Using+Blogs+to+Motivate+Reluctant+Readers

= Using Blogs to Motivate Reluctant Readers =

Context
The purpose of this project is to develop instruction that incorporates blogs as a social motivating factor for reluctant readers in a fourth grade class. Motivating reluctant readers is essential to developing successful readers. Students who are motivated to read will spend more time reading, reading a broader range of material, and will continue to read (Wigfield &Guthrie, 1997). Students who read more will be more successful at reading (Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988;). Kidblogs.org will be used for this project because it is a new technology that students have not used before. Studies have shown that new technologies can motivate students to expend more effort than they would in a traditional class setting and it can increase their confidence in learning ( Bracewell & Laferriere, 1996). The blog will also serve as an online area for students to socialize. Research on the social aspects of reading motivation suggests that social interaction can be a key factor in reading motivation for some students (Baker & Wigfield; Gambrell, 1996; 1999 Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000). The unit uses the Social Learning Theory as a framework. The target audience is a fourth grade reading class that consists of students who are at risk for failing the North Carolina Reading End of Grade (EOG) Test based on their third grade EOG scores and grades.

The target audience is a fourth grade reading class that consists of students who are at risk for failing the North Carolina Reading End of Grade (EOG) Test based on their third grade EOG scores and grades. This group of fourth graders is very social. They communicate with their peers through face-to-face, phone, text, and email conversations. In school settings, they chat with each other every chance they get. Their classroom teacher describes them as being very self-aware. They know their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to academics. They are becoming more independent workers, have a better understanding of writing for an audience, and they like to tell stories about what they have experienced. The school where this project takes places groups students by ability for reading and math classes. The fourth grade students in this project are the lowest group of readers in the fourth grade. There are also some students who have documented learning disabilities in this group. According to the classroom teacher, students in this class have good attitudes. They enjoy the social aspects of coming to school and they enjoy being in this teacher’s class. They are very helpful to each other and the teacher. The classroom teacher incorporates many creative reading extension activities and the students have fun participating. The students enjoy group work and group activities. They are used to participating in activities that involve movement, communication, and creativity. There is a variety of learning styles within this class. The teacher already incorporates different learning styles in her instruction and students are used to having concepts presented in multiple ways. Student motivation levels vary from motivated to extremely reluctant. While the students enjoy the reading extension activities, many do not want to do the actual reading. Students check out books from the library but rarely read a complete novel. They are able to read picture books and short non-fiction but they often abandon novels. The teacher uses reading logs, Accelerated Reader test results, reading journals, and conversations to monitor students’ reading. The students in this class are all basically neighbors. The school is a small, rural school with very little cultural diversity. Most of these students have attended the school since Kindergarten and have been in classes with the same group of students. The students’ life experiences are very limited. They have not traveled much outside of the county or the state.

A needs assessment was conducted using the survey section of the Motivation to Read Profile ( Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996). The Motivation to Read Profile (MRP) consists of a survey and a conversational interview. The survey assesses students’ value of reading and their self-concept as a reader while the interview allows the interviewer to learn about the nature of the individual student’s motivation (Gambrell, et al, 1996). The MRP is designed so that teachers can use the results from both the survey and the interview to plan their reading instruction. The survey results showed that girls valued reading more than boys in the class. While both boys and girls showed low self-concept as readers, boy’s results were the lowest. Results from the interview portion of the MRPshowed that the reading they do as a class highly influences their opinions about reading. They feel comfortable with reading within their reading class but do not have the same confidence when reading on their own.

**Unit Goals and Objectives**