This companion volume to "Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension," which covered lower grades, completes the educational arc by focusing on adolescent readers in grades 6-12. Drawing on the most current standards from the American Association for School Librarians (AASL) as well as cutting-edge research, this straightforward…

Story structure is how humans think. If school librarians help students master the elements that define this story structure, then students can be assisted in efficiently and effectively mastering both reading comprehension and all forms of writing. Without exception and without equivocation, research studies conducted over the past quarter…

A short newspaper or magazine article can be used by teachers and librarians to boost students' reading comprehension, increase background knowledge, and enhance vocabulary skills. This method can be a powerful bridge to reading longer articles and eventually lead to reading entire books. This article presents a few types of articles for…

The new "AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" offer significant potential for helping library media specialists tailor instruction to student needs. These standards are precise and clear, and they align themselves to reading strategies as well as language arts and content area standards. The new standards will also help strengthen lesson…

The Position Statement on the School Library Media Specialist's Role in Reading, adopted by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Board in February 2009, is a guide to help practitioners build library programs that support every learner's development in reading. As part of the Learning4Life (L4L) plan to implement the Standards for…

In 1999, the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the United States Department of Education charged the RAND Reading Study Group (RRSG) with developing a research agenda to address pressing literacy issues. Published in 2002 after much investigation, the RRSG concluded that evidence-based practices in the teaching of reading…

This annotated bibliography of works on semantic mapping includes texts, which instruct in the use of mapping, and articles that provide examples of its use in curriculum planning, reading comprehension, and vocabulary/concept development. (CLB)

Discusses the ways in which poetry can be used to highlight literary aspects of children's books, such as characterization, locale, mood and archetypes. Suggestions are offered for the selection and use of poetry by teachers and librarians. (23 references) (CLB)

Most people associate read-alouds with bright-eyed preschoolers and elementary school kids--not with struggling at-risk teens. But read-alouds are fun for students of all ages. And studies by education researchers such as Stephen Krashen, Jim Trelease, and Janet Allen have shown that reading to kids boosts their reading comprehension, increases…

This column provides background related to several "hot" reading topics currently taking place in schools across America as educators strive to produce lifelong readers who enjoy reading, read for a variety of purposes, and make meaning from the texts they read. Information for further reading on the topics explored also are shared. Such topics…

Keeping a good balance in the classroom and in the library media center is no easy task. It is an on-going process that will continually involve reflective thinking, research, professional reading, networking among other professionals, and collaboration among teachers and fellow library media specialists. In this article, the author discusses what…

Two studies focused on children's reading but employed very different procedures and techniques. The first study examined the link between the levels of children's reading comprehension and the quantity of reading they did. Subjects, 198 children chosen at random from years 5, 6, and 7 of a single elementary school in Adelaide, Australia,…

Summarizes recent research in reading and developmental psychology. Studies on schema theory and metacognition, and cognitive styles are described, and their implications for school library media programs and teaching critical thinking are discussed. (EM)

Intended to provide children with pleasurable reading experiences by letting them feel successful in their early reading attempts, the program described in this booklet employs reading comprehension techniques that have been found effective and focuses on helping to prevent comprehension problems before they arise. The program was designed to be…

Reviews research on the relationship between children's television viewing and their school achievement and describes learning activities related to television that are designed to teach vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension; promote independent reading; and encourage students to become more critical viewers. (Author/EM)