When a fourth-grade student, Jenny, was asked about reading, she stated: "I love to read, you get real neat ideas. I really like books about animals and biographies. I'm writing my autobiography now. Oh, I also really like Judy Blume books. " Her enthusiasm for reading is evident as she tells you about the Judy Blume book she just read, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970). Jenny reads almost every night at home. Jenny's classmate through 4 years of elementary school, Anna. responds, when asked about reading: "I hate to read; it's boring. " Anna says she never reads at home. She says she'd rather watch television or play with friends. Anna would even rather clean her room than read. She explains, "I'd rather clean my room because it makes the room look neat. Reading makes my head hurt because it's so boring and no fun. " Jenny and Anna attended a large neighborhood elementary school in Austin, Texas. The school is located in a lower socioeconomic status (SES) area of small houses, duplexes, mld apartments. About 45% of the children at the school are Hispanic, 35% are African-American, and 20% are Anglo. The school consistently ranks mnong the lowest schools in the district on standardized reading achievement tests. Upon entering first grade, neither Jenny nor Anna could read the words that were to appear in their first preprimer reader.

 

 

There are 144 pages in this book. This book was published in 1993 by Springer-Verlag New York Inc. .

Francine Johnston, EdD, is Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she teaches courses in reading, language arts, and children's literature. Tutoring is a key part of her curriculum, as she believes that there is no better way to help preservice teachers learn how to teach beginning readers. Marcia Invernizzi, PhD, is Associate Professor of Reading Education at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, where she also serves as Clinical Director of the McGuffey Reading Center. With Connie Juel, she cofounded the Book Buddies community volunteer tutorial program, which has served over 700 children since 1992. Dr. Invernizzi's research on the effectiveness of Book Buddies has been published in The Reading Teacher and Scientific Studies of Reading. Connie Juel, PhD, is at Stanford University. She is codirector of the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement and a former Associate Editor of Reading Research Quarterly. Cofounder with Marcia Invernizzi of the Book Buddies tutorial program, Dr. Juel has published numerous research articles, chapters, and books on literacy acquisition.