Participation in the Young Hoosier Book Award Program for middle school students and the Eliot Rosewater High School Book Award Program for high school students should be encouraged. School libraries should purchase and promote books, magazines, and newspapers, as evidenced by high circulation results. The faculty should be good reading role models and read and discuss books of current interest, such as bestsellers. They should read aloud to their students. Students who participate in reading laboratory programs will have increased reading skills that carry over into other academic areas.
Schools demonstrate what is important by the time and resources they allocate.
If reading is important, then schools allocate ample time and resources for reading. A reading laboratory is one way for middle grades schools to help their students increase their reading abilities and, by providing resources and time, to demonstrate that reading is an important part of the curriculum.