For this study of specific values that adult readers derive from their reading, 100 people from eastern central Illinois were interviewed about their reading experiences. All persons selected for interview were identified as having a continuing interest in reading, reflected in regular voluntary reading. The interviews were analyzed for…

The purpose of this project, begun in July 1970, was to learn what American adults read, and what they are able to read, as they go about their ordinary activities in the course of a normal day. A national survey of the reading activities of adults was administered to 5,096 individuals. Some conclusions drawn from the survey data are as follows:…

This bulletin presents four papers on how to control, manipulate, and predict the readability of printed materials. The first paper describes trends in readability brought about by research tools developed by psychologists and linguists. The second paper explores the effects of word frequency in printed materials on comprehension and concludes…

The sender of communication strives to deliver information in depth; receivers of that communication favor more, and shorter, bits of information. In this study, the coefficient of balance between depth and scope was correlated with measures of the popularity of a group of magazines published in Austin, Texas. A regression formula was used to…

This briefly annotated bibliography is designed to accommodate intermediate grade students' interests in the American Revolution. Books were included based on the following criteria: (1) appealing content (action, humor, in-depth accounts); (2) authenticated information; and (3) good literary style (vivid, realistic dialog and language). Of the 30…

The purpose of this study was to examine the reading interests and related activities of ninth grade students from two different economic environments. The subjects were 170 ninth grade students enrolled in two high schools of DeKalb County, Georgia. Students completed a questionnaire devised to collect data concerning parental occupations,…

This study investigated the relationship between a reader's attitude toward his instructional climate and his diversity of reading interests. The sample for the study consisted of three classes of fourth grade students chosen from a randomly selected elementary school in Greenwich, Connecticut. All subjects were administered (1) the Affective…

This booklist is intended for elementary school science students with high interest and low vocabulary skills. The Spache Readability Scale, Dale-Chall formula, sentence structure, paragraph flow, illustration, and diagram analysis or publishers stated grade level were used to determine grade level designations. The included interest level varies…

The effects on readers of direct quotations versus paraphrases, and reader comprehension of material from direct quotations versus paraphrases were examined in this experiment. Four reasonably short and clear stories--two speech stories and two interview stories--were selected from metropolitan daily newspapers. Two versions of each story were set…

Classroom interaction, both student-teacher and student-student, provides a stimulating atmosphere for literature and creative writing discussions. Various recent research studies support the thesis that literature is an important influence on children's creative writing. Thus, teacher directed discussions require special skills involving not only…

To determine what happens to a student's reading interests in an open classroom setting, three studies were conducted into the expressed reading interests of 1,078 first and second grade children in twelve public schools located in the urban and suburban areas of New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles. The children were interviewed individually and…

The purpose of this study was to survey and analyze Rose Park, a residential area in the north-west part of Salt Lake City. A questionnaire was used to solicit information. The questions were formed through analysis of other surveys by means of an extensive literature search. Questionnaires were distributed randomly to 215 families and were…

The purpose of this study was to develop the "Like to Read" program, to determine if this program promoted significant positive changes in sixth-grade students' attitudes toward reading, and to determine if it resulted in a significant gain in reading achievement. Nine sixth-grade classes in the public schools of upper East Tennessee were divided…

This bibliography is the second edition of a guide intended to serve adults in selecting books for children of preschool age through the eighth grade. Each of the more than 2400 titles is annotated, with each annotation including descriptions of the main characters, setting, plot, style, factual content, illustrations, suggested age level,…

A review of research in the three areas of response to literature, reading interests, and the teaching of literature is presented. Each category of study is discussed in a separate chapter, with a bibliography included at the end of the chapter. In evaluating each study, the authors focus on the question with which it deals and its conceptual…