A practicum was designed for parents to acquire the understanding, skills, resources, materials, and wherewithal to support the emergent literacy development of their young (preschool) children. A "Home-School Library" was established for students to have developmentally appropriate books available for parents to read to their children at home…

Using the Paired Reading Method, this training package provides instruction for school-aged children and adults in Canada, and combines a prescribed technique for reading practice with positive feedback, discussion, and student control of learning. The training package contains: (1) a videotape which provides detailed demonstrations of the Paired…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a paired reading program had a significant effect on first grader's reading achievement. Fifteen students in the experimental treatment were randomly paired to read stories. The study took place over a period of 10 weeks in a small suburban school district. Fifteen other students in the control…

A study examined decisions made by parents reading aloud to their first-grade children regarding why they do or do not read aloud, the materials they select and the selection process, and what they do while reading aloud. Subjects, 342 parents of first graders in a suburban elementary school district, were surveyed, with responses received from…

A practicum was designed to encourage 60 at-risk young children in a Chapter 1 reading program at a rural primary school to read for pleasure so that they would eventually increase literacy development. The parents, teachers, and volunteer readers would increase the amount of time spent reading aloud to the children in the Chapter 1 reading…

A descriptive study determined whether reading aloud to young children promoted literacy and enhanced their desire to read. Subjects, 20 second-grade children (aged 6 to 7 years) in Avenel, New Jersey, were exposed to read-aloud sessions on a daily basis for a 6-week period. During each week, a specific genre of books was read aloud daily. At the…

This study examined young children's spontaneous participation during classroom book reading in response to different types of books. Twenty kindergarten teachers read four books--two fiction (familiar/unfamiliar story format) and two information books (expository/narrative text). The majority of children's spontaneous participation was related to…

This brochure discusses why and when to tell stories and tales and where to find them and offers hints on how to tell them well. The brochure also describes storytelling activities that are especially fun for the whole family and others that spin off into reading and writing. (KEH)

To investigate the effects on students' reading attitudes and interests of sustained silent reading as opposed to reading aloud, a study divided 50 urban third graders into two groups, with 25 in each group. One group of students engaged in an 8-week period of sustained silent reading which was teacher directed before and after the reading…

Reading aloud to kindergarten children makes good educational sense. For this group, teachers should emphasize the aspects of reading aloud that promote a love of story listening as a bridge to future reading. To read aloud well, teachers should: (1) use stories with strong plots, vivid characters, and interesting settings; (2) select a book they…

Noting that what becomes of reluctant readers should be of great concern to a nation that advocates education and has traditionally been committed to principles of the higher order, this paper identifies the characteristics of reluctant or unmotivated readers and discusses what happens to them. Following background reflection on the limits people…

This article describes Vermont's "Connections" project, a book discussion program designed to move newly literate adults from practical literacy to "literate" literacy by engaging them in discussion of texts and ideas in the tradition of liberal education in the humanities. The article also describes the Vermont Reading…

Part of a series entitled "Traditional Literature and Folklore in Library and Storytelling Programs," this annotated bibliography was produced by graduate students in the Traditional Literature and Oral Narration class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The bibliography is designed to provide librarians and teachers with information…

Reading aloud is a rhetorical act. Its purpose is always to communicate, which is a transactional form involving the oral reader and at least one real or imaginary listener. Whenever a person reads aloud, the reader has some intent of reading to someone. In all such situations, readers interpret orally for the mood and meaning that seem…

Prepared by the State of Idaho's Right to Read program, this handbook lists suggestions to help parents discover their child's uniqueness and be her or his first teacher. The suggestions involve the provision of experiences in the community and at home, such as helping children master motor tasks through running, tossing, and clapping; listening…