasure reading, and reading during reading time. (SR)