Ten white and 10 African American working-class mother-toddler dyads were videotaped during joint book readings and compared. Many similarities between cultural groups were found. Differences included African American mothers who used fewer questioning behaviors; white children who produced more question-related communications; and African…

Describes activities developed by an elementary school library media center to involve students in a before-school program in meaningful activities that center around a Teachers of Tomorrow group emphasizing leadership, scholarship, service, and responsibility. Highlights include reading to primary students, writing original books, an overnight…

Discusses the diversity of academic library users and the need for community awareness planning, and describes a program developed at Bowling Green State University libraries that evolved around a celebration of National Library Week. Topics discussed include free computer searches, displays and exhibits, publicity, read-a-thons, fundraising, and…

Suggests seven reasons for parents to beware of popular commercial phonics programs designed to give their children a competitive edge in learning to read. Discusses what parents can do to promote their children's efforts to learn to read. (BB)

Discusses the many different things teachers can do with book introductions to give children better access to a new story so that they can read it fluently and independently at the first reading. (MG)

A dozen exercises designed to enhance the understanding and appreciation of literature in a second language are described, including dictation, reading, playing with intonation, choosing a cover picture, selection of significant extracts, comparative analyses, an author interview, production of a sketch or play, simulation, or planning a film…

Describes how two teachers changed daily techniques in a child care home and center to promote developmentally appropriate practice and literacy in creative ways. Areas and activities presented include reading aloud together, using books with different genres and themes, sequencing as a reading prerequisite, using experience charts and…

A first-grade teacher investigated the use of daily poetry readings to help students develop certain characteristics of skilled readers, including fluency and comprehension. Students in a class receiving poetry-reading instruction had higher comprehension scores and reading levels than students in a control class receiving basal-reader…

Explains the relevance of reading-comprehension research for classroom teachers, discussing how knowledge of the world and active engagement with ideas in the text influence comprehension and looking at how to develop both these capabilities. Four sections discuss the power of background knowledge, reading aloud and discussing literature with…

Discussion of the benefits of reading aloud focuses on reading to teens. Topics include building social relationships; teaching language skills; improving text comprehension, imaginative and creative thinking, curriculum content learning, listening and speaking skills, and motivation to read and learn; and how to include reading in school…

Describes how the author uses numerous books of biography and autobiography in her primary classroom. Demonstrates how these genres engage students in critical discussions focusing on issues of human experience, historical significance, and social concern. Offers a list of 47 recommended children's biographies and autobiographies. (SR)

Argues that students must have time to experience and respond to (not about) literature. Discusses influences that obstruct this. Outlines eight ways teachers can promote reading as an aesthetic experience, including: give students reading choices; model what it means to be a reader; read aloud to students; allow class time for independent…

Uses excerpts from children's conversations to illustrate talk that occurs in three regular contexts in which struggling readers can work: weekly visits to a day care center where they read to younger children, daily partner reading, and daily inquiry project time. Suggests ways to promote talk in each context that will empower these learners. (SR)

Evaluated the effects of a six-week interactive shared-reading intervention with 3- to 4-year olds from low-income families who attended subsidized child care. The intervention involved teacher-reading at school, parents-reading at home, both-reading, or a no-treatment control. Found that significant gains on measures of oral language and language…

Describes a young child, age two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half, as he interacts with three types of storybook media (CD-ROM, Language Experience Approach, and traditional) at home with his mother. Reveals seven distinct episodes of interaction, which were compared across storybook media experiences. Finds that the proportion of engagement in…