Voluntary Reading Interests and the Interest Content of Basal Readers.

TLDR: Barbe et al. as discussed by the authors found that the learning of basic skills and interest are interdependent: they cause and effect each other, and only by developing permanent interests in reading along with mastery of the basic skills can reading instruction be said to be successful.

Abstract: the interests of children are known to be important to their learning and during the past decade schools have wisely begun to capitalize on them. Students encounter "new" updated curricula, attractive textbooks, and a wide range of extracurricular activities. Inherent in this is the desire to take advantage of the developing interests of learners and the motivation to act that springs from these interests (Lindgren, 1962). In the teaching of reading, the concern for the interests of the students is significant in the development of long range attitudes toward learning in general and reading in specific (Bowes, 1963). Barbe (1963) writes, "There is ample research evidence, as well as the reports of classroom teachers, to indicate that once interest is aroused, the learning to read process is greatly enhanced." If a program to teach basic skills does not seriously confront the interest factor, will the student continue to read and further develop (beyond the program) reading competence? The learning of basic skills and interest are interdependent: they cause and effect each other. Only by developing permanent interests in read ing along with mastery of the basic skills can reading instruction be said to be successful. In many schools the basal reader is used as the primary medium to teach the basic reading skills. Do these readers contain stories that interest children? Do the types of stories presented in these basal texts interest children? Given a choice, would they voluntarily choose the types of stories common to basais? Taking into consideration the importance of interest in the learning process and the importance of the basal reader in the basal oriented curriculum, there appears to be justification for a study relating children's voluntary reading interests with their required reading.