Students,
If you are having difficulty creating a new post, feel free to place your assignment within the comment section. You will find Comment under this announcement. You can copy and paste within the body of the comment text. I hope this helps!
Sharie
Levonne Wheat
ReplyDeleteModule 7-- Strategies for Motivating Students Blog
A survey was conducted on children’s attitude toward reading. Scholastic reported that ninety-two percent of kids say they like to read for fun, but the study showed that 44% of children ages 5-8 were classified as high frequency readers (reading every day), that number fell to 29% for ages 9-11, down to 25% for ages 12-14, and ended up at 16% for ages 15-17. Forty-six percent of children ages15- 17 year olds were considered by the study as low frequency readers (reading no more than 2-3 times a month), while only 16% in that ages group are high frequency readers (Milliot, 2006). Scholastic also reported in 2008, that pleasure reading begins to decline at age eight and continues to do so into the teen years.
There are many factors that influence children’s attitudes toward reading. One is their passion for reading and another one in particular is the way teachers motivate students to read. I am a third grade teacher. The majority of my students are eight years old. This is the age according to the survey that pleasure reading begins to decline. My job is to make sure that my students are not a part of statistic.
There are several factors that I have to take into consideration when developing a literature-based lesson plan. First, I would consider the interest of the students. I would select books that would spark students’ interest. When selecting the books, I would include my students in the process. This will get them excited about reading and make them respond more. Second, I would consider the age of the students. I would select books that are age appropriate. The range can vary but most are based on how many words there are in the book and the difficult in the words themselves. Third, I would consider the reading levels of my students. There are students who are functioning below grade level, on grade level, and above grade level. Some students read well compared to others their age. Others struggle just to keep up. I would choose easy -to -read books and also books that are more challenging. When reading in small groups, I will group them according to their reading level. By doing this, students will not get bored and they will feel comfortable. Fourth, I would consider time as a factor. I would choose the time of the day that my children’s’ reading interest level is high. Another time factor is the length of time. Some students can sit and read for a long period of time, and then there are others who cannot read through the whole book. Some students’ attention spans are short. I will keep the students’ interest in mind as well as their level. I will not let them spend too much time on a text because this can cause students to get tired and starting losing interest. Fifth, I would consider the length of the passage as a factor. My struggling readers have difficult comprehending long passages. According to research, longer sentences and passages make it more difficult for readers to decode text (Zakalux and Samuels, 1988). I would have my students to pair read. Instead of having them to read the books by themselves, they can read with a buddy and take turns reading pages and paragraphs. If my students are reading chapter books, the books would be divided into reading segments each day. Finally, I would consider the purpose for reading as a factor. When planning, I will think about my expected outcome or my purpose. The lesson may be targeting comprehension, oral reading, independent reading, written expression, listening skills, or a project.
The students’ interest, age, ability level, time, length of passages, and purpose for reading are all factors that I take into consideration when making my lesson plans. I will continue to motivate students to read for pleasure so that they will not be a part of statistic.
Levonne,
ReplyDeleteI see your posting! Thank you!
Reading Interests Survey (Mod 6)
ReplyDeleteAva English, Melinda Jackson, Dawn VanDamme,
Levonne Wheat, Ashli Willis, Adrian Wright
Summary from the Orange Team
As teachers, it is important we look at surveys about students because we can learn so much from them. By completing this project we were able to find the percentage of books a student has in their home, families’ attitudes towards reading, reading habits of students, reading likes and dislikes, and attitude and motivation for reading. All of these factors play an important role in reading achievement. As teachers we should try to give more surveys to learn more about our students. Therefore, we can make their reading experience more pleasurable and have higher student achievement. Each of these components relies on the other to create student responses that are more conducive to higher reading achievement.
Team Blue's Table
ReplyDeleteThe research assignment is based on an array of surveys about reading motivations and habits that have been rendered to a target student population. The surveys have been administered to elementary, middle and high school students, or a combination of both. The summary may include the reading habits of students, how many books a student owns, the motivation for reading and why students read, reading likes and dislikes, students and families attitude toward reading and reading at home. The table below will show the results of the surveys conducted.
Students who read in their spare time
Girls:80% yes 20% sometimes
Boys:38% yes 15% no 46% sometimes
How often child looks at a book on their own:3% hardly ever 1.72% 1-2 times month 13.73% 1-2 times week 81.55% almost daily
Attitude Towards Reading & Motivation 96% like topic 91% like author 87% same author
will read 78% friend recommend 65% cover
interesting 61% seen movie
Interesting topic Mystery & murder Poetry form activities that accompany story
Having choices Quality of book
Peer recommends 6th grade:54% 7th grade:24%
Female:68% Male:32% At Risk: 22% Not at Risk:78% When the accelerated reader program was put into place the results showed:That of the At Risk students 70% improved their reading attitude and motivation And a 62% increase for those students who were considered Not at Risk. How often child asked to be read to:6.44% hardly ever 4.72% 1-2 times month 23.18% 1-2 week 65.67%almost daily How much child enjoys being read to:
5.58% a little 14.16% pretty much 21.03% very much 59.23% loves it How Many Books the Students Own Number of books in home for child’s use:2.58% 1-2 books 21.46% 3-10 books 26.61% 11-20 books 21.46% 21-40 books 27.90% more than 40 books Reading Likes/Dislikes Boys preferred:sports, media,
historical-adventure,informational,fun-fantasy 70% humor 57% adventure 100% magazines 39% scary Girls preferred:media, animals,fun-fantasy,social empathy,sports
90% magazines 22% funny/humorous 17%excitement 13% adventure Dislikes:35% jokes, riddles, puzzles 30% how-to 30% historical
fiction Likes:magazines/adventure/mystery/
scary/jokes Dislikes:Science/history Popular book titles with girls and boys Matilda 13%
Chain Letter 13% Nancy Drew 9% Popular magazines with girls and boys Boys Life 39%
3-2-1 Contact 9% Highlights 9% Students that read the newspaper Girls 100% Boys 54%Reading at Home Four Types of Literature Materials in the home:4th grade:38% 8th grade:50% 12th grade:55% Three Types of Literature Materials in the home:4th grade: 34% 8th grade:29% 12th grade:28% Reading Frequency-Almost Everyday:4th grade:32% 8th grade:26% 12th grade:24% Reading Frequency-Once or Twice a week:4th grade:45% 8th grade:21% 12th grade:24% Home Literacy Discussion-Almost Everyday:4th grade:55%
8th grade:38% 12th grade:30% Home Literacy Discussion-Once or Twice a week:4th grade:
22% 8th grade:29% 12th grade:33% Television Viewing-6 or more hours:4th grade:21% 8th grade:14% 12th grade:7% Television Viewing 4-5 hours:4th grade:22% 8th grade:27% 12th grade:18% On the whole, the more types of literature in the home, the more frequently students read, more discussion in the home and less television watched, all reported higher average reading proficiencies among 10.73% 1-2 times month 34.76% 1-2 times week 54.08% almost daily Number of minutes parent read to child yesterday:25.32% 0 mins 26.61%1-10mins 25.32% 11-20 mins 22.75% more than 20 mins Family Attitudes Toward Reading Age when parent first read to child:13.30% after age 2 11.59% 1.5-2 years 13.30% 1-1.5 years 22.75% 6 months to 1 year 39.06% before 6 months How often parent takes child to library:42.49%hardly ever 38.63% 1-2 times month 18.03% 1-2 times week 0.86% almost daily Number of minutes parent reads per day:
17.17% hardly ever 21.03% 2-15 mins 22.75% 16-30 mins 17.60% 31-60 mins 21.46% more than 1 hour How much parent enjoys reading:
4.72% not at all 18.88% some 27.90 moderately 48.50% very much
this is a trial. I am wondering if this will let me post my summary and my modular 7 assignment. please let me know if this way works.
ReplyDeleteEileen, I see your trial post. Yes, this is where you will post your Module 7 assignment (in addition to the drop box and turnitin).
ReplyDeleteMy whole paper would not fit into this box, so this is my conclusion to my paper.
ReplyDeleteMost children need to be motivated to read. In my classroom, one way I encourage students to read by providing tools they enjoy using, like sticky-notes, charts to record progress, transparencies and highlighters, and using tracking devices to promote reading in the classroom. At home though, is different. My students do not have the structure at home that school provides for them, so reading for homework is not a priority for many of the children in my class. I have not found a strategy that motivates all of my students to read daily outside of school.
We did individual summaries and it is too long to post here. They will be posted individually.
ReplyDeleteGreen Team Reading Surveys
Reading attitude surveys ask students questions concerning their feelings about what they read, when they read, how well they read, who or what encourages them to read and many other factors. These surveys allow us to get to know our students in a meaningful way. The more we understand their feelings and interests, the better we can address their needs. From reading surveys, we can learn what type of materials we should include in our classroom that will increase student motivation to read. We can learn how they view their own reading ability and who it is that encourages them to read. Reading surveys can help us to do a better job reaching each and every student in our classroom.
Conclusion
While summarizing the reading surveys used in this chart, we found that most students enjoyed reading; however, many of them enjoy having a choice in what they read. In addition, we found that younger students seem to prefer books to read, while older students showed a preference for magazines and comic books. By studying surveys we can get an inside view into what motivates students of different age levels and what types of materials they like to read. This allows us to make our reading classrooms as effective as possible in reaching all learners.
The success of a student’s reading ability begins very early in their life. Students have to develop the phonetic structure necessary to be a good reader. The majority of my kindergarten students (14/17) have acquired this process along with the skill of rapid word recognition (sight words) which allows them to concentrate on comprehension. There are reading a variety of genres, with longer sentences that incorporate different sentence structures. They rely less on picture clues to gain an understanding of the text. Because of these areas I see my students progressing in, I feel my students are in the early fluent developmental stage of reading. Last week I administered the Diagnostic Reading Assessment and was pleased with the growth my students had made in the area of retelling. This is exciting news! It has been a collaborative effort of the part of students, parents and teachers to prepare these children to be lifelong readers.
ReplyDeleteThe students in my classroom are in the emergent stage of development. Many of my students point to the words with one-to-one matching. They use beginning sounds to sound out unknown words. The students are learning how to monitor and self-correct for meaning. They look at the pictures to help with beginning sounds. The majority of my students read for meaning and makes personal connections to the stories read. They have learned to integrate the use of all three cue systems meaning, syntax, and visual. The students have developed a large bank of high-frequency words and use as anchors while reading. They are able to chunk and break the words into parts to read unfamiliar words. The students have developed a sense of story structure and can retell beginning, middle, and end of stories. Compare books by the same author or the same theme and explain their interpretations of the story. The students in my class are at the correct developmental stages of a kindergarten student.
ReplyDeleteI teach a second and third grade combination class. One of the tools I use in the classroom to motivate students to read is the accelerated reader program. I like it because it helps me monitor the students comprehension of their self selected reading books to make sure they are reading something that is at an appropriate level for them. Our CLC found that students are increasingly motivated to read when they are able to choose their own books and spend more time reading when reading about a topic they are interested in.
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ReplyDeleteI teach third grade so a majority of my students are 8 years old. One factor that is most important when developing a literature unit is student interest. Having the student’s opinion as part of the process when putting the unit together will get the students excited and it will give me as the teacher a good idea of what to cover that will keep the student interested. Doing these things will more than likely yield active participants in the lessons. It will also be important to make sure that I supply differentiated instruction so that those students who are low (or high) depending on the case will be successful in any activities that are presented.
ReplyDeleteMotivating the students can be done through peer discussion and opinions about what is being read. Making personal connections for the students can also help to keep and /or peak their interest. Using questioning to help the students think about the material is also a motivator. Try to make it fun with outside activities that can be related to the topic. Accelerated reader in my classroom is a must for some of my students. Dictating what the students should read with no input from them is not going to keep students motivated.
Books that have been popular this year in my class are the A-Z Mysteries, The Magic Treehouse series, Beverly Cleary and the most recent books I have seen are the Charm Club books.
Students Attitudes Towards Reading
ReplyDeleteI teach in a Pre-K classroom where the children are motivated and excited about reading. My children are like sponges; they absorb everything that I put into them. If I put nothing in, they give nothing out. My Pre-K children are at the early stages of reading which is known as the Pre-Reading Stages. The Pre-reading stages are unsystematic accumulation of understanding about reading between preschool and kindergarten. Learning to read is like taking baby steps before you actually walk. It is a process and takes time to be accomplished. Although each child moves and learns at a different pace, most children at this stage will eventually get to their goals with someone being consistent with them. My stage of reading is Stage 0 which is characterized to recognize the alphabet, imitation reading, experiment with letters, learning sounds associated with the letters, role playing characters, listening to stories for comfort, and retelling stories.
Reading Survey
Reading is supposed to be fun at this stage and is enjoyed by many Preschoolers. The survey that relates to my preschool classroom was, “Children Attitudes Toward Reading: A National Survey” which discussed the McKenna (1994) Model of Reading. I totally agreed with the survey because it stressed the point about children in the early years are ready and willing to read at this level. It also talked about children as they get older, they tend to lose focus and don’t like to read because they have other things on their agenda. “The McKenna model postulates that an individual’s attitude toward reading will develop over time principally as the result of three factors: normative beliefs, beliefs about outcomes of reading, and specific reading experiences. These factors are complex, they are subject to change, and they influence one another as well as influence attitude” (McKenna 1994 pg.939).
According McKenna (1994 pg.939), as children grow older and more leisure options are open to them , the prospect of reading will be weighed against available alternatives, each of which is associated with an attitude. The survey reflected 18,185 children in Grades 1 through 6. The portion of boys and girls 50% each which was within 1% of the national distribution in the United States, the proportion of African Americans (9.4%) was within 3%, and the proportion of Hispanics (6.2%) within 2% (Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1990). In addition, a wide geographical diversity was sought, and the sample included students from 229 schools in 95 districts located in 38 states (p. 942).
Attitude. Attitude was measured by means of the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey, or ERAS (McKenna & Kear, 1990). Overall developmental trends. Evidence concerning the development of reading attitudes over time is inconsistent. The McKenna model predicts that as children mature and as more and more leisure options compete with reading, positive attitudes toward reading will on average worsen. Findings supporting this prediction have been reported by Anderson, Tollefson, and Gilbert (1985) and by Martin (1984). For readers experiencing problems, the model's prediction of worsening attitudes is more emphatic, and again sup-porting evidence is available (Ishikawa, 1985; Ross & Fletcher, 1989; Shapiro, 1980).
Summary from the Purple Team Mod 6
ReplyDeleteChecking the box, bubbling the circle, making selections; we are all familiar with taking surveys, but are we as aware of the benefits they display, especially as they relate to reading instruction? The reading interest survey is a tool that, if designed and used well, can give teachers the clues they need to inspire better readers. These evaluations are as varied as the professionals who create them and they can request an array of answers ranging from the number of books in a students’ home to how often they visit the public library to their e-book preferences. As educators we can learn plenty from the responses given by our students and from those given by students around the world.
These reading interest surveys shed light onto students’ attitudes toward reading both at home and at school. The surveys are important tools that educators need to continue to use as technology continues to become a major influence on all students. We need to know students’ reading likes and dislikes, what motivates them, what reading is like at home and how they feel about e-books. It is our job to encourage our students to read on their own and to seek topics that are of their own interests.
Haters of reading…again.
ReplyDeleteHow often, as a Secondary Reading teacher, do we hear students say “I hate to read” or “reading isn’t my thing” or even “I’m not good at reading”? I have to say it is one of the most frustrating parts of the job. Especially because as lovers of reading, we know how beneficial reading is, how necessary, and fun. Teachers have manila folders and plastic crates full of ideas to combat these negative announcements and motivate students. Book talks and interest surveys are among them. We have tried to get to know our students so we can offer that perfect book to the skater, the thrill-seeker and the romantic. We have read so many young adult novels that we actually tend to prefer them ourselves. So what do we do when all the old stand-bys of inspiration have been used up? The strategy that worked so well for the 8th grade boys last year is scoffed at by the same this year. After considering several reading motivation surveys this week, I have concluded that one strategy is the most important of all. What new strategy overtakes the old, deep-rooted strategies? Change. I believe it is the one thing that we can always count on working in our classrooms. Keep changing it up. Nothing will perk up a student’s “ears” quicker than when they walk in the room and they sense change. Students get complacent and bored with the same old lessons, the same worksheets, the same library books, the same font, the same room arrangement, the same begging for them to read. There are thousands of ways to motivate students. You can find them on the internet, at seminars and webinars, you can discuss them in teacher work rooms and even read motivating books about motivating middle-schoolers. The trick isn’t in the strategy, rather in keeping the strategies fresh. What worked in the fourth week of August may not be working mid-February. Refuse to dig a rut and stay there. Keep the plastic crates of strategies; just don’t let them get dusty. Keep adding new ones and adapting the old ones. They say “variety of the spice of life”; well I say “change is the seasoning mix of the reading classroom”.
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ReplyDeleteI am reposting the Green Team's Intro and Conclusion after we made some changes.
ReplyDeleteReading attitude surveys ask students questions concerning their feelings about what they read, when they read, how well they read, who or what encourages them to read and many other factors. These surveys allow us to get to know our students in a meaningful way. The more we understand their feelings and interests, the better we can address their needs. It is important to meet the needs of each individual by connecting reading to what they know, thus making reading a positive experience (Cruea, 2006).
From reading surveys, we can learn what type of materials we should include in our classroom that will increase student motivation to read. We can learn how they view their own reading ability and who it is that encourages them to read. Reading surveys can help us to do a better job reaching each and every student in our classroom. The following chart shares the results of six reading surveys involving students from elementary through high school level
Conclusion
While summarizing the reading surveys used in this chart, we found that most students enjoyed reading; however, many of them enjoy having a choice in what they read. Travers and Travers stated, “the attention of our young people today is greater than ever, as technology provides colorful and provocative alternatives, good literature and the information it conveys are still in demand.”(Travers, & Travers 2008, p.312) In addition, we found that younger students seem to prefer books to read, while older students showed a preference for magazines and comic books. Some of the six surveys proved that our students still prefer books to the internet for reading. By studying surveys we can get an inside view into what motivates students of different age levels and what types of materials they like to read. Using surveys in the classroom allows the teacher more familiarity with the individual needs of that class from year to year. This allows us to make our reading classrooms as effective as possible in reaching all learners.
I teach the 6th grade and the “aha” moment that I got from reading the two following surveys was the importance, with older students especially, of including other materials rather than just books. It seems that in both surveys students at this age preferred to read magazines and comics. They were also motivated by having a choice in what they read at times rather than always being assigned something specific to read. I already knew the importance of having a variety of genres and levels of books, but now I plan to make sure that I also include a variety of magazines and even some possible graphic novels in my classroom library. It is important to motivate our students and whatever works is worth trying out!
ReplyDeleteThe summaries of two surveys that I found online are listed below. They are both using middle school aged students; however, the first one was done at an inner city school and the second was done at city and suburban schools in one area.
The survey entitled “Reading Habits of Urban Adolescents” was completed in 2007. The students surveyed were from an inner city school. This demographic had seldom been surveyed before to find out their reading attitudes. The survey found that most of the students chose to read for leisure, but their choice of reading material was not books. Boys and girls preferred magazines. Their favorite types of books were action and adventure for boys and realistic fiction, fantasy, and mystery for girls. Few of the students chose to read on the weekend or during the summer.
“Just Plain Reading: A Survey of What Makes Students Want to Read in Middle School Classrooms.” Students in this survey showed a preference for having some say in what they read. This had a strong impact of their willingness to read for pleasure. They said they found assigned topics boring and hard to understand. The preferred reading material was magazines, adventures, mysteries, jokes and scary books.
The question I chose to talk about was some books that have motivated my students. I have several books that I share with my students frequently if not every year. The first one is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. This book really catches the interest of nearly every student I have ever read it with. Girls like it, but it is the boys that I am interested in pulling into reading with this book. The last two years I used Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith with my class and they also loved it. It is also very fast-paced and the characters and the storyline are complex. The kids love it. My students also enjoy reading Inkheart. I like sharing novels from different genres and this fantasy novel is one that kids seem to enjoy. It sometimes is the first fantasy many of them have read and they enjoy the magical component. The last book I want to share that really motivated my students was The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen. This book is about the Holocaust. A young girl in the story is transported back in time to another person’s body and is taken to a concentration camp where she has to live out the horrors she always chose to think of as “ancient history” when her Jewish grandfather talked about them. My students got so into this book they were absolutely outraged and it allowed us to have some great discussions. They actually asked to check out more books on their own about the Holocaust.
I think as teachers, it is important for us to constantly be searching for books that will reach out and grab our students and make them want to read. Sometimes that is the key to turning them onto reading forever.
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study was given in 2007 to 4, 477 fourth and sixth grade students in England. The survey found that most children enjoy reading. Typically, the students chose to read stories, magazines, and comics. Stories were the most popular with fourth graders, but they also chose to read comics, information books, and poems. Magazines and comics were the favorites of sixth graders, but some also said they read newspapers. 71% of nine year olds and 50% of 11 year olds said they read at home.
ReplyDeleteI have a self-contained sixth grade class. When developing a literature-based lesson plan or unit plan I take several things into consideration. First of all, I think about the interest level of the book(s). It is so important to use books that appeal to 12-13 year olds. In my survey I found that most sixth graders prefer magazines and comic books. When choosing items for my literature units in the future, I will try to incorporate both magazines and some graphic novels. Even short articles from Weekly Reader or Scholastic could be used. Including these items should help increase interest. Differentiation is also something I consider when developing a unit. Many of the Scholastic articles actually have Lexile levels available which could be used to differentiate. I also consider the level of integration. We all know there are not enough hours in our school day to teach all the standards we are supposed to teach. Integration is not only good for time-management, the students typically enjoy it. Finally, when developing a unit, I try to consider my students’ different learning styles and do my best to include activities that will allow them to demonstrate their strengths.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI do not know where last night's post went or how Bill's name was added, but here is my post.
ReplyDeleteSmart Girl Survey for Teen Read Week 2003
The Smart Girl Reading Survey was given by a website run by the Women in Science & Engineering Program at the University of Michigan. 3,677 people took the survey and 60.54% were girls and 39.46% were boys. The majority of the people who responded to the survey were between 11and18 years of age and 48.3% enjoy reading. 53.38% read for their own personal satisfaction while 24.74% read only what they need for school. 49.5% like to read about people like themselves, 44% like to read about people who do amazing things, 35% like fantasy and 34% like to read about tough issues. An amazing 67% of the respondents were read to as a child. I chose the Smart Girl Survey, because I thought it was a unique venue for a reading survey. The survey covered a wide range of respondents from all parts of the world and included a diverse population.
I teach in a 5th grade inclusion classroom at a title I school. The interests and reading levels vary greatly within the room. Literature circles are great a way to create interest in reading. The students are heterogeneously grouped, but grouped so all members will grow but not get frustrated. The survey shows that students like to read about people doing amazing things, so including titles like, Landry News (A. Clements), Maniac Magee (J. Spinelli), The Middle of Somewhere (J.B. Cheaney) and The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary (C. Fleming) for the groups to choose from. Having titles that have characters or situations the students can relate to creates interest and the students are more likely to read the book.
To help the students choose a book to read, I give short book talks to create interest. Literature circles allow students to read the book in their groups, discuss it, answer questions and identify favorite words and scenes. Working as a team helps the weaker reader become more confident and enables the better readers to grow by helping the other readers thus building their confidence also.
References
Smart Girl Teen Read Week Summary (2003) Retrieved April 10, 2010 http://www.smartgirl.org/reports/2734196.html
Caceres, J (Oct, 2009) “Motivating Students in Reading Effective Strategies for Getting Today's Students Reading Again” Retrieved April 19, 2010. http://middlehighschool.suite101.com/article.cfm/motivatting_atrisk_students_to_read
Mod#7-indiv.
ReplyDeleteThe students in my class are currently picture reading and sight word reading from storybooks and computer book readings. The picture books are helping my students to picture read and visualize the print as I read text. The children in my class are familiar with rhyming stories such as; There was an old lady who swallowed a fly by Sims Taback, Twinkle, twinkle, little star by Iza Trapani, and Music by Greg & Steve.
The students in my classroom are beginning readers. Many of the students look closely at the pictures and predict what the story will tell and how many characters will be based on that story. The children also predict what words from the word wall from the classroom will be used. My children will always recite or remember the words from the storybook read through the internet stories or the storybooks and cassette stories that has been read to them.
These examples of the children’s books shed light onto students’ attitudes toward reading both at home and school. The important tools that educators need to continue to use as technology continues to become a factor on all students. Most of my pre-k students love books and love to read because it excites them to read. Sometimes it’s a challenge, getting children to read and feel excited about reading books (Cipielewski (2003) investigated that AR motivates children to be lifelong readers by measuring from elementary to high school.
One of the most important things that this assignment put into perspective for me was that my students’ opinions are the most important element to their learning. This is something I already knew but realized I didn’t follow through on and instead focused on the materials I needed to “get through”. Something that struck me was the article I found that discussed how inner city middle school students liked to read and wanted to read but the problem was with the materials given or not having access to books. I work in a low income district and know that a large number of my students do not have resources at home.
ReplyDeleteI teach 3rd grade and at the beginning of this year I had many students who struggled to read a few short sentences, some of this was due to their lack of confidence in their abilities to read. During this school year I made it a priority to make each of my 16 students feel like they were an amazing reader. Every day I made time to read chapter books or our reading series aloud. After each person was finished with their paragraph I would give them a specific compliment on their reading, an example of something I might say would be “Megan, I loved how you paused at all the commas and worked really hard to sound out those hard words. I can tell you have been practicing your reading because your fluency is fantastic”. (My students know the word fluency and what it means). With this particular group of students getting recognized for what they could do was enough motivation to push them to do better. I do still have my high and low readers, but they each feel great about what they can do and understand that it doesn’t matter if you are the “best” reader. For me personally, I take pride in making sure my students feel exceptional with their talents. I noticed that by switching my teaching to this approach that my students have the inner drive to push themselves. They know what they need to work on (I do discuss it with them privately) but during class time they all feel like spectacular readers. There is already so much pressure on students to be prepared for state assessments; I think for their sake they need to feel good about what they are able to do well.
I teach in a third grade TAM room. One way I motivate students to read is by allowing them to choose their own books. My school has Accelerated Reader (AR), so my students read those books and can get free books too. My students are able to choose their own AR books on their level. With free books students are able to get more of a variety because it does not have to be on their level. The level does not matter in the free book because students can get someone to read it with them. The survey that my team found supports that students are motivated to read when they can choose their own books. I have one challenging student who does not like to read AR at all. She will do anything to not read AR. To work with student, I have let her change her color so she can choose from different kinds of books. This seemed to motivate the child for a while but after a couple of weeks I had to try something new. This ties in with letting students pick their own books and having a wide variety of books to choose from. In addition to students picking their own books there should be a variety. The school library offers a wide variety of books to choose from. By moving my student’s color this motivated her because she had a wide range of books to choose from, instead of just one color. Students in my class document each book that they have read in their data binders. Students write down the title, book level, percentage on test and their AR overall average. I then sign it once the students have recorded it. This keeps the students accountable. The students will often tell me look I pulled up my average. In a survey, team orange found that students need to document what they read. I believe this does motivate my students because once they write down a good grade they want to read more books. Students reading achievement is also documented on a sticker chart that’s hangs up in the classroom. Students only get a sticker if they get a 100 or 90 percent on a quiz. Once the chart is full students get that number of tickets and ice cream. This defiantly motivates students to read more because they want to get the prize. Students often check this chart and count how many more books they need to read. If it is only one to four more books students will normally do this in a week. The prize motivates students but it is also documentation of student work that is motivating them too.
ReplyDeleteApril 21, 2010
ReplyDeleteMs. Adrian K. Wright
RDG 585
Mrs. Sharie Adamson
Strategies for Motivating Students Blog
According to the research, it's very important to keep students motivated at home and at school, especially when it comes to reading (Lopes 1993). In the home environment, there are numerous of ways to keep students involved with reading. The survey stated that if a parent is reading a newspaper, or book, than a child would want to follow a parent example. It is also important that your child read everyday. Researchers have found that if children spend at least 30 minutes a day reading for fun books, magazines, or newspapers they would develop the skills to be better readers at school and at home. It is also necessary to make sure that each person in the household has a library card to check out as many books as possible.
Reading to your child aloud, is the most important thing that parents can do to help their children become better readers. The newspaper is another good resource to use to promote reading at home and at school. As students expand, they could be given a list of things to find in the today's newspaper. Introducing technology to students is a great way to collect news. Researchers continue to suggest that having a library at home would benefit the kids reading skills as well. If parents just encourage their kids and reward them for reading, than kids will continue to do better. This takes family and friends taking the time out to read aloud to kids at home.
There are many books that have been found to be successful as motivational tools. When introducing books to students, whether they are at home or at school, students still need to be aware of the different genres when reading books. As a second grade teacher, my students age range from 7-9. The students at this age need to be exposed to the content of the books. For example, a great book I would recommend for my students would be a Dr. Seuss book.
These books are motivational because when students begin to here the rhyming of the different words, along with seeing great illustrations, the students can relate to what’s going on in real life. Dr. Seuss has published 60 books which he has introduced great characters, imaginative, and rhyme. The students enjoy Dr. Seuss books because of his words within the text. It is very exciting to know that students feel extremely motivated by reading his books. The next motivational book I would recommend would be “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle.
While reading these books, he shows a love for writing. This book is motivational because it helps students to recognize the different fruits, numbers, and days of the week. This book has been translated into 47 languages, which is fabulous. It shows wonderful illustrations, entertaining story, and a great book design. The students really enjoy reading this outstanding book. It was colorful and eye-catching to the students.
I teach first grade, so my students are 6 and 7 years old. Young readers are very influenced by other children and the adults around them. I have found that my struggling first grade students the past two years have been those with families that are not very supportive at home with reading. These parents are either working at night, have a lot of children (stretching their time between all of their children), or just not helping their children how they should. In fact most of my struggling readers are those whose parents are not showing their reading interests to their children or not helping them read at home.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of readers' interests, my students tend to talk about books they like, not certain genres or authors. They might say, "I like books about dinosaurs." One thing I agree with from our surveys is that the students who do not have a lot of quality literature at home to read, struggle to read. I also think is a sign of how much they were read to as babies and toddlers. If they do not have a lot of books at home now, I'm sure they didn't have a lot of books when they were babies and toddlers. Maybe they were not exposed to reading at an early age, like some of my other students.
I think a huge motivation in my own classroom is student choice. The only time my students do not really choose which book they want to read is during guided reading. However, sometimes they do get to vote on which book they want to read first. I try to stock my library with books I know they would like or be interested in. I find that if they can choose the books they want to read, they read more!! My students beg me to the library to return and check out another book, they get out books and start to read just when we are transitioning to another task, they constantly talk to eachother about the books they are reading.
Some books that I have found that work to motivate my young readers are; Junie B. Jones and Ready Freddy! series. They also love books by Dr. Seuss, Rosemary Wells, and Kevin Henkes. Lastly, anything about dinosaurs is always a hit at this age. They beg me to read the Junie B. Jones and Ready Freddy books after I read them. They always want to check them out of the library. For Christmas, I bought each of them a Ready Freddy book! Oh my, they loved it! Most of them keep them in their desks to read when they can. They find it easy to relate to Junie B. Jones and Ready Freddy because the main characters are in the first grade (some of Junie's are in K). They can relate the situations, problems, and humor!! Since the beginning of the year, I have been reading them Junie B. Jones and Ready Freddy books. I read a chapter or two each day. We alternate between Junie B. Jones and Ready Freddy. They love this!!! I don't ask questions about he book to quiz them. They usually lead a discussion during/after I read all on their own. This motivates them to want to hear more and read more on their own.
While researching the Reading Interest Surveys, my CLC team found that these types of surveys are very helpful for teachers. When students are given the option to share their own opinions about reading influences their motivation to read. We found that many factors influence motivation including reading at home, book topics, and having access to materials that interest them.
ReplyDeleteI teach second grade in a two teacher Team Approach to Mastery (TAM) classroom. I am both a regular and special education teacher. We have 24 students with 8 of them being classified as special education. Motivation for reading is a constant part of our day, not only during reading block but also during down time when our homeroom is reading Accelerated Reader books. We motivate our homeroom students by reading with them, awarding them for successful completion of AR quizzes and meeting the AR goal level set by the school.
During our reading block, we switch with three other classrooms and teach the struggling readers. This is the time that is most difficult to motivate the students because they are not as confident in this subject. I find when I am teaching reading, I need to make it fun for students. We do many spelling games throughout the week. One that my students absolutely love is spelling words on a partner’s back. They find this activity challenging and motivating to do well. When we read the main story, we use a program on the Smartboard that reads the story to them. Each student is expected to follow along in their own book as well but they enjoy having the same page on the Smartboard.
When I teach in my small group of four students, I try to choose activities that they are interested in. They enjoy completing riddles that are missing specific sight words, finding sight words in a word search, and reading Time for Kids weekly magazines. In a survey from our CLC assignment, “students who have access to materials of interest are more likely to read and thus to improve their reading achievement and attitudes” (Worthy, Moorman, & Turner, 1999). I see the motivation level rise with my small group readers as I ask them what they would like to read for the week then I adjust my lessons accordingly. I try to give all my students the option to have access to reading materials that are of their interest.
It is key to motivate students in reading starting at a young age. This will promote success as they get older and instill in students a love of reading. Part of our job as educators is to create a fun learning environment. The Reading Interest Surveys show that creating an environment that is student oriented; they are more likely to be motivated to read.
Motivating Students
ReplyDeleteOverall, our surveys suggested that children need to be motivated to read. I team teach a first grade class with 31 students in it. According to Piaget, many of students are at “the upper level of their preoperational period” (Travers, pp192). My students have the basic skills of letter sound, beginning sound, and sounding out short vowel words. Now the students are working towards reading for meaning and content. My students do need some motivation to read within the classroom and more motivation to read at home. There is little to no support at many of the homes of my students. Within the classroom, students can be motivated by earning stickers, and earning groups points. Many of students are currently motivated by wanting to move up levels. They are aware of what levels they are at, and want to advance to a higher level. Another motivation not only to read but to focus on comprehension is Accelerated Reading test. If my students pass the test with 80% or higher they get to add a circle to the caterpillar’s body. We are trying to make our caterpillar go all the way around the room. Another motivation is reading to the stuffed animal reading buddies. If the students are reading when they are suppose to, they get a chance to read with a stuffed animal. My students are also very motivated to read to our sixth grade reading buddies each week. They work really hard to practice their books, so they can read them to their buddies on Thursday. I find that there are many ways to motivate children to read, you just have to find what works for each student. Motivation is crucial for children to develop an internal love of reading.
I am currently teaching 3rd -5th grade students.
ReplyDelete(3) What types of reading motivational activities do you employ in your classroom? What have you tried that worked or did not work in your classroom?
There are many things a teacher must do when teaching children how to read. The first thing is to motivate them to want to read! When teachers plan a well organized lesson and are very enthusiastic about reading, it transfers to the students and they become excited and motivated to learn! I try to carefully plan my lessons and keep each child’s interest in mind. The best way to know how to connect the lesson to your students is to give them an interest survey at the beginning of the year.
My students know that when they walk in my room they are “safe” to take educational risks! They know that it is an open and positive atmosphere where they are valued and encouraged to participate and try their best. I also try to give my students immediate feedback when they have completed an assignment. Frequent and early feedback is crucial for their development. When they are confident about their abilities, they are more likely to “want” to continue pushing strong. I try to keep my entire lesson interactive and engaging. It is important to keep the students in the center of discussions. I have found that the more the teacher talks the less the students listen. If the students have the control to explore new ideas and discus what they have learned, they will progress and excel faster than if they sat in a lecture.
Below I have added the summary of “The Sixth Grade Reading Interest Survey”.
The Sixth grade reading interest survey was given to sixth graders in a rural county, in
Virginia. There are many studies that show how motivation to read and attitude to read have a direct correlation. When students are motivated to read they will want to read more. The more a student reads the better their attitude will be towards reading. This survey was given to learn what motivates this group of students and how they feel about reading. It will help the teacher learn their interest and plan with their motivations in mind.
The survey was given to twenty three sixth grade students. Most of the students were around the age of eleven or twelve. There are ten girls and thirteen boys in the group, eight of which have been identified as gifted. The survey included open ended questions along with questions that ask them to rank certain ideas.
It was found that girls enjoy reading more than boys (80% girls/38%boys). Matilda and Chain Letters were two of the most popular books between both boys and girls. The students really enjoy reading funny, adventures, and mysterious stories. About 65% of the students can tell you their favorite author, even though only 38% of boys like to read. There were more boys than girls that reported reading a really bad book. Their reasons for disliking the book were because they were boring or they could not understand the text. This is why it is important to find books that match the student’s interest and are on their reading level. When the students were asked why they read, most of them said they read stories that interest them. They do not like reading stories that they cannot connect to.
The survey was a great tool for the teacher to learn more about his/her students. Now he/she has a great inventory of the student’s interest and reading motivations. This should be used when lesson planning and deciding on material to us during activities.