Although scholars have long advocated the use of informational texts in the primary grades, gaps and inconsistencies in research have produced conflicting reports on how teachers used these texts in the primary curriculum, and how primary students dealt with them during instruction and on their own (e.g., Saul & Dieckman, 2005). Thus, to add…

Book displays have always been an important part of the library field. However, despite all the time and effort, children do not read them. In this article, the author stresses the need to stop promoting reading. Instead, she encourages library media specialists to help children find reading material they will be eager to read.

The shortage of skills in the academic sector is a reality. This has led to the excessive work overload for the few academic staff available, leaving them less time to pursue further training and develop their carrier. Furthermore, the excessive work overload means academic staff have less time to learn and use educational technologies that could…

Disturbed by a proliferation of quick-fix literacy strategies to "help the boys" increase achievement levels in the midst of a policy shift that acknowledges gay, lesbian, bi and transgender, questioning (GLBTQ) youth, the author examines how masculinities are connected to literacy practices and negotiated through a safe school policy.…

Audiobooks are excellent tools to help students build literacy skills as well as improve listening, writing, and vocabulary competencies. In many shared or independent reading situations, audiobooks offer support to reluctant and struggling readers, special-needs students, and English-language learners. They are also embraced by voracious readers.…

There are many readability tools that instructors can use to help adult learners select reading materials. We describe and compare different types of readability tools: formulas calculated by hand, tools found on the Web, tools embedded in a word processing program, and readability tools found in a commercial software program. Practitioners do not…

In a language curriculum, the training of reading ability is one of the most important aspects. Previous studies have shown the importance of assigning proper articles to individual students for training their reading ability; nevertheless, previous experience has also shown the challenges of this issue owing to the complexity of personal factors…

This article describes a pilot study conducted with 10 identified avid adolescent readers who completed the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile (AMRP) (Pitcher, Albright, DeLaney, Walker, Seunarienesingh, & Moggie, 2007) that includes both a survey to determine students' self-concept and value of reading and an interview that sheds light on what…

Research suggests that exposure to books and other resources about people who look like them, and stories that reflect their world, may contribute to an infant and toddler of color's developing appreciation of self. The purpose of this study was to examine children's board books published between 2003 and 2008 to determine the representation of…

The early reading process can be viewed as triadic, encompassing the child, the parents and the environment. We examine the impact of each of these three components on children's participation in home reading activities as perceived by their parents. The results obtained from a questionnaire completed by parents of Grade 1 children, with and…

What makes an outstanding book for a young reader? Although it would be hard to create a rubric for every book, experienced teachers recognize them quickly. They fascinate and captivate with both their content and style. Award-winning trade books inspire young readers to want more... more information, more books, more inquiry, more science. The…

Character education has been part of the educational and societal landscape for millennia. Through consensus, school communities teach and model traits that influence the character and moral development of children. Children learn character traits from others--both good and bad--whether that is intended or not. To avoid leaving character education…

Today's classrooms have no real walls! Students explore the world on field trips, during virtual journeys on the world wide web, and through the books they read. These pathways help them fly to the ends of the universe to satisfy their scientific curiosity. Again this year, the professionals of the NSTA/CBC Review Panel for Outstanding Science…

Providing practical guidance and resources, this book helps teachers harness the power of children's literature for developing ELLs' literacy skills and language proficiency. The authors show how carefully selected fiction, nonfiction, and poetry can support students' learning across the curriculum. Criteria and guiding questions are presented for…

In this article, the author states that as educators and politicians across the country continue to scratch their heads in dismay at how male secondary students seem to be lagging behind in reading, it is useful to look beyond all of the genetic, physiological, and even sociological theories so often proffered by breathless experts. Anyone who…