For Immediate Release June 1, 2005

For More Information Contact: Diane Brown, 317-274-7711 habrown@iupui.edu

Real-Life Issues Spur Reading Among All Students, Study Shows

INDIANAPOLIS - Toni Morrison's "The Big Box," Madonna's "Mr. Peabody's Apples," and Karen Hess' "Witness," are hits among a broad spectrum of students learning to read, according to an IUPUI professor directing a collaborative study with teachers in the Indianapolis Public Schools system.

The books are classified as critical literature, a genre known over the past decade for increasing the thinking skills required for general population students learning to read.

What IUPUI Professor Anne Ociepka and the IPS teachers have observed in a recent study is that the genre also works its magic among special education students, and as well among middle school students as elementary students.

The secret lies in the books' focus on relevant, real-life issues.

"They address topics that aren't always talked about in schools: homelessness, poverty, racial basis. These are topics the kids are living, topics that aren't always talked about, but are always on their minds," Ociepka said.

Ociepka and about a dozen IPS teachers have spent the past six months incorporating selections from a list of about 100 such books into the teachers' classroom assignments. Parents were also encouraged to read listed books.

While test scores to support the positive impact aren't available, teachers in the study say their students were "much, more engaged," Ociepka said. "Children who are struggling with reading will often find these (books) make them want to read."

Ociepka and others will discuss their study outcomes during the upcoming Urban Education Inquiry Conference Saturday, June 4, at IUPUI. Three other studies featured in panel discussions addressed student contributions in math classrooms, literacy among special education students and urban middle school faculty.

The Center for Urban & Multicultural Education at IUPUI is the conference sponsor.

CUME, the research arm of the School of Education, creates and supports networks for research, practice and educational improvement for urban schools and communities.

For registration and information about the conference, call (317) 274-1652. ###