Student Motivation
in Reading
•Kimberly
Isidori
•Tara Kivett
• Erin Strong
Mrs. Kivett’s 1st Grade Class - Ray Childers Elementary School
Background
Student Motivation to read is effected by:



Student reading appropriate-leveled books that
interest them
Positive social interactions during reading
Parental effect on time and energy put forth in
reading both during school and at home
The Problem
We found that even in the
first grade, many students are
already unmotivated to read
Unfortunately, many parents
do not promote reading
in the home
Many students feel that
reading is a “chore”
Many students do not read
for enjoyment – only
when required
Many students that do not
read often read below
grade level
Literature Review
Research Questions
How will the use of book buddies affect
student reading motivation?
What effects do parents have on motivating
their students to read?
Participant Demographics
Mrs. Kivett’s First Grade
Classroom
• 18 students (10 boys/8
girls)
• Fountas and Pinnell
Levels ranging from 1718 and higher to 9-10
and below
• 2 students receive ESL
services
• 2 students receive EC
services (one has
Autism)
Ray Childers Elementary
School
• Located in Burke
County, NC
• Title I school
• Mostly middle and
lower-middle class
students
Participants
For Book Buddies:
• 6 lowest scorers on the Garfield Reading
Interest Survey
• (turned out to be all boys)
For Parent Motivation:
• All 18 students (10 boys and 8 girls)
• *One student did not return their survey or
reading goal
Intervention Procedure
• Book Buddies – all students in the class were paired with
a 3rd grade “book buddy” (all above grade level readers)
who would read to them and listen to them read
• Book Buddies met twice a week for 5 weeks total
• Each interaction was 20 minutes long
Data Sources
Book Buddies
• Garfield Reading
Interest Survey
• Observations of
Book Buddy
interactions
• Interviews with
reading teacher
Parent
Motivation
• Questionnaire about
reading practices in
the home
• Reading Logs
• Interviews with the
students
Data Collection: Book Buddies
Garfield
Reading
Interest Survey
•(pre/post test results): this was administered
to the students who were able to rate their
feelings about reading by circling the picture
of Garfield that best depicted their feelings
Observations of
Book Buddy
Interactions
•Informal observations of the 6 selected
students occurred during each session
Interviews With
Reading
Teachers
•The teacher was asked to comment on each
student’s attitude toward reading
Data Collection: Parent Motivation
Questionnaires
• Parents were sent surveys containing
multiple choice questions about reading
practices in the home
Reading Logs
• Parents set a goal for how many books
they wanted their child to read over the 5
weeks. Their books were then recorded
in reading logs.
Interviews with
the Students
• The 6 students focused on for Book
Buddies were asked about what motivates
them to read
Data Analysis
Book Buddies
• Tests were scored according
to a rubric and results were
placed in a table showing
pre/post scores
• Observations were coded
according to type of
interaction
(positive/negative)
• Interviews with reading
teacher were coded
according to whether the
responses indicated a
positive or negative attitude
towards reading
Parent Motivation
• Surveys were multiple choice
so results were tallied
• Total number of books read
over the 5 weeks was
compared to the goal set in
the beginning
• Student responses were
coded according to whether
their response indicated a
positive or negative attitude
toward reading
Results from Book Buddies
During reading time with book buddies, students
were observed:
• Listening and following directions
• Correcting mistakes when told to do so
• Answering questions when asked
• Reading loudly and expressively
• Watching and paying attention to how the book buddies
read their books
Notable decrease in attention span when book buddies
read their books first
Results from Parent Survey
How Often Parents Read
With Their Child?
6%
2 or more
times a day
12%
29%
53%
Do Parents Set Reading Goals
for their Child in the Home?
Once a day
A few times a
week
Other
47%
53%
Yes
No
Results from Parent Survey
How Would You Describe Your Child’s
Attitude Towards Reading?
Extremely motivated
to read and enjoys it
6%
12%
24%
58%
Likes to read, but not all
the time
Will do required
school readings, but
does not choose to
read on his/her own
Does not like reading,
struggles to do
assigned school
readings
Parent Goal Results
Student
Reading
Goal (#
of
books)
Actual
# of
books
read
Student
Reading
Goal (#
of
books)
Actual
# of
books
read
I.N.
55
10
K.G.
20
8
A.S.
50
21
B.F.
20
7
H.P.
40
26
A.H.
35
10
K.K.
20
7
A.G.
30
7
S.L.
15
15
P.W.
25
20
X.B.
15
5
S.P.
25
8
B.M.
10
8
Y.D.
22
2
M.F.
10
7
L.B.
20
9
G.S.
10
4
**Y.D. lost her first reading log
Discussion
What we learned from our study so far:
• Students’ motivation to read is affected by several
factors
• Every student is different in how they respond to
books and reading
• Having role models to show appropriate reading
strategies can help motivate students
• Social interactions play a big part in building
students’ motivation and excitement to read
• Teachers/parents should be aware of unmotivated
students and how to help make reading a more
engaging and enjoyable process.
Future Research
More research could be
done to study the effects
of the Book Buddies
Intervention over a longer
period of time to see if
more growth occurs in
terms of motivation.
Also, future research could
focus on not only the younger
students, but the older book
buddy partner as well to see
advantages from both
perspectives.
Resources
Bullen, G.F. (1970). A study in motivating children to
read, 24.
Gambrel, L. (1996). Creating classroom cultures that
foster reading motivation. The Reading Teacher, vol. 50,
(1), 12.
Zimmerman, B., Bandura, A., & Martinez-Pons, M.
(1992). Self-motivation for academic attainment: the role
of self-efficacy beliefs and personal goal setting.
American Educational Research Journal, vol. 29 (3), 14.