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Annotated Sources

Burgos, Sara S., and Andrea J. Stairs. “The Power of Independent, Self-Selected Reading

In the Middle Grades.” Middle School Journal, 41:3, 41-48, 2010, DOI:

10.1080/00940771.2010.11461720

The article follows an outline created from an independent reading curriculum that was

tested on middle school students in Maine. They discuss the students’ opinions and

thoughts. They also discuss how the classroom environment changes when students are

given the freedom to choose what they want to read. This is very helpful to my topic

since it zones in on secondary education instead of elementary. I will be able to pull from

the lesson plan that they use on the students and use the data to show the benefits of this

program.

Cho, Jonathan K., Holly A. Howard, Simon A. Lei, and Patricia J. Rhinehart. “Strategies for

Improving Reading Comprehension Among College Students.” Reading Improvement,

vol. 47, no. 1, spring 2010, pp. 30+. Gale Academic OneFile,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A221203907/AONE?

u=tel_oweb&sid=googleScholar&xid=b3448f63. Accessed 22 Sept. 2022.

This article discusses the standards college professors expect of their incoming students

and why the students might not meet these expectations. The article goes on to discuss

how teachers can improve the student's reading comprehension and develop better skills

that will help with scholarly textbooks in the future. This will help my topic by providing

ways teachers can improve the reading comprehension of students. Some may not enjoy
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reading because they cannot understand, so if we provide a better way then maybe we can

make reading fun again.

Daisey, Peggy, and M. Gail Shroyer. “Perceptions and Attitudes of Content and Methods

Instructors Toward a Required Reading Course.” Journal of Reading, vol. 36, no. 8,

1993, pp. 624-29. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40033379. Accessed 23 Sept.

2022.

The article follows interviews and opinions taken from different instructors and teachers.

It was to get their thoughts on required readings and how they would describe them from

their secondary education. All the ideas were negative, so the article dives into why it is

perceived this way. This can be helpful because it shows in the minds of people who

struggled with the material in middle and high school. Even the teachers struggle, so

there needs to be a change now more than ever.

Dickerson, Katie. “Reimagining Reading: Creating a Classroom Culture That Embraces

Independent Choice Reading.” Penn GSE Perspectives on Urban Education, University of

Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, 30 Nov. 2014, http://urbanedjournal.org,

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1056721.

Dickerson uses a new method of reading in the classroom. Her methods include more

choice and independent reading to better grasp the students’ attention and interest. It

follows her plan for about two years. I can use this source to show the benefits that come

from students being able to choose the books they want to read. I want to be able to prove
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through this that students are more likely to engage themselves in learning when they have

the freedom to choose what they want to read in class.

Hilton III, John L., Timothy G. Morrison, Brad Wilcox, and David A. Wiley. “Effects of

Various Methods of Assigning and Evaluating Required Reading in One General

Education Course,” Journal of College Reading and Learning, 41:1, 7-28, 2010, DOI:

10.1080/10790195.2010.10850333.

It follows an experiment of five different teachers and how they choose to assign required

readings within their courses. The results are recorded on how the students respond to

each method. The out-of-class methods were to see how they affect each student’s

learning ability or study habits. This can be used toward my topic to show the most

effective way to assign required reading novels within English courses. The most positive

outcome is definitely to be considered in my curriculum course.

Johnson, Denise, and Anne Blair. “The Importance and Use of Student Self-Selected

Literature to Reading Engagement in an Elementary Reading Curriculum.” Reading

Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 43 (3), 2003, retrieved from

https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol43/iss3/3.

The article is used to discuss the importance of students getting to choose books and the

importance of independent reading time. They discuss the outcomes and benefits that

show through the students when this is included in the teacher’s curriculum. It focuses on

reading at the Elementary level. Although the age group I will be discussing is different,

this article can transfer skills and ideas into what secondary education should be teaching.
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It will help me lay the foundation of an English course curriculum that teachers can

follow in the future.

Lira, Juan R., Cecilia Rodriguez. “A Study of Eighth Grade Students from a South Texas Middle

School Who Participated in 30-Minute Required Reading Periods of Self-Selected

Books,” 1998-03-12, 64p.

The study focused on the performance of students when they are free to choose the book

for their required reading course. The study also included a survey on whether the

students' outlook on reading changed after. The overall performance of test-taking

remained the same, but the love for reading increased as the students got older. This is

good for my topic because the positives out way the negatives, due to students continuing

to read the older they get. It has a more beneficial effect in the end.

Loutsch, Mary. “English Classes Should Incorporate Contemporary Novels in Curriculums.”

The

Retriever, Feb. 2016, https://retriever.dreamhosters.com/2016/02/english-classes-should-

incorporate-contemporary-novels-in-curriculums/.

The source discusses why contemporary novels are a good idea to incorporate in schools.

It talks about the disadvantages of the classics and the way students react to reading as a

whole when asked to read them. It also covers why contemporary novels can spark a love

for reading again. This can be helpful in my topic because I am going to lay the

foundation for what English courses should begin teaching. I will cover novels that

should be on the approved list and contemporary novels are a good place to start.
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Paulson, Eric J. “Self-Selected Reading for Enjoyment as a College Developmental

Reading Approach.” Journal of College Reading and Learning, 36:2, 51-58, 2006, DOI:

10.1080/10790195.2006.10850187

This article discusses the importance of self-selected reading in college. The idea is

college students have a love for reading on their own and for enjoyment. The article

discusses concerns and ideas on the best way to approach this and make it beneficial to

succeeding in college. This article will be very helpful to my topic because it focuses on

this issue in so much more than elementary and secondary education. This is a problem

that everyone faces and wants to change.

Staff, Shaped. “Benefits of Independent Reading.” Benefits of Independent Reading | Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt, 20 July 2022, https://www.hmhco.com/blog/benefits-of-independent-

reading.

The source has a blog and a PDF version that discuss the many benefits that come from

independent reading. It talks about what it is and how teachers and parents can use this to

spark a love for reading and learning in general. It also goes into detail about programs

libraries or teachers can follow on how to get started. This will be a great source to use to

describe why students should have the choice to choose their books and read on their

timetable. It can give insight and ideas on how I can change the school curriculum.