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Show ; Schoolers. ! Home cp J i Dr. Doryl J. McCarty Executive Secretary Utah Education Association Keep reading during summer Educational researchers tell us that japs" in the school routine like smer vacations can result in iing loses if students don't keep arbrains at work when they're away :m the classroom. That's why educators urge parents to ;;ep their kids reading during the amer. Fine, but what kinds of books do ;mg people want to read? Joan T. Feeley is glad you asked, ies a professor of reading at William Patereon College, and she reported the pings of a research team at that , JStitution that studied youthful 'okg habits. I She tells us that during the first four , of reading, boys and girls like to jad the same kinds of material animal stories, fantasy and fairy tales. Boys of that age also show interest in non-fiction, such as books on machines, sports and science. One study showed that first-graders preferred stories about pranks over "Pollyanna" themes, and kid interaction in-teraction over parent-child interaction. Little girls favor stories about girls, and boys go for ones about boys. Fairy tales and fantasy are the greatest reading interests of first and second grade children in 10 countries. A sharp split in reading interests occurs in the fourth grade. Girls seek fiction more than boys do. The girls of this age especially like stories with mystery ,or adventure angles. Boys show more preference for non-fiction like sports, cars, war, history, biography and science. The boys of this age do show somp interest in science fiction and mysteries, though. Junior high school boys still seem to hold those interests. But junior high school girls add adolescent romance and popular adult fiction to their reading, according to Joan Feeley. Sometimes, kids are at a loss to find a book that will really interest them. The parent who understands what they're likely to like can help them to find good books this summer and close the summer learning gap. |