Middle school students should be involved in seeking and selecting reading materials that ensure the attention of the learner. A wide variety of topics for learners to select from in choosing sequential trade books is a must. Sequential books selected by the middle school student should harmonize with his/her present level of achievement in…

This book is part of a series that helps parents choose books for their children and talk with them about books in ways that actively engage children with the meaning on the printed page. The Introduction discusses children's natural development and how it affects their reading interests and behaviors. The first chapter, "Reading and Sharing…

Discusses one teacher's efforts at writing interesting books for her edung stories. Also suggests criteria for evaluating the books used with these youngsters. (VJ)

Annotates recent materials for younger, intermediate, and older readers. Includes picture books, fiction, nonfiction, paperbacks, poetry, and children's books of special interest to adults. Also annotates one film. (FL)

Describes a study in which seventh-grade students achieved higher scores on a cloze test after reading stories that contained their own names and those of people and places familiar to them. (MKM)

Reports on the author's shift from depending on popular adolescent novels to the more traditional "classics" as the reading materials for his literature classes. (RL)

Questions the value of classic literature in teaching secondary school students to read for pleasure. Suggests that a better vehicle for the same goal is young adult literature like "The Outsiders." (TB)

Takes an integrative look at the correlates of newspaper school students from Dallas, Texas. Suggests that the most important predictor of nonreadership is perception of time and effort needed to read the newspaper, with nonreaders having neither time nor interest. (MG)

Compares reading interests of 8- to 11-year-old children from the United States and England. Finds that (1) American children showed greater interest than English children in science, poetry, and biographies; (2) categories of jokes, mystery, crafts, and adventure were popular in both countries; and (3) expected sex differences between reading…

Presents a teaching technique of assessing the child's reading interest, making available a collection of books, and specifying time for recreational reading. Discusses how the teaching objectives avoid the listing of activities for students and focus on behavior to arouse children's interest. (MG)