The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of school library access on student reading comprehension as measured by the Easy CBM universal screener test. The population consisted of 5th and 6th grade students enrolled in one intermediate school in an urban school system in East Tennessee. Data were analyzed for the population of the…

This article is about what the future of reading looks like. Currently many districts across the country--including New York City--are adopting research-based methods called the science of reading that focus on mechanics. Leanne Ellis surmises the future of reading holds great promise if school librarians can promote, showcase, and advocate for a…

Introduction: This study examines the impact of the availability of reading resources in the school, the classroom, the home and the social environment on the reading proficiency of Grade Four primary school students in Hong Kong. Method: Data about the reading performance of Hong Kong students in the 2011 Progress in International Reading…

Research continues to demonstrate that motivated readers read more, yet too often students are not exposed to genres that might motivate them to continue reading. Further, students might not be encouraged to read outside their preferred reading genre. When students are unmotivated to read, they often do not read or do not finish the books they…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has created additional opportunities for school librarians to collaborate with classroom teachers, reading specialists, and other educators in support of schools' literacy goals. This potential for expanded collaboration suggests a need for increased focus on reading instruction as part of the school…

A study was conducted to determine the impact of the use of audiobooks with struggling readers in a school library audiobook club. The participants met weekly in the school library with the school librarian and researchers to discuss audiobooks and make reading recommendations to their peers. Standardized test data as well as pre- and post-study…

We compared students from schools with an enriched school library--that is, one with a larger and more up-to-date book collection--with students from schools with a typical school library. We tested effects of an enriched school library on reading motivation, reading frequency, and academic skills. Fourth- and fifth-grade students of 14 schools…

Reading RACES--Relevant and Culturally Engaging Stories (RR) is a repeated reading intervention using culturally relevant literature that is delivered through computer software. This study extends previous research with RR intended to further evaluate the effects of RR on the fluency and comprehension growth of second-grade students with reading…

Summer drift, otherwise known as loss of reading comprehension skills or reading achievement, has been a well-known and well-documented phenomenon of public education for decades. Studies from the late twentieth century to the present have demonstrated a slowdown in summer drift attributed to specific summer reading programs addressing motivation…

Top Chef is one of America's top food television shows. In one episode, lead judge Tom Colicchio, chef and restaurant owner, chides a contestant for hurriedly slicing a piece of meat as soon as it had emerged from the oven. The meat was fully cooked, but the competitor had not "let it rest," or let it steep in its own juices outside the oven for…

Today school library media specialists operate in an environment of daily challenges and controversies. "No Child Left Behind" established mandates that all educators are scrambling to meet. No matter how people feel about the way the legislation is being carried out, it is difficult to argue against its purpose--that all educators must…

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…

Students are taught how to read at a very young age, but how well do the students understand what they are reading? Students are taught how to read the words on the paper, but do they comprehend what the words mean when used together? What can educators do to help students think critically and really understand what is being taught? Teachers and…

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…

This paper reports an exploratory investigation of the information-literacy levels of primary 5 students in Hong Kong. Factors such as gender and reading ability were also examined. Primary 5 students from four local schools completed a fourteen-item information-literacy assessment (ILA), which was adopted and modified from questions on the…