Describes how the author uses numerous books of biography and autobiography in her primary classroom. Demonstrates how these genres engage students in critical discussions focusing on issues of human experience, historical significance, and social concern. Offers a list of 47 recommended children's biographies and autobiographies. (SR)

Presents six brief articles by six Arizona teachers offering their reflections about practices, strategies, and vision as they make changes toward a multicultural curriculum. (SR)

Provides an excellent annotated bibliography of children's trade books, fiction, poetry, and miscellaneous works about the Oregon Trail. Includes a concise overview of the hardships faced by settlers as they followed the trail during the westward expansion. A bibliography of reference sources at the end of the article also is very useful. (MJP)

Argues that the illuminating, conceptual, and contextual qualities of literature make it an excellent resource for teaching social studies concepts, especially those concerning multiculturalism. Advocates reading the books as complete works rather than piecemeal assignments. Includes suggestions for selected books and related topics. (MJP)

Evaluated in two studies the role of book rotation and number of books available in promoting book use among preschool children in day care classrooms. Found some support for book rotation in promoting voluntary book use, but teacher presence in the reading area was most strongly correlated with children's book use. (JPB)

Offers brief descriptions of 25 books, both fiction and nonfiction, that are accessible to struggling readers, provide a high-quality reading experience, and may allow them to break through their difficulties to see reading as something of value to their lives. (SR)

Presents an annotated bibliography of trade books for children in grades K-8 that emphasize human relations, sensitivity to cultural experiences, originality, high literacy quality, and a pleasing format. Explains that the books are arranged by categories and subthemes. Indicates the thematic strands of social studies curriculum standards that…

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) of silent reading fluency using the maze task has been shown to be a useful tool for evaluating students' silent reading skills. No prior research has evaluated whether the source of the maze passages has a relationship with the obtained reading scores. Prior research with CBM of oral reading fluency (ORF) has…

This study examined the opinions of more than 300 primary teachers. The first purpose of the study was to investigate the reported frequency with which teachers used various beginning reading materials (e.g., literature, basals, workbooks, predictable text, leveled text, decodable text, and vocabulary-controlled text). The second purpose of the…

Enthusiasm for and a commitment to literature are the essential tools needed to successfully promote the enriching, challenging, and thought-provoking world of books. This paper focuses on the promotion of literature inside the classroom, inside the library, and in the wider community. Programs at Methodist Ladies' College (Australia), a boarding…

This book aims to show parents how to instill the love of reading in their children and how to nurture that love throughout their lives, even in the face of television, video, and computer entertainment. The book is based on the concept of "reading pathways," developed after more than 20 years of classroom observation and interviews. It…

Not intended to be all inclusive or even representative, this manual explores a few areas of our world with books, activities and ideas. It is a very simple introduction to the idea that all over the world people are different and similar, even in our own neighborhood, and should be supplemented with other ideas to create a full multicultural…

This report describes a program for increasing levels of leisure time reading and heightened awareness of age and ability appropriate literature with an effort to encourage targeted students in grades 2, 3, and 6 to become lifelong readers. The targeted population lives in a growing rural, low to upper middle class community located in north…

A practicum was designed to motivate children to read and to read for pleasure. Since reading is considered an important part of the daily curriculum of an elementary school and spills over into every discipline taught, reading appears to be a key to success in all curriculum areas. An in-class model for delivering remedial assistance was used…

The responsibility of the reading/language arts program is to provide quality instruction, materials, and assessment practices to a diverse community of students. The responsibility of the Supervisor of Reading/Language Arts is to provide leadership toward integrating all communication skills with focus on increased student learning. There is no…