"New Baby Gifts - Books are the Answer"
by Sarah Garr >Read the entire article
"Beyond the Words, a Child's Voice"
by Patricia Gatto >Read the entire article
"Why Reading Aloud To Your Child Is Important"
"Raising Children Who Love to Read"
Children's Attitudes Toward Reading and Their Literacy Development (Journal of Instructional Psychology, June 2000, by Yuxiang Wang)
Children's attitudes toward reading are getting little attention in developing children's literacy ability. This article analyzes the factors that influence children's positive attitudes toward reading: children's personal experiences in reading, children's confidence in reading, parents' attitudes toward reading, and teachers' ways of teaching reading. Suggestions are provided about how to cultivate children's positive attitudes toward reading. To read the entire article, click here.
Factors that influence the decision to read: an investigation of fifth grade students' out-of-school reading habits (Reading Improvement, Fall 2000, by Sharon S. McKool)
According to recent research, there is a strong relationship between the amount of out-of-school reading a student engages in and his or her success in school in reading. This relationship reveals the importance of investigating why so few children choose to read outside-of-school. The purpose of this study was to investigate why some children choose to read out-of-school and others do not, focusing not only on factors that contribute to intermediate grade students' decisions to read, but also on the students' perspectives about these factors. To read the entire article, click here.
Enhancing the attitudes of children toward reading: implications for teachers and principals (Reading Improvement, Spring 2002, by Jerry E. Garrett)
Affective and cognitive factors impacting reading attitudes are presented for teachers and principals, specific elements affecting reading attitude and consequent reading performance are delineated. Both negative and positive experiences impacting childrens' resultant feelings toward the reading act are discussed. To read the entire article, click here.
Using Picture Books To Support Young Children's Literacy (Childhood Education, Summer 2007, by Janis Strasser and Holly Seplocha)
Five-year-old Levi is listening to his teacher read Why Epossumondas Has No Hair on His Tail (Salley, 2004). This richly woven and engaging tale includes several unfamiliar words, like "lollygagging," "skedaddle," and "persimmon." It also contains phrases that Levi has never heard before, including "my sweet little pattootie" and "no sirree." The authors use this example to show the multiple ways in which a picture book can support literacy in the classroom. Literacy skills can be embedded when using an engaging children's picture book, as in the example above, instead of focusing on skills in isolation (as in "letter of the week" types of activities). To read the entire article, click here.