Kids and Families Reading Report
2008
The new study released on June 11 finds that 75% of kids age 5-17 agree with the statement, "No matter what I can do online, I’ll always want to read books printed on paper," and 62% of kids surveyed say they prefer to read books printed on paper rather than on a computer or a handheld device. The Kids & Family Reading Report™, a national survey of children age 5-17 and their parents, also found that kids who go online to extend the reading experience – by going to book or author websites or connecting with other readers – are more likely to read books for fun every day.
Download the PDF 2006
In 2006, Scholastic and Yankelovich conducted a survey to find out about the importance children and parents place on reading for fun, to examine the factors that influence whether children become frequent readers, and to explore the effect of parental attitudes and behaviors on children’s reading for pleasure.
School Libraries Work!
This research foundation paper, updated from the 2006 edition of School Libraries Work!, brings together position statements from a variety of organizations and findings from nearly two decades of empirical studies that cite the measurable impact school libraries and library media specialists have on student achievement. It includes excerpts from a Congressional presentation made by the National Committee on Libraries and Information Science in June 2007; the results of new studies from Delaware, Indiana, Wisconsin, and the Canadian province of Ontario; as well as new data, statistics, resources, and strategies to help principals, school board members, teachers, and library media specialists support and improve their library media centers.
Adolescent Literacy: A National Crisis
Even as the nation seeks to improve early literacy, there must be a commitment of resources, time, and staff to provide reading instruction for adolescents with low literacy skills. Investing in age-appropriate, research-based reading intervention now will avoid future spending on public welfare, unemployment benefits, and the criminal justice system. It will also allow the current generation of adolescent students to experience success in school and in life.
Literacy Instruction for Older Readers
What is the role of technology in literacy instruction? Dr. Ted Hasselbring, Laura Goin and members of the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt proposed an answer to this question with the development of a technology-based intervention program. In this article, Hasselbring and Goin describe the development the Peabody Learning Lab, which is based on the theoretical understanding of reading acquisition and sound pedagogical principles, enhanced through the use of integrated media.
Research on Professional Development
This Scholastic Professional Paper has two objectives. The first is to inform teachers and school administrators about conceptual work and empirical research on “what works” in professional development. In particular, the paper offers a set of principles for effective professional development and explores adult learning theory and studies of teacher professional development, emphasizing research on professional development for reading instruction. The second objective is to inform readers about Scholastic Red, a teacher professional development program for reading instruction that incorporates these principles and research findings.
Zip Zoom: Foundations and Formative Research
Scholastic’s Zip Zoom English is the result of six years of educational research and development and a strong commitment to narrowing the English language learner achievement gap. This paper presents the foundational and formative research supporting the development of Zip Zoom English.
Texts and ELLs Scaffolding Entrée to Reading
What is the best beginning reading text for English Language Learners? To answer this question, we look to the research of Dr. Elfrieda Hiebert. Dr. Hiebert has worked in the field of literacy acquisition for 35 years, and is currently a Visiting Research Professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Her recent work examines the impact of text features on young students whose native language is not English.