This study documented how young children talked about story in a supportive environment. Participants were 22 kindergartners and their teacher, who engaged in extended talk about story after listening to a picture book or chapter from a novel. Data collected included transcripts of videotaped conversations during large- and small-group discussions…

This bibliography is a listing of resources which provide information about the involvement of parents and guardians in the process of the education of their children. The items listed are housed in the Library, Instructional Resources Unit, Manitoba Education and Training section of the provincial government. The bibliography is divided into two…

Many studies have found that literacy exists in low-SES (low socioeconomic status) children's daily lives--it is the meaning, frequency of use, depth, and general use of literacy at home that affect the children's progress in school. Research studies clearly show differences in home literacy development of low-SES and higher income children that…

Librarians and teachers can tap a powerful source for motivating children to read by involving parents and creating a partnership between home and school. This guide shows educators how to encourage literacy and reading by establishing a book club for parents, teachers, librarians, and students. Chapter 1 discusses directions for starting a book…

A study surveyed adults with literacy problems and evaluated the Parents-as-Partners-as-Learners project. Eighty English-speaking adults in the eastern townships of Quebec, Canada, were interviewed concerning their literacy problems. Results indicated that health and social problems were identified by the adults as the major impediment to…

A study investigated the validity of a second-language student's actual speed of delivery of a passage read aloud as an indicator of second-language fluency. The study, conducted in Hong Kong with 83 secondary school students, used the oral dialogue test in a standardized secondary school-leaving examination. The dialogues were timed and the rate…

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)…