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…

This categorized 121-item annotated bibliography should prove useful to teachers in each of the content areas. The books listed are children's choices and are guaranteed to be informational and entertaining as students study math, health, science social studies, and the language arts. (RAE)

A study focusing on anxiety and its interaction with reading explored the undetermined potential of prequestions for treating high reading-related anxiety. The research sample was comprised of 151 members of the freshman nursing classes at a large southeastern university. Evaluation materials included commercial reading tests as well as questions…

Noting that early children's literature plays a major role in the development of children's attitudes, this annotated bibliography lists early children's literature which contains positive portrayals of older adults. The books selected portray aging as a natural and lifelong process of growing and developing; present similarities between young and…

Intended for junior or senior high school English teachers, articles and features in this journal issue focus on young adult literature and the adolescent audience. The first article, Kevin Major's "The Truth about My Fictitious Friends," describes the genesis of the author's fiction writing for the Newfoundland audience, and is followed…