A study examined the effectiveness of the West Heidelberg (Australia) Early Literacy Project (WHELP), which helps low income and working class parents develop the literacy skills of their 4-year-old children by, among other things, reading regularly to them. The project developed through three phases with three different methods of delivering…

The practicum reported here was designed to increase middle school students' participation in and use of the school library programs and resources. BookTalks, Read Alouds, a special service project, and three all-school programs were accomplished in this independent school setting during a three-month period. Middle school students were encouraged…

The papers included in this volume emphasize the need to connect the child and the narrative as a way to affect children's development in evaluating literature and information in all forms. Children are lively agents who create meaning as readers, viewers, and listeners. These proceedings address the myriad aspects of storytelling--practical,…

This paper examines the development, implementation, and evaluation of the LAP Reading Program. The program sought to provide low-income, inner-city kindergarten children with "lap reading" experiences (having adults read aloud to them) to increase their interest in and knowledge of books and reading. The 10-week program initially contained 25…

Dealing with the critical years from birth through kindergarten, this micromonograph answers parents' questions about when and how to prepare a child for reading. The pamphlet discusses in depth these suggestions: (1) talking and reading to the child, (2) letting the child read and write, (3) being a model of reading and writing behavior, and (4)…

A study examined young children's emergent reading abilities through analysis of their assisted storybook interactions. Twelve storybooks were read to 41 preschool children during a two-week period preceding interviews. During the interviews, each child was asked to "read" a favorite storybook aloud to a stuffed animal and to the…

To determine how bilingual children display a sense of story in an oral reading activity at home, researchers video- and audio-taped samples of four bilingual Chicano second grade chidren engaged in matched narrative tasks. While the two male and two female children read aloud storybooks in English and Spanish in the home setting, reseachers…

Intended not only for parents and teachers, but also for grandparents, siblings, and librarians, this handbook promotes reading aloud as a way to stimulate students' interest in reading and to improve their reading achievement. Following an introduction and first chapter that stress the value of reading aloud, the book's second chapter explains…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with the following topics: (1) reading and writing as a transaction process; (2) a literacy study among the Amish; (3) readers' representations of writers' aims in expository, persuasive, and ironic discourse; (4)…

A child's literary experience may be "stretched" through extension activities such as reading aloud, discussion, writing, art, music, and drama. While any planned activity can be overused and work against the intent of furthering the child's literary growth, there are many valid ways of offering the child opportunities for savoring and reflecting…

A nationwide survey was conducted among families with children enrolled in Kinder-Care Learning Centers (KCLC) to determine parental practices of reading aloud to preschool children. A total of 50 KCLCs was selected in such a way that the geographic distribution by four U.S. regions was representative of the 900 KCLC-Randomly selected centers were…

A review of the literature on read-aloud programs reveals two studies that extensively examine program content and practices and teacher procedures. The first study, conducted in 1969, compiled responses from 582 intermediate teachers of grades four, five, and six throughout the United States. The second study, conducted in 1979, surveyed 29…

The annotated materials contained in this list of children's books for 1981 have been selected for literary merit, usefulness, and enjoyment, and are intended to reflect a year's publishing in a balance between books to be enjoyed for free reading, those for reading aloud, and those recognized as valuable for individualized reading programs or as…

In order to be motivated to include reading aloud in classroom reading instruction, teachers sometimes need to be informed of the specific benefits this method provides. When children listen to stories being read aloud they become aware of story components, can recognize plot, character, and theme, and they learn that a story involves one or more…

Noting that the ways children encounter and use print in the classroom can be examined as surface and organizing content of curriculum, this article provides descriptions of innovative uses of print in the kindergarten and elementary school classroom. Curriculum "surface content" includes activities, use of classroom space, display, and…