Designed to help parents in their important role as their children's most powerful guide to reading and learning, this book contains directions, guidelines, and activities to build a positive environment and a relationship that promotes learning. Chapter titles are: (1) Helping Children with Reading and Learning; (2) Creating Interest and Positive…

Designed to expose young readers to a wide variety of literary genres, this annotated bibliography provides a list of over 500 recently published adolescent literature selections representative of the universal themes in literature. Selections are divided into sections of folklore, drama, poetry, non-fiction, and fiction (the most extensive). The…

Intended for those learning to become teachers, this book was written to help such students gain a full understanding of how to teach reading in elementary schools. It can also be used by experienced teachers to encourage further professional development. In order to promote the reader's interaction with the ideas of the text, activities have been…

A study was conducted to determine teacher perceptions regarding reading selection policy in their schools. A survey was mailed to a random sample of 342 elementary and middle public school teachers in Virginia during Fall 1989. A similar survey had already been conducted with public school superintendents and private school headmasters. The…

A study was conducted to determine the current trends in reading materials and methods used to teach first grade students to read in the Northern Valley Region of Bergen County, New Jersey. Twenty-one first grade teachers responded to a survey which consisted of open-ended questions asking about goals and incentives, multiple choice questions on…

A questionnaire was sent to a number of elementary and secondary school English and reading teachers in Connecticut, asking them to survey one or two different classes to determine their students' reading interests. Questions dealt with such topics as favorite type of book, favorite books, more recently read title, favorite authors, sources of…

A study investigated the presentation of values in children's books, using a scale that was developed specifically for the study. The values categories of the scale were (1) positive behavior, (2) positive feelings, (3) negative behavior, (4) negative feelings, (5) Judeo-Christian religious values, (6) other religious values, (7) traditional…

Drawn from the experiences of actual families as well as from research findings, this book is intended to show parents how storybook reading promotes language and literacy development and instills in children a love of books and reading. Each section of the book contains parent-child vignettes and photographs of families reading books together.…

The School Program Addressing Non-attendance (SPAN) is an alternative program in Morton, Illinois, East High School addressing the needs of students removed from their regular classes for excessive absenteeism. Materials and activities used in the SPAN English program are both highly motivating and general enough to benefit students when they…

To determine if purposes in reading differ with sex, grade level, and nationality, a 16-item "Functions of Reading Scale" (developed from content analysis of student essays on why they like to read) was administered to 459 Irish (Dublin, Ireland) and American (Windham, Connecticut) students in grades three, five, and eight. Data…

This booklet presents specific suggestions, based on research, to help parents encourage their children to become readers. Suggestions for reading to children include: (1) continuing to read to children once they learn to read; (2) reading to children regularly; (3) talking about what is read; (4) sharing reading; (5) starting slowly; and (6)…

Intended for those who want to encourage children to read, this book deals with children learning to read at different stages and explores four assumptions: reading is an important thing to do; reading is learned by reading; what beginning readers read makes all the difference to their view of reading; and to be successful, teaching and learning…

One hundred forty-seven students enrolled in a developmental reading program responded to a questionnaire designed to ascertain the reading attitudes and interests of middle school students. It was hypothesized that by overemphasizing basic skills instruction, schools may not be taking the necessary steps to help students develop the ability and…

Intended for use by teachers, librarians, and parents, this guide analyzes Newbery Award Medal and honor winning books (1977 through 1984) for sexism. Following a statement of criteria, established by the American Library Association concerning the type of book that should receive the medal and honor citations, and the guidelines used to determine…

This handbook is designed to be of assistance in the selection of literature, trade books, and instructional materials to meet the scholastic needs of all children, including minority children. Contents include a description of a staff development session designed to assist teachers in preparing for multicultural instructional activities and…