A descriptive study determined whether reading aloud to young children promoted literacy and enhanced their desire to read. Subjects, 20 second-grade children (aged 6 to 7 years) in Avenel, New Jersey, were exposed to read-aloud sessions on a daily basis for a 6-week period. During each week, a specific genre of books was read aloud daily. At the…

This handbook contains the evaluation strategy and the instructional strategy components of the Evaluating Students' Learning and Communication Processes program. The program described in the handbook is based on the principle that secondary school students' achievement is related to the extent to which students have independent control over…

For each student to achieve optimally, a quality reading program must provide for individual differences. To guide students to learn as much as possible individually, selected philosophies of reading instruction may be used. These include: (1) experimentalism with its stress placed upon students reading to solve problems; (2) measurably stated…

Using a conceptualization of good thinking that is general and has application in all fields of study as the basis for a conceptualization of good reading, this booklet presents a case for the use of a critical thinking framework to define the domain of reading objectives, skills, or questions. The booklet's first section, "A New Framework…

Since 1987, the school district of West Allis-West Milwaukee (Wisconsin) has reviewed and revised its elementary reading program based on the philosophy that spoken, read, and written language must flow naturally from the child, be used in meaningful ways to communicate real needs, and involve tradebooks. Numerous inservice presentations and…

Directed towards kindergarten and primary school teachers, this manual outlines strategies that will lead new teachers to a deeper understanding of the skills required of them in story-time and provides experienced teachers with a source of continuing reference. The manual will also serve teachers' needs for story reading and story telling with…

A study examined 20 New Jersey daily newspapers to assess the impact of readability on circulation. It was hypothesized that the circulation of a newspaper would be inversely related to the readability level of its contents; that is to say, as reading material becomes harder to read, fewer people will read it. News pieces (divided into hard news,…

One aspect of the student personnel field which has not been researched is a list of the basic books in the fields related to the profession with which professionals-in-training should be familiar. This study sought to identify those books by surveying Chief Student Affairs Officers (CSAO) (N=45) and heads (N=58) of student personnel preparation…

To assist elementary teachers committed to integrating women's studies into social studies, criteria which should be met by juvenile biographies of women are discussed and illustrations from biographies are provided. Examples of what to consider when selecting biographies follow. In a sexist biography, heroines portray sexist attitudes, beliefs,…

Intended to provide rationales for the use of a group of controversial books in American public schools, this manual explains the educational values of 33 of the most frequently challenged books. Detailed rationales include such information as historical perspective, literary elements, pertinence, and thematic content. Some of the titles include…

Designed for the special needs of students reading below grade level at Juan Seguin Elementary School (Texas), this pamphlet presents an overview of the High Expectations reading program. The pamphlet identifies whole group instruction as the primary instructional method, although small group instruction is delivered when necessary. An effective…

With the rise in popularity of teen romantic fiction, many teachers wonder about the nature of such books and whether they should be used in the reading program. Most of the teen romantic fiction is written to a well-defined formula, based on guidelines from the publishers and on high-interest low-vocabulary literature. Characteristics with the…

Intended for use by librarians, teachers, parents, and community workers as a guide to good children's literature, this annotated bibliography contains more than 1,000 entries. Each entry provides author and title, publisher, date of publication, price, International Standard Book Number (ISBN), and appropriate age levels. The entries are arranged…

Bibliotherapy can change children's attitudes toward reading and can help children solve the developmental problems they face. Research suggests that there is a significant correlation between self-concept and reading achievement. The middle school teacher must be aware of the correlation and use a variety of materials and techniques to develop…

This document consists of two bibliographies and background material on a symposium conducted by a special interest group of the International Reading Association which provides a forum for librarians and reading teachers to share professional concerns. The document includes a discussion of the formation of the special interest group and the…