Into Focus Understanding and Creating Middle School Readers

Experts in such fields as library science, reading theory, and children's literature discuss such topics as the needs of gifted students and reluctant readers, and the benefits of reading aloud

Kylene Beers is an adjunct assistant professor of children's and young adult literature at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. A former middle school teacher, her interest continues to be finding ways to connect middle schoolers to reading. Kylene presents frequently at both NCTE and IRA, is the co-editor of the journal English in Texas, is a co-author of the "Books for Adolescents" column in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (formerly Journal of Reading), serves as a board member on the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of NCTE, and was co-editor, with Barbara Samuels, of Young Reading: An Annotated Booklist for Middle School and Junior High, 1995-96 Edition. Barbara G. Samuels is an associate professor of language arts and reading at the University of Houston-Clear Lake where she teaches courses in adolescent literature and secondary school reading. She is also director of the Greater Houston Area Writing Project. She is a past president of the Assembly on Literature For Adolescents (ALAN) of NCTE and currently serves on the Board of Special Interest Group on Adolescent Literature (SIGNAL) of IRA. She is a frequent contributor of articles about young adult literature to books and journals and recently Co-edited Your Reading: An Annotated Booklist for Middle School and Junior High, 1995-96 Edition, with Kylene Beers.