Shared book reading in families is strongly linked with successful school literacy and thus with identity, belonging and participation in literate societies. From an "emergent" perspective, literacy is recognised as beginning from birth. However, despite exceptions such as research into the UK program, "Bookstart", most…

Children often become deeply immersed in stories. Just as often, however, they may resist reading, or reading certain types of texts. The authors present a typology of six ways in which young children resist stories. Though educators may be inclined to view such opposition as a roadblock to understanding, children's resistance may be the occasion…

In today's educational climate, many teachers find themselves in situations where they have little say in the overarching decisions that influence their teaching lives. Still, there are daily decisions that teachers can make to benefit students, and by uniting their decision-making efforts, teachers can make a difference. The author of this column…

"An Ethics Curriculum for Children," a read-aloud literature-based curriculum, aims to teach elementary school students seven universal attributes of good character. Lessons and home assignments are organized around multicultural stories. The program activities are designed to connect the experiences of characters in the stories to…

This study examined whether distractor choices functioned differently for students without learning disabilities than they functioned for students with learning disabilities who received no accommodation, students with learning disabilities who received a read-aloud accommodation, and students with learning disabilities who received some form of…

The risk of tobacco use during adolescence may be traced back to early childhood, the time when a child is most vulnerable to environmental influence. We examined daily-life enrichment during pre-kindergarten period as a predictor of initiation of cigarette smoking among Asian American and Hispanic/Latino children during adolescence. Survey data…

Labeling literary or artistic periods is always tricky, and labeling an emerging period (such as this post-postmodern one) is, of course, impossible. Harold Bloom has labeled this period the "chaotic age" because of the canon wars that have raged among factions. One writer with a place in any canon and who is an anodyne to the chaos of…

A study determined if reading aloud to fourth-grade students would have a positive effect on their attitudes toward reading, and if there would be a difference between the attitudes of boys and girls. In Jersey City, New Jersey, 28 fourth-grade students were read aloud to on a daily basis for 15 minutes over 14 weeks. A pretest and posttest were…

One of education's most important goals should be to promote the lifetime love of reading. However, the standards initiative, the debate about creating a national curriculum, and the bashing of whole language efforts are among the high visibility trends that are causing teachers and administrators to focus on phonics, spelling, vocabulary, and…

Information on children's activities in the home with other family members was collected in the 1991 National Household Education Survey. The premise of the survey was that readiness for school may be affected by experiences that children bring with them to the classroom. Data were collected by telephone from the parents and guardians of 13,892…

This short guide, intended for parents, offers 10 suggestions from "Becoming a Nation of Readers," the Report of the National Commission on Reading, along with specific ideas to help children become better readers: (1) help children acquire a wide range of knowledge; (2) talk with children about their experiences; (3) encourage children…

To increase the reading level of students who come from homes where reading is not valued or modeled, a social context was created where inexperienced readers could interact with adults and books. Three students from homes where reading was not valued were read to by adults two to three times each day for six weeks. Discussion of the book was…

A study investigated what pregnant women and mothers of infants do to develop language and promote a love of reading in their children during the early stages of life. Two surveys were used, the first completed by 15 pregnant women, and the second completed by 15 women with infant children. Results indicated that: (1) the majority of pregnant…

The central purpose of storytelling in the classroom is for enjoyment, both on the part of the storyteller and the audience. On the other hand, especially when time is allotted for storytelling during reading instruction periods, teachers can integrate the art of storytelling with practical competence building activities. For example, the tale of…

Part of a series designed to provide practical ideas parents can use to help children become readers, this booklet focuses on how to encourage young children to write. The booklet describes the kinds of writing that children do, offers suggestions on how to encourage children to experiment with spelling, and urges parents not to be overly…