Transcript Slide 1

Reading Motivation
by Alicia Fallaw
2nd Grade
Dobson Elementary
Background
• I only had a handful of students engaged and
motivated enough to read independently during
SSR
• When I asked why one student was just sitting
there, he proceeded to tell me he just did not
like reading and did not feel like reading that day.
• Each year I find myself in the same situation
with a group of students that for the most part
are not motivated to read.
What Research Says…
• Research suggests having a couch or beanbags
for students to curl up in and read. One article
even suggested having an old canoe.
• Reading needs to be given the “Wow” factor.
• The article discussed the importance of read
alouds and that you should read aloud to your
class with the drama of an Oscar winner.
• Another article suggested that allowing students
to share about books they have read could also
be a motivator.
Research Questions
• What strategies work to motivate children
to read?
• What role does choice and interest play in
the motivation process?
Methods
Participants
• 23 students
• 13 girls & 10 boys
• 7 Hispanic, 15 Caucasian, 1 Bi-racial
• 14 of my students are considered at risk due
to low reading achievement and ability
• 2/3 of our school are free & reduced lunch
• 1/3 are Hispanic
Intervention/Instruction Procedures
• Study was conducted over a 6 week
period.
• All 23 students were involved.
• I implemented 6 strategies over the 6
week period.
Free choice during Self Selected
Reading & take home reading.
• Students were
allowed to read out
of any book basket.
• They had free choice
of the book they
took home for
reading each night.
• My principal really
didn’t approve of this
strategy.
Reading comprehension
cubes and spinner
• Cubes & spinner ask comprehension questions.
• Students were more motivated to pay attention
because they knew they would get the
opportunity to answer questions from the
spinner or cubes.
Going outside to read
Time For Kids
• The school paid for a
subscription for each child
in my class for one year.
• The first issue was on frogs.
• We went on line and
listened to the frog chorus.
• They started checking out
books from the library
about related topics we read
about.
Moonchair
• I drew a child’s name
randomly each day.
• They were provided
additional reading
materials such as
seasonal books.
• They never let me
forget to draw a new
name each day.
Sharing with the class
• They were sharing with
their neighbors
• They begged to get up
and share with the class.
• This held them
accountable for the
information.
• Helped them do better
retelling stories to me as
well.
Data Collection
•
•
•
•
•
Garfield survey before & after
On task behavior checklist
Reading conference form
Anecdotal notes
Interest survey at the end
Data Analysis
• Compared pre & post Garfield scores
– Created a color coded spreadsheet
• Recreational: Pre-test 57% of my class was below 50%ile
– Post-test 39 % below 50% ile
• Academic: 57% below 50% ile
– Post-test 26 % below 50% ile
• Total raw score:61% below 50% ile
– Post-test 35% below 50% ile
Data Analysis Continued
• I Did an analysis on Garfield survey
– The 2 questions that got the most negative
responses were…
• #7 “Do you like to read during the summer?”
• #8 “Would you like to read rather than play?”
• I Sorted my notes by what I found in
common. I found 3 main categories:
Free choice, Sharing with other students,
& sharing what they learned with me.
Results: Reading Motivation Survey
0%
0%
Free choice during
SSR
Using cubes &
spinner
4%
4%
0%
22%
Moon chair
Going outside to
read
Time for kids
70%
Free choice of take
home reader
Sharing with class
Results: Garfield Survey
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
67
59
44
49
54
45
42
Ac
s
Gi
rl
ys
Bo
ta
l
To
m
ic
ad
e
al
32
ion
at
Re
cr
e
52
58
Pre-test results
Post test results
Results: What I found out…
• Motivation was increased
• Students looked forward to SSR
• I saw an improvement in academic reading
scores as well
• They enjoyed sharing about the books they had
read.
• They started checking out books on topics we
had been studying in class.
• Overall, I went from 61% of my class not liking
reading down to 35 % being below 50% ile.
Discussion
• I now know that it is the little things that
make a big difference. (ex. the moonchair)
• My lower level students made the most
growth on the survey.
• Another teacher changed the way she did
take home reading because of my study.
• The drawback to free choice was less
comprehension during SSR conferences.
Future Direction
• In the future I would like to extend this
research study to determine the link
between motivation and comprehension.
Comprehension is the only negative
aspect of the study and I want to find a
way to have motivation as well as
comprehension.
References
• Braxton, Barbara. (2004). Encouraging Students to Read for
Pleasure. Teacher Librarian, v31, 39-40. Retrieved September 12,
2005.
• Cunningham, Patricia and Hall, Dorothy P. A Guide to the Four
Blocks Literacy Model.
• Hunter, Phyllis. (2004). Classroom Libraries Level the Playing Field.
Instructor, v113, 36-40. Retrieved September 12, 2005.
• Joyce, Marilyn. 2003. Fostering Reading through Intrinsic
Motivation: An Action Research Study. Knowledge Quest v32 no1,
39-40. Retrieved September 12, 2005.
• Kragler, Sherry & Nolley, Christine. (1996) Student choices: book
selection strategies of fourth graders. Reading Horizons, v36, 354365. Retrieved October 20, 2005.
• McKenna, Michael & Kear, Dennis J. (1990) Measuring attitude
toward reading: A new tool for teachers. The Reading Teacher, 626639