What Johnny likes to read is hard to find in school

RESEARCH ABOUT the importance of interest in learning suggests that student s who have access to materials of interest are more likely to read and thus to improve their reading achievement and attitudes. This study examined th e reading preferences and access to reading materials of sixth-grade studen ts from three middle schools in a large ethnically and economically diverse southwestern U.S. school district. Preference surveys and open-ended quest ions about favorite materials and authors showed that the most preferred ma terials among students were scary books and stories, comics and cartoons, m agazines about popular culture, and books and magazines about sports. Other popular materials were drawing books, books and magazines about cars and t rucks, series books, funny books, and books about animals. Comparisons by g ender, income, reading attitude, and achievement found more similarities th an differences. Students' school access to reading materials was examined through a student questionnaire and through interviews with their teacher and librarians. Th e majority of students obtained reading materials from purchased sources (s tores or their homes) rather than schools and libraries. Classrooms ranked a distant last for book sources among even low-income students. interviews with teachers and librarians along with classroom visits showed that the av ailability of the most popular materials was limited across schools and cla ssrooms.