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"Kids & Books": A model for television as a medium to lead children to literature
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between television and recreational reading and to investigate one program, Kids & Books, as a model for television as a medium that can lead children to literature. Educators agree that it is important to nurture a love of reading in children and that recreational reading habits are affected by television viewing. This study discusses the development of one locally produced television program, Kids & Books, which attempts to promote recreational reading in children ages nine through twelve. After showing Kids & Books to fourth grade children a study was conducted to determine if this program motivated its viewers to read for pleasure. Students filled out questionnaires designed to help create a Reading and Television Profile for each child before and after the study. Over a six to eight week period the students viewed three segments of Kids & Books which featured particular authors and contained "Book Look," a segment created by children to motivate others to read. After each program the teachers facilitated audiotaped discussions using guidelines developed for this study. Data from the two questionnaires were compared and analyzed to see whether the students had been influenced by watching Kids & Books. The audiotaped discussions were selectively transcribed and were analyzed for more subjective information, particularly about the children's responses to their peers and to Patricia MacLachlan, the author who was interviewed. The study showed that the children did respond positively to Kids & Books. In many cases their reading attitudes showed improvement; reading categories increased; reasons for book selection expanded to include television. The children showed strong responses to authors who had been featured on the three Kids & Books programs, particularly MacLachlan. Suggestions for further study include analyzing the role that children play in motivating each other to read; determining how television programs like Kids & Books can be effective outside the classroom setting; and examining the impact that a televised interview with an author has upon children as readers and writers.
Subject Area
Elementary education|Mass communications
Recommended Citation
Gagne, Kathleen Dunne, ""Kids & Books": A model for television as a medium to lead children to literature" (1992). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9219433.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9219433