Thursday, May 20, 2010
Module 7 Assignment
Welcome to Module 7, class! I am glad that many of you have found the blog. Please feel free to post your Module 7 reflection as a comment to this message. You are free to provide feedback to your peers, although it is not required. When you are ready to submit your Module 7 assignment to the drop box, there is no need to include a title page (just place your name on the paper for ease of reading for me). The assignment is informal. Happy posting and reading!
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Hi Sharie,
ReplyDeleteI have absolutely no idea how a blog works!! I guess I will learn. What is the purpose of a blog, and how is it different from say a Facebook page. I see that you can follow people. I am just trying to figure it out, so if I do something wrong please let me know!! Thanks..Kim Brothers
Sharie,
ReplyDeleteDo we just post our assignment on here when we get ready? I am I allowed to write other things on here...sorry...just don't know...
Kim Brothers
Sharie,
ReplyDeleteDo I post my module 7 assignment on this blog?
Do we just post our assignment as a comment right here?
ReplyDeleteFor thousands of years the need to read and write has been embedded in our ancient cultures. 5000 years ago we see the ancient Egyptian scribes etching hieroglyphics on papyrus, and later nearly 1000 years ago the printing press was invented in ancient Chinese civilizations. The motivation to communicate with others through reading and writing has been a common denominator in present and past histories.
ReplyDeleteOnce the printing press was invented hornbooks mounted on wood and animal hides paved the way to early literacy in American history (Norton, 2007). Since this time biblical records and scholarly manuals rapidly spread throughout the country. Education for all became available and children’s literature and text books populated school houses. Yet still the motivation to learn to read and write became widely available to all. This opportunity to become literate spread like wild fire. As literature became more available, genres expanded their boundaries and developed into new and exciting and yet risky materials. What authors wrote down expressed individualism and in the 1900’s to present, fantasy and realism became more available. Currently, multimedia has been thrown into the mix of literature.
The transformation of literature has given our modern readers a wide range of literature to access. However with the change of our society, motivation has been limited with distraction of other technological developments. As the need for literacy is still mandated in our nation it is ever important to increase motivation in the emergent readers as well as the proficient readers. Motivation can come from society, family, peers and educators.
There are many factors that inspire reader motivation. The reader’s attitude towards reading, interests of the reader, self-perceived competence of reading ability and the culture’s expectation of reading all impact the motivation of an individual reader. It is now more important for instructors to motivate, challenge and access a student’s innate reading ability.
As motivating a student’s readability is a difficult task there are several ways to engage a student. An educator must provide reading materials that relate to the students lives and have a real world application. Challenging all students to push themselves, tapping into curiosity and creating activities that all students can input prior knowledge and experience new knowledge with others are effective ways to ensure motivation for reading.
Reading surveys to access reading motivation are the best way to start dissecting the individual motivation needs. From the data retrieved from reading surveys, students feel that school is the place to read. Only advanced readers felt that reading out of the school setting was enticing (Reading Motivation, 2007). Therefore, it is ever so important for teachers to become the mediator to motivate student reading. However, 41% of students from the Just Plain Reading Survey feel that personal reading is the best because students can make choices about their reading (Just Plain Reading, 2001). In addition to giving choice, students from Teen Week 2005, wanted more information provided about new books to inspire them to choose new literature. With the evidence from the surveys it is clear to me that teachers are the leading student relationship to inspire students to read.
Julie Simpson
What factors do you take into consideration when developing a literature-based lesson plan or unit plan?
ReplyDeleteWhen creating a lesson plan, I take into consideration several factors. I take into consideration how the subject was taught to me as a student. I take into consideration what I can recall without any review materials. I think about all of the learning styles that must be covered within the lesson. I try to apply as many of the senses to the lesson as well to keep the students attentive. I also try to make it entertaining, engaging, and thought provoking to bring forth higher order thinking with an everyday twist to it so that my students will see it as second nature.
Elizabeth Schuyten
ReplyDeleteModule 7
After looking over all four surveys on what motivates students, a few common denominators stood out. It seems that no matter the grade or reading level, most students are motivated by being able to choose their own reading material and by having a verity of reading materials to choose from. These two factors seemed to play a huge role in whether students enjoyed reading and whether they read for pleasure. Other motivating factors that were clear were tracking ones reading which gave the students a sense of accomplishment and success. Students are also motivated by the cover of the books and the genres. One survey determined that students like the social collaboration with reading while anther stated that it was the independent time that motivated students. This could be so due to an age difference in the two surveys. Another interesting factor was that girls seem enjoy reading more than boys. However, once boys started reading for pleasure they enjoyed it. Overall, students of all ages were motivated most by having a choice in what they read and in having a verity of reading materials to choose from.
I teach third grade and most of my students are just phasing out of the learning to read stage and into the reading to learn stage. I say this lightly though. Being that it is the end of third grade many of my students have progressed and made the transition. However, my struggling readers are still struggling. They have made great strides, but they started much further behind then others. These students are receiving interventions and getting a great deal of extra practice in decoding, phonemic awareness, and fluency. The hope is to have them reading to learn and in stage 3 before they leave 4th grade.
I have tried a number of motivating strategies to get kids to enjoy reading. I have found that different strategies work for different students. Some can really fall for the extrinsic motivators such as rewards for reaching goals for minutes read, or putting a sticker on the chart for a completed book. Other students could care less about these motivators. They need to be intrinsically motivated. This is where really tapping into the students’ interests comes into play. These are the students who need to be able to have a say in what they want to read and the type of reading material that they want to enjoy. I have found most of my students enjoy reading for fluency with a partner. Here they track their speed and can visually see improvement as the year progresses. This gives the students a sense of pride and accomplishment. Lastly, I like to tell my students about things that I am reading. When I do this I get really excited about it so they can see that I have a true love for reading. They also become very interested in all the things I learn from reading (third graders love any cool facts I give to them).
My last response lost its formatting when I posted it. Sorry that it seems like one huge paragraph and is difficult to read.
ReplyDeleteSince children are naturally attracted to technology we can use it to help further their education. E-books and digital text are two ways to help children using technology. The Digital Reader Using E-books in K-12 Education, Terence W. Cavanaugh, can show educators ways to use e-books for students K-12 to read across the curriculum. It also helps students and parents read together by using computers. With e-books students can adjust the format to better read the text even if students don’t wear glasses the students can better read larger print. Some students have a condition called Irens. They need different colored backgrounds in order to read the text. Technology allows them to change the background on their computers to be able to read the text. Janice West-Christy (2003) identifies five techniques for assisting struggling reluctant and remedial readers: Offer a wide range of reading materials, incorporate large-print materials, engage multiple modalities, teach important vocabulary, and use pre-reading techniques. It seems that e-books can accommodate four of these techniques and maybe even five. Listening to parents of a small rural area they like the idea of e-books. Their children can be exposed to thousands of books instead of being limited by what is offered at their children’s school or even the limitation of the community library. I teach second grade and have found that my students are at what Paget calls the intuitive thought stage of development. They seek out books that are appealing to them and familiar. To feel that they are fluent readers even if they are not.
ReplyDeleteI am having the hardest time with this!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's about time that I learned how to do this. For individuals who are not as computer literate, this can really run up the BLOOD PRESSURE!
ReplyDeleteSummary of Module 7 from the Green Team
ReplyDeleteMany factors affect the way a child reads. Children chose whether or not to read because of their interests, home environment and their attitudes about literature. When identifying ways to encourage reading success we must analyze the way children read, the reasons they read and most importantly what discourages them about reading. Understanding these contributing factors will enable parents, educators and researchers alike to learn ways to promote healthy reading habits and literate success. In conclusion, there are numerous factors that affect reading. A major aspect on how motivated students are to read is their family’s attitude toward reading and how they incorporate reading into their home life. There is growing research on home and family influences on children’s motivations for reading. “Children whose early encounters with literacy are enjoyable are more likely to develop a predisposition to read frequently and broadly in subsequent years”(Baker, Scher, Makler, 1997, p. 69-82). For children to have this exposure, the family’s attitude toward reading is a huge factor (Baker, Scher, Makler, 1997). During this research, our team has found a lot of helpful information. We all collaborated and swapped information from one another. Since children are naturally attracted to technology we can use it to help further their education. E-books and digital text are two ways to help children using technology. The Digital Reader Using E-books in K-12 Education, Terence W. Cavanaugh, can show educators ways to use e-books for students K-12 to read across the curriculum. It also helps students and parents read together by using computers. With e-books students can adjust the format to better read the text even if students don’t wear glasses the students can better read larger print. Children are more likely to read, want to read and enjoy reading when it is made fun for them. Also, children will read when they are used to being around books. When a child is familiar with literature they are more likely to become involved in it. Having a child who has books at home, reads frequently and enjoys is may contribute to having a successful educational career.
After reviewing my surveys there are behavior indicators of motivation which include choice of activites to do, persistence at these activities, and the level of effort with these activities. Motivation is a key factor in obtaining success. Motivating struggling readers is not an easy task, but it is necessary to build the drive to read.
ReplyDeleteI use many strategies with my students to motivate reading. Some of my favorite strategies are having my students do book projects,keep a reading record of books you read and personal comments, and I read aloud everyday.There are many strategies to motivate students to read; I try to find one that is beneficial for the students
So often as teachers we are given the challenge of teaching reading to students who do not like to read and have often times struggled to learn to read. As a K-5 Special Education teacher this description fits almost all of my students. I have learned with time and practice that there is no one-way to motivate students to want to read. Motivating these students takes patience and creativity, often times requiring you, as the teacher, to step beyond what you have done and create a new way of teaching. I have one preferred method of motivation, this method does not work with all students but I find it will work with most. I use comics to bait my students and reel them in. I ask all of my students to look at the newspaper or magazines and cut out their favorite comics. All of the comics brought in are attached to the wall. As the year goes on the wall becomes more and more covered. Students become more interested in what other students are bringing in and want to read the comic wall. After a while I introduce students to graphic novels, they especially respond well to Captain Underpants and The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Students that are not ready for chapter books are introduced to actual comic books, commonly used are Garfield and Peanuts. The most reluctant reader enjoy these because of the illustrations and few words per page. When the comic book bait does not work I turn to reading aloud to my students. I tend to pick either the first book of a series or for lower readers an author with many titles. So many of my lowest readers are not read to at home and really enjoy being read to. I also like to make games out of the books we are reading, having classroom discussions, and have students illustrate their favorite parts to the books they are reading.
ReplyDeleteThroughout reading over the many article my team researched I noticed that some many of the students liked to interact with the books they were reading. They liked to discuss the material with classmates, they enjoyed plays and poetry, they enjoyed drawing, and finding facts to share. I also noticed that having a large selection of books, both genres and topics is important to reading success. Sometimes kids will choose the most unlikely books to read.
I am really trying to work with this blog, but I will get it.
ReplyDeleteI take into consideration when developing a lesson plan the fun and engaging activites that will motivate my students to master the skill of reading. My students are in the cognitive stage of development with reading. I would recommend the books Fire Them Up & Success Built to Last as motivational tools for reading.
The surveys that I researched from the Collaborative Learning community were about students reading habits and their attitudes towards reading. The first survey that I researched was done using the Accelerated Reading computer program. In three schools there were a total of 222 surveys administered showing that the library check out rate did not change because of the program. The three schools involved had the program as a requirement, had program implemented on a voluntary bases, or did not have the program at all.
ReplyDeleteThe second survey that I researched was conducted by Jensen, Papp, and Richmond in 1998, 2nd graders and 4th graders revealed that reading for fun ranked near the bottom of their priority list when given other recreational choices. The students simply thought reading was not something that you did for fun.
This information comes to me as a wake up call as a first grade teacher and looking at the developmental stages that my students are in. According to Dr. Chall students go through developmental reading stages that begin at birth through college. The most critical of these stages is learning to read. Learning to read and having a love for reading is the stage that my students are in. Stage 1- initial reading and decoding is students are developing alphabet recognition and use their knowledge of sound-spellings to decode. My students fall in between the stage 1 and the stage 2- confirmation, fluency, ungluing from print. Most of my students with the exception of two are in stage 2. These stage 2 students are developing decoding skills further and beginning to develop fluency.
Reflecting on this makes me wonder is this age appropriate for them? Also, if I am doing what is age appropriate or developmentally appropriately for them when doing my planning? It is something to reflect on continuously. I have grouped my students not only homogenously, but heterogeneously. I have extended the lessons from our basal readers to go into the genres more in depth; the students seem to really like this. Most of all the students love it when I allow them to bring in their own books to share. Letting the students share something of their own really gets the first graders wanting to read in front of each other.
I currently teach first grade at a title one school in a small town in Wyoming. In my class I have 14 little ones and I have taught them for two years. This year I tried a new approach to reading. I wanted my students to own their own learning and motivate themselves to read. I allowed my students to choose texts at their reading level to inspire them to want to read. It was amazing to me how simply helping them understand why a person chooses a book motivated them to read. We talked about reading for a purpose, and choosing a book to match that purpose. Another way I found to motivate my students was to check in after reading and allow them time to make sure they were following the rules to help themselves be better readers. My students began to realize only they suffer when they are not on task and that reading can take you to amazing places when you choose a book that fits you.
ReplyDeleteFor the reading motivation survey I found a class of second graders who were not motivated at all to read. It was interesting to see the results of the survey:
Reading Motivation
In this survey second grade students were surveyed to find out their attitude towards reading in and out of the classroom. The students are at Dobson Elementary School which has approximately 685 students and has a largely ELL and low-income population. Fallaw’s class has 23 students; 13 girls, 10 boys, 7 Hispanic students, 1 Biracial student, and 15 Caucasian students (Fallaw, 2007). Alicia Fallaw, a second grade teacher was noticing that her students were not interested in reading. She administered the Garfield-Elementary Reading Attitude Survey by Dennis J. Kear, from Wichita State University (Kear, McKenna, 1990) to her students and then studied the results in order to better know how to motivate her students to read (Fallaw, 2007).
After administering and evaluating the survey the results showed that 37% of students in the class enjoyed recreational reading and would choose to read over many other activities, and 61% of students felt that reading was academic and that school is the place for reading (Fallaw, 2007). The three questions that were ranked the lowest for the students were: “how do you feel about reading during the summer, how do you feel about reading instead of playing, and how do you feel about doing reading workbook pages and worksheets?” (Fallaw, 2007). Overall the students showed a real lack of interest in reading if not forced to do so. The teacher then also asked the students what things would motivate them to read. The results were that the majority of student, 77%, said that what motivated them to read would be to read in the moon chair, and 22% said reading outside motivated them to read. Fallaw learned that choosing books and places to read were the most motivational for her students in the classroom (Fallaw, 2007).
Fallaw, A. (2007). Reading Motivation. Retrieved on May 17, 2010 from faculty.rcoe.appstate.edu/ koppenhaverd /f06/5040/papers/aliciaf.pdf
My group shared different surveys regarding students’ interest in reading. Throughout the surveys I found out that most students from elementary through high school have almost the same purpose of reading. They read for enjoyment, they read books that appeal to them. Students like being able to choose their own books. Many of them stated that they read magazines like sports illustrated, wrestling at home. They like free reading time and they like reading plays and poetry. They do not like to read books that have too many chapters. According to the survey/interviews, the students most likely read in school during free reading time, group reading, plays and poetry, classroom library, and sometimes visit to public library. Students also stated that they like to read books that make their imaginations run wild. Books that make them feel good about themselves.
ReplyDeleteI teach third grade and most of the things that are shared on the survey pertain to my students. My students like to read books that they can relate to and books that do not have too many chapters. I have classroom library that contains books that I have found to be successful as motivational tools. I have “The Five W’s Complete 5 Book Set” which can be used for reluctant readers of all ages and students reading below grade level are sure to enjoy the high-interest factual newspaper articles in these books. Each article is presented in a realistic and appealing format complete with dateline and picture. Follow-up questions require the reader to respond to the "5W's - Who, what, when, where, and why?" It's a great way to boost comprehension skills.
I also have the High-Interest Reading Complete Set that includes 6 action-packed books, “ Amazing Records, Hot Sports, Silly Laws, Cool Jobs, Fascinating Creatures, Great Interventions”. These books are sure to capture and hold student interest while building essential reading skills. Each intriguing story is followed by activities that improve reading comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and more. The high-interest topics and low reading levels make these books ideal for reluctant readers, those reading below grade level, and teachers who simply want to spice up their reading curriculum.
Comprehension activities follow each story and focus on these basic skills: finding the main idea, facts and details, vocabulary and making inference,
Raynold Merard
Summary of the surveys
ReplyDeleteIn the article What Do the Kids Think, Andrew B. Pachtman and Karen A. Wilson address what aspects of a reading program motivate students to read. There were 22 fourth grade students with a range of reading levels in this survey. The classroom reading program consisted of 15-20 minutes of silent sustained reading per day and 30 minutes of reading for homework 5 days a week. The students were allowed to choose which books they wanted to read and had a classroom library with over 2,000 books of different themes and genres. Students in the survey realized that once they started choosing books that interested them and actually began to read that they did in fact enjoy it. After a student finished a book they were not required to do a book report, but instead they were required to do a book talk with classmates. Students agreed that having social collaboration at the end of a book rather than a book report or extra work helped motivate them to read more. Student’s also set reading goals for themselves and kept track of how many books they read throughout the year. This helped motivate the class because it gave them a sense of success as they grew closer to their goals.
All students were given 19 open ended questions that were intended to tell what aspects of the reading program contributed most to their reading. The item in the survey that was considered “very important” most frequently was “having a lot of books in the class library.” The second most frequently noted “very important” items were the students’ opportunity to choose their own books and participating in book counts and book celebrations (Pachtman, pp. 7, 2006).
The study, “Just Plain Reading”: A Survey of What Makes Students Want to Read in Middle School Classrooms. Ivey Gay and Karen Broaddus used students as primary informants about what motivates them to read in their middle school classrooms. About 1,700 sixth-grade students were surveyed in reading/language arts classrooms in 23 diverse schools in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. Students described how classroom environments motivated their reading through open-ended responses, short answers, and checklist items. To obtain richer data about positive instructional environments, follow-up interviews were conducted with 31 students in 3 classrooms in which students reported high engagement with reading. Using qualitative methodology, a content analysis was conducted of the survey responses and compared these findings with the interview data. Several findings were identified about positive features of instruction. First, students valued independent reading and the teacher reading out loud as part of instructional time. Second, when asked what they liked most about time spent in the class, students focused more on the act of reading itself or personal reasons for reading rather than on social aspects or activities related to reading. Third, when students were asked what motivated them to read at school; they emphasized on the quality and diversity of reading materials rather than classroom setting or other people.
Blue Team
Good morning everyone! I see people are posting the same concerns I have so I will just wait to read the answer to the questions instead of reposting the same questions...
ReplyDeleteThanks for submitting to the blog, students! I know that this may be new for many of you, so I commend you for your efforts. Keep up the great work, and I will visit, again, today.
ReplyDeleteWhen developing a literature based lesson plans the factors I take into consideration is the students’ ability to read and grasp/understand what they read. Also I take into account the State of Florida Sunshine State Standards and Benchmarks. I have to make sure that each piece of literature and course of study are covered by the State of Florida’s Benchmarks. Moreover, I must go into detail about the Essential Content the unit covers, my Objectives that I want the students to learn and achieve and the Instructional tools which I plan to use and cover. Things such as vocabulary, secondary unit books, technology and the core text book are all covered in the Instructional Tools. After I have covered the professional part of my lesson plan, I then take into consideration the factors that I personally assessed within each of my class periods. I take into account the strengths and weaknesses of each my class and I adjust my teaching techniques according to the personality of my class periods. I also have ESE students, so I use audio talk books for them if accessible but if talk books are not accessible I allow for the extra time for reading and provide individual instruction when available.
ReplyDeleteSummary of surveys
After reviewing all the surveys in my group it is apparent that the common denominator is that kids nowadays despise reading. students who are avid readers are readers because they have the resources readily available to allow them to read on the daily basis. as parents become younger the emphasis on reading and education as a hole is severely lacking because its not being stressed at home. more than half of family households who are not high class the head of the family can't read. especially in the black community. in order to restore improved reading across the board intervention programs that provide motivation and rewards are needed in schools and summer programs.
Team Orange Summary
ReplyDeleteWe as teachers know the importance of reading. Helping students to develop a positive attitude towards reading is a key factor in how well they read and a challenge to us personally. This paper looks at some of the studies that have been done concerning students and reading, their attitude towards, family attitudes towards reading, and which type of book students like best. It will also look at the newest venue for reading, e-books and students habits in this area.
In summary, through studying the literature on students reading habits, it is shown that there has been a decline in students’ interest in reading. A very few read simply for pleasure. So the question that is posed for teachers is age old, how do we get our students interested in reading? Of course in an ideal situation the parents would be on board and supportive, our libraries would be stocked with materials that interest our students, and our students would have at home libraries that that also would stimulate their interest. But unfortunately this is not the case. We must periodically see what our students interests are, because their interests will change through out the year and do our best to entice them to pick up a book.
Hale & Crowe’s (2001) findings are a result of a 15 year study conducted by Crowe at an Arizona high school as part of his graduate work. He surveyed students in high school English classes at the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade levels in 1982, 1990, and 1997. This simple survey asked for gender and year in school. Students then simply checked genres read in the academic setting and for pleasure. The results were broken down by grade levels and the authors looked for trends in genres, titles, and authors. In 1990, Stephen King was the most popular author read for pleasure, but he was displaced in 1997 by Michael Crichton (para. 8). “The data collected suggests that boys are slightly less likely to read for pleasure than girls” (para. 5). However boys tended to read a greater variety of genres for pleasure. The negative aspect to the findings is the absence of YA titles from the reading preferences of students. The authors suggest that this trend can be corrected by teachers because students are more likely to read required readings for class.
ReplyDeleteThis study relates to the students currently in my classes for several reasons. First of all, the students in my sophomore and senior English classes possess many similar biopsychosocial characteristics found in Travers & Travers (2008): identity confusion, improved problem-solving skills, progressed abstract thinking, egocentrism, frequent mood swings, changes in relationships, and increases in academic pressures and school performance (p. 284). Similarly in the study students related that they read for academic classes because the reading is a requirement of the class. Key factors (other than fulfilling curricular requirements) in developing a literature-based lesson or unit must be students’ reading levels and interests. It is important to note differences between Young Adult books, the classics, and adult texts. Some texts that are high interest level for the students, such as those discussed in the study like Stephen King novels, may not necessarily be appropriate to teach in the classroom. Students can be motivated to read through a variety of activities. In the study, requiring a text to be discussed and tested on in class was simply enough to motivate the students to read. That may be the case with highly motivated students but not with struggling readers. Some texts that are difficult, possibly from other world cultures or centered on foreign ideas or concepts, can be difficult to teach. Developing relevance is key to motivation. Guest speakers, artwork, videos, supplemental nonfiction such as current magazine articles, and music are a few ways to make the text appealing to students. A few years ago I had a class of ninth graders who were targeted “at-risk”. They enjoyed reading accessible (on-reading level) texts about topics that interested them. They read Weakfish, which the school had purchased for staff development. It is about a young man’s experiences with bullying.
CLC Reflection Part 1
ReplyDeleteAfter looking at all the surveys submitted, it was plain to see there are many factors that influence and affect the way a child reads. In addition these factors will determine if children will become literate adults. I am a first grade teacher teaching at a school where most students and parents put education last. This is very unfortunate, especially in the first grade because I believe in my heart that first grade sets the foundation for reading success or failure. Despite the odds stacked against myself and my coworkers we go to work with goals for our students, we want our first graders reading, we want them to love reading, and most important we want parents to become involved in establishing positive reading habits for our children. Here is something from www.tooterkids.com I found very interesting and wanted to share in my reflection:
Why Read for 30 Minutes a Day
*If daily reading begins in infancy, by the time the child is five years old, he or she has been fed roughly 900 hours of brain food!
*Reduce that experience to just 30 minutes a week and the child's hungry mind lose 770 hours of nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and stories.
*A kindergarten student who has not been read aloud to could enter school with less than 60 hours of literacy nutrition. No teacher, no matter how talented, can make up for those lost hours of mental nourishment.
*Therefore...30 minutes daily = 900 hours
30 minutes weekly = 130 hours
Less than 30 minutes weekly = 60 hours (“Why your child should read for 20 Minutes a Day “, 1999)
One of the survey’s I found interesting involved Accelerated Reader. The survey showed that Accelerated Reader Program did not influence the reading habits of students at all (Rosenheck, 1996). Our school district is using the Accelerated Reading Program, and we are required to implement this program into our Language Arts lesson plan on a daily basis. At the beginning of the school year my students take a test to determine their “reading level.” Once their reading level is determined they are required to select book based on their reading level, read the book and take a quiz on the book using the Accelerated Reader software. It is my opinion that Accelerated Reader does not help motivate my students to read. If anything their feelings are hurt when the computer shows they did not pass a test, which results in frustration for my student which adds on to negative feelings about reading books. There is more
JohannaCLC Part 2 (sorry I didnt fit on one post)
ReplyDeleteIn the surveys I found that the home environment had a major impact on how children viewed reading. One survey indicated that parents who have book in the home increase the level of education their children will attain. This survey was conducted by sociologist from the University of Nevada, Reno and UCLA. Parents have to provide a “literate environment” if they want their children to become successful readers. A home filled with books, magazines, newspapers, and other reading materials combined with a parent or an adult who also reads will almost guarantee a child will develop positive reading habits that will help them in school and beyond.
With young children I have found that rewarding them for doing something positive keeps them motivated. I take this with me when thinking of ideas to motivate my children to read. Since we are required to implement the Accelerated Reader Program in our classroom, I have chart displayed in our classroom with every students’ name. Every five books my student read and pass the test for the books they are allowed computer time or their choice of a prize. I am teaching in an inclusion classroom and unfortunately some of my students can’t read very simple books because they don’t have any help at home. This motivation does not work with them because there is no desire or drive to read. For these students we give them picture books and ask them to tell us about the pictures. We want every child in our classroom to have access to books. They are rewarded for their effort in class. Once again I go back to the surveys that prove that home environments are essential to reading success. From the article “Understanding the Relationship between Attitudes toward Reading and Home Literacy Environment,” one major factor that contributed to positive attitude towards reading is the home environment (Walberg and Tsai, 1983).
As far as motivational books for first graders, I love the classic story books for young children. My students love Curious George and Clifford series. These stories are very easy to read, funny and most important they teach young students valuable lessons about life. In addition we love “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, and “The Three Little Pigs.” My students love to hear these stories read out loud. In diverse classroom library, my reading corner has a canopy, pillows, stuffed animals, and props like sunglasses, hats, and fairy wings they can wear while they read. Occasionally I will sit in under the canopy and read with the students to show them their teacher has to read too.
I am currently on a personal journey I am trying to gain muscle and compete in my first body building show. There is no magic pill that is going to make this happen. There is no magic pill to motivate students to read either. The evidence is clear that a literate home environment that promotes positive reading habits is the essentials in producing a great reader. Teachers have the obligation and responsibility to provide each child with an opportunity to become a successful reader, but no matter what the teacher does in the classroom parents have to step up and do their part at home.
Reference
Why your child should read for 20 Minutes a Day . (1999). Retrieved from http://www.tooter4kids.com/classroom/why_read_for_20_minutes_every_da.htm
Team Purple:
ReplyDeleteThe highly effective teacher realizes that the majority of young students must be inspired, challenged or stimulated to learn. The successful engagement of students in the class is a daily challenge for educators. Teachers complain that they cannot compete with today’s technology and many students think teachers are boring. Researchers and educators have become more aware of the importance of reading motivation on children’s literacy development. There are a multitude of strategies teachers may employ to engage and motivate students. Brewster and Fager (2000) suggest: ensure course materials relate to students’ lives, allow students to have some degree of control over learning, assign challenging but achievable tasks for all students, arouse students’ curiosity about topic being studied and design projects that allow students to share new knowledge.
When a child relates personally to a topic, he will be more engaged and will relate to the topic. The teacher must remember the primary goal of reading is for pleasure. Once the teacher has supplied a wide variety of literature, it is crucial that students are motivated and engaged. In this document we will review information from five reading research surveys concerning motivating readers. The researchers will discuss information from articles concerning using Literature to Increase Reading Motivation, a sixth grade reading interest survey, improving motivation through multiple intelligences, family reading behavior and exploring the elementary gender gap. In each of these documents we will note information such as students’ reading habits, attitude towards reading and their family’s attitude toward reading.
According to many reading surveys most children enjoy reading and read for pleasure and information, but only 1/3 of students read outside of the classroom. Teachers need to motivate children to read by helping them find a connection to books, poetry, and other works of literature.
Many children do not have the luxury of parents who read to them or a house full of books, so school may be the only place where reading habits are developed. Students from literacy deficient homes should be educated on using the public library and have access to high-quality classroom libraries. Struggling readers must be helped early on so that reading does not become a chore. There are ample interventions for struggling readers, but they must be utilized in order to be helpful.
The teacher must exhibit a love of reading and expose the students to all genres of literature several times a day. Reading surveys are helpful in determining the genres that students are interested in at different developmental ages. The teacher is a powerful reading role model and can have a positive effect on all students.
Reading surveys are useful in that they inform teachers about the reading habits of students, their attitudes towards reading, their motivation for reading, why they read, their reading likes and dislikes, and their families’ attitude towards reading. With this information educators are equipped to plan lessons that engage and motivate students to read.
Reading Motivation
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The article, Reading Motivation: Exploring the Elementary Gender Gap, by Barbara A. Marinak and Linda B. Gambrell, summarizes a study conducted to explore gender differences in the area of reading. Does gender play a role in the motivation of children to read? This is a question that several organizations including the Education Alliance 2007, Mohr 2006, and Smith & Wilhelm 2002, had been called earlier to investigate. Research conducted from 1992 to 2003 indicates that girls consistently out performed boys in reading achievement tests not only in the United States, but also in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia. In general, boys lag more than a year behind girls in reading development. With the findings, the nation is now calling parent, educators, and policy makers to focus on the underachievement of boys in reading. The recent study by Marinak & Gambrell explores possible reasons such as interest levels and motivation to explain why there is such a difference.
The research included 288 third-grade students (145 girls and 143 boys) of average reading abilities from three different elementary schools, and sought two constructs to examine: the self-concept as a reader, and the value of reading. The Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996) was used to determine differences between genders and the motivation to read. There were 20 questions on a survey that the students were required to answer. The results were categorized into three categories: Motivation to read, self-concept as a reader, and the value of reading. See Table 1 and 2 below summary for numerical representation. In the area of self-concept, there appeared to be no significant differences between boys and girls. However, in the area of motivation and value of reading, girls scored significantly higher than boys in both. These findings are important because it appears that the low motivation to read in boys is directly correlated with the value that they place on reading.
Reference
Marinak, B. & Gambrell, L. (2010). Reading Motivation: Exploring the Elementary Gender
Gap. Literacy Research and Instruction, 49,129-141.
In my survey results, I found that students are extremely motivated readers will present and make opportunities to read. In a class of 22, students were asked their opinion about the fourth grade reading program. Eighty-six percent of the students scored and rated as having a large variety of books to pick from as the most important factor to successful reading. This program also stated that twenty-three percent of the students found that choosing their books along with a literacy program and activities, as the second most factor in motivating students to read. I teach the first grade and I make an effort to utilize various activities to motivate my students. Allowing the students to pick their own books to read at times is one of the first activities that I try. I allow them to look through the book and rate it on a scale from one to three and rank which one will be the best. Finding and allowing students to find books that go along with the given curriculum motivates them a lot as well. Changing the tone in my voice, using hand jesters and body language, and even singing or dancing are also things that I do, out of the ordinary as I read to them, this captures the student’s interests and gets them motivated to read. I also like to ask prompting questions as I read that makes them think what will happen next, and it keeps their attention. These strategies are the ones that I have tried and work. I often find my students mocking me while they are reading silently or even as we choral read. I feel if you use something that entices and you are excited, then they are now motivated. I think it helps to keep the frustration level and nervousness to a minimum, especially for younger readers.
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ReplyDeleteWhate types of reading motivational activities do you employ in your classroom? What have you trid that worked or did not work in your classroom?
I teach in a Title I school district, and I face unmotivated students every day. I had a difficult time when I first started teaching with third and fourth grade students that received very little, if any, support at home, and were very unmotivated to read. Early on, it was very important to me to select the reading materials for the students, leaving very little flexibility in the classroom. Through trial and error, I discovered that I needed to relinquish some of the control, and allow the students to become more involved in their selection of reading material. Once students were given more freedom to choose their own books, I found that it was easier for me to guide students in reading. School requires so many mandates of what material should be taught, and students need the opportunity to have a fulfilling reading experience. The only way that it can happen is for students to choose books that interest them. After reviewing our groups findings on the reading interests of students and the motivational factors that influence students, it confirmed what I had been experiencing in the classroom.
Now, after years of teaching, I have learned several strategies that help students become more motivated. The first strategy is to get to know your students. This can be done through talking with them, having them complete surveys, book reviews, and talking with their previous teachers. I have also found that it essential to have a plethora of reading materials in a large assortment of genres, with representations from many authors. Another strategy that works well with literacy circles is to have several books to choose from on that particular reading groups level. We discuss the books in small group, and the students provide feedback about which books they are most interested in. Then, we vote, and majority rules. Books that were close runner-ups are set aside for future use. With lit. circles, another strategy that works great to keep students motivated is to have them meet with other group members from other lit. circle groups, and have them tell about their book (likes, dislikes, plot, characters, etc.). The students love to do this!
I love the points that the blue team highlighted in their summary. As teachers, we get stuck with feeling like we have to have a paper attached to every assignment, which can be unmotivating to many students. What a wonderful idea to have students share their reading experience through book talks. We definitely need more students talking!
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