This booklet describes the daily newspaper--how it works and why it is a vital part of society, explains some of the choices the newspaper offers its readers, discusses some of the ways it gets people to read certain stories, and explores the definitions of what makes up the news. The news, as it is presented in the newspaper, is broken down for…

The purpose of the project outlined in this booklet is to enable upper elementary students to become familiar with the various departments of "The New York Times," to cope with headlines and lead paragraphs, and to develop a genuine interest in an adult newspaper. A general outline of the project by the teacher is provided, followed by…

This book is designed to introduce high school journalism students and their advisors to the field of public opinion polling, and provide enough basic information to enable student journalists to conduct accurate opinion polls in their schools. "Why Measure Public Opinion?" defines public opinion and provides a rationale for measuring it.…

The effectiveness of individual adult-child conferences in increasing the independent reading of elementary school children was investigated. During an 8-week baseline period, data on the number and difficulty level of books read by students in grades 2, 4, and 6 were gathered. Subjects in the upper one-third of reading-value scores (difficulty…

Two purposes underlay this study--to determine the relationship between closed-mindedness and reading comprehension, and to test a particular rationale for the teaching of literature. Serving as background material were research findings in three areas: (1) dogmatism, tests of dogmatism, the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, and education-oriented research…

The implementation of individual adult-child conferences to increase independent reading is described. Implementation procedures evolved from research experience with elementary school children over a 3-year period. The results of three studies involving two inner-city elementary schools are briefly summarized, indicating the value of…

Volunteer reading aides in the District of Columbia became aware of certain inadequacies suffered by the children with whom they worked. The children had no books of their own, school libraries were inadequate and sometimes nonexistent, public libraries were not easily accessible to the children, etc., etc. A proposal made by one of the…

This bibliography of children's books with black characters is annotated so that the reader may decide which books would be of interest to him or to her. The bibliography attempts to record as complete a listing as possible due to the reported paucity of literature in this area. In this listing of 328 books many portray biracial friendships. Each…

A sample of fifteen short stories, taken from the universe of short stories in ten hard-cover literature anthologies, was investigated to determine which characteristics of fiction would be most appealing to a panel of ninth grade student judges. The responses of seventeen ninth grade student judges were recorded on fourteen rating scales…

This study investigated the significance of differences in percentages of reading and televiewing interests between seventh-grade male and female students within socioeconomic status (SES) levels by interest categories and among SES levels for male and female students by interest categories. SES levels of the students were determined and students…

The purpose of this brochure is to assist parents of young children to recognize opportunities in everyday life to help their young children to become good readers and to suggest ways in which parents can take advantage of these opportunities. It is recommended that, first of all, parents should develop a reading habit in themselves and fill the…

This is the ninth report describing notable reading projects funded under Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Projects combining Title II reading projects with a give-away book program in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey are described. Although Title II funds cannot be used to provide books to…

This three-phased program was aimed at strengthening reading instruction in teacher education courses. Included were a) a teaching laboratory coordinated with in-service instruction by teachers of college methods courses, b) a year-long reading workshop to prepare area teachers in specialized reading instruction, and c) a reading improvement…

Investigation into the book buying, reading and borrowing habits is in many countries still in its infancy. Furthermore it is not yet possible to link up scientifically the socio-economic factors and market behavior. However it is justifiable to take the following principles: (1) the standard of economic development of a country determines the…

An elementary school reading-interest project was designed to overcome summer learning loss and to foster an interest in independent reading. The major strategy, "The Reading Interest Passport," consisted of nine independent reading contracts leading to "badges." This approach was selected after consideration of cost, coordination with ongoing…