Does motivation play a role in reading comprehension? Research says YES!

After reading, re-reading, and analyzing four studies, the answer is clear - motivation plays a critical role in reading comprehension and reading growth. Based on these four studies, it is clear that we must balance our skill and strategy instruction with fostering and supporting students' motivation.

Allan Wigfield and his colleagues found that highly engaged readers are internally motivated to read and also read more frequently and develop deeper connections to texts.  On the contrary, Wigfield and his colleagues also found that comprehension and reading strategy use was low in students who were not engaged in reading. I find this to be true in my classroom, and feel that most other teachers would agree. After completing this research, I think that instructional frameworks that support comprehension and engagement are critical to see the most reading growth. Therefore, based on findings from the studies, I believe that the CORI structure is one way to boost motivation and reading comprehension in elementary classrooms.

Likewise, Guthrie and his colleagues found a strong connection between interest and involvement in reading. Students who like reading enjoy choosing their books, value reading, and are highly involved in what they are reading. Students who do not like reading do not think that choosing a book is important or what they are reading is important. Guthrie and his colleagues studied the importance of valuing reading. I find this to be true in my classroom. If students do not like reading and do not what to read, they are not invested or involved in the lesson. These are often the students who struggle with tests and other subject areas besides English Language Arts.

Ana Taboada and her colleagues researched the importance of both teaching strategies and developing internal motivation. The authors of this study made it clear that it is equally important to support both through concrete practice. I cannot agree more. In my classroom, I focus on meta-cognitive instruction, skills, and strategy use. By teaching students how their brains work and helping them understand WHY they are doing something, I have seen better results and stronger investment and involvement in lessons.

Finally, Marinak and Gambrell studied how the role of motivation in reading comprehension differs in ages and genders. Boys are less motivated to read than girls. Specifically, they found that boys value reading less than girls. However, they also found that boys like to read magazines and things for the "real-world." In my opinion, this means that we need to adjust our thinking of what is "real" reading or "academic" reading. As teachers, we need to break down the stereotypes of reading and build reading value in our classrooms. The author's also touched upon the decline of reading motivation from early to later elementary grades. This is a critical issue that I see in my middle school classrooms. Many of my students say that they used to like to read, but not anymore.

After completing my research, these are my two questions:


First, there is a clear decline in reading motivation from early to later elementary years and beyond. How do we fix this problem and continue to motivate our older students?

Second, each study focused on a white, middle/upper class, mid-Atlantic population of students. Priya Abraham, senior policy analyst at the Commonwealth Foundation, stated, “There are thousands of assaults each year on students and staff. At the same time, 20 to 30 percent of students can read or do math at grade level.” How can the studies’ findings help the students of Philadelphia Public Schools? Can the instructional routines and supports be implemented successfully with less resources and a low socio-economic, culturally and academically diverse population of students? 

The Role of Poverty in Vocabulary Development

As a teacher in inner-city Philadelphia, I see this problem everyday.

Although it is a sad reality, many of our students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are far behind in their vocabulary development. I strongly believe that poverty can play a large role in this gap for several reasons.

To start, many of my students' vocabulary is not reinforced at home. This can be for several reasons. To start, many of these children's parents are working several jobs in order to make ends meet and support their families. Because of this, they are not spending as much time with their children and reinforcing what they are learning during the school day. Also, some of these students' parents do not have the vocabulary themselves to support their children's vocabulary development at home.

Also, many students attending schools in low socioeconomic areas do not experience teacher stability. There is a high turnover rate. Without teacher stability, professional and collaborative relationships are not developed. These relationships are crucial in developing strong, stable curriculums that challenge and engage students.

Finally, many of these children are attending schools with little resources and high student-teacher ratios. The majority of the classrooms have 30+ children and very little supplies. Without the proper tools, many of these children are not receiving the same quality education as students in higher socioeconomic areas.

The Need for Informational Texts

Informational texts are an integral piece of ALL classrooms. In my opinion, they are the most important type of texts because they have the most real-world application.

In saying this, I believe that informational texts need to be introduced at a younger age. As a middle school English Language Arts teacher, I find that my students struggle with reading informational texts and find them "boring." I believe this is because the majority of their elementary education revolved around fiction texts. Although I am not an elementary certified teacher, I believe there is a solution to this. Although students need basic skills that can be easily taught through pattern books, these pattern books can be easily supplemented with informational texts and thematic units. For example, a theme could be "Animals on the Land" where all of the stories and informational texts revolve around different types of animals. One story could be, "The Hungry Caterpillar." When reading this story, the basic comprehension, spelling, and writing skills can be taught. Then, informational texts about caterpillars and butterflies could be supplemented throughout to build background knowledge.

Our students need to know how to read and understand informational texts because it is critical to the real world. Students will be need to interpret this information and use it as needed. I believe they will find it less boring if they can connect to it and truly understand how to read it.

Motivation: What makes us tick?

I believe that motivation is the key to success not only in the classroom, but in life itself.

In school, if students are not motivated and engaged in a lesson, they will be less likely to deeply grasp the lesson or take much away from it. When motivation is lacking, investment is not there. We must figure out how to motivate our students. How do we go about doing this? In a study completed by Guthrie, Tabaoda, Tonks, and Wigfield, the authors examined nine components of reading motivation: interest, preference for challenge, involvement, self-efficacy, competition, recognition, grades, social interaction, and work avoidance (Guthrie et al, 1999). I think it is important that we look at motivation in separate parts. In doing this, we can see different things to focus on in our own classrooms.

For example, in my classroom, I focus on interest, social interaction, and competition. Although I would love to focus on all aspects of motivation, I have found that these three components work best with my middle school students. How do I do this?

1. I make SSR time a priority. I spend time surveying my students interests and hobbies. I get to know their families and their backgrounds. Along with their interests, I administer informal reading assessments. In doing this, I can better match them with books that will interest them and challenge them.

2. My students complete literature circles, idea circles, book chats, book critiques, and book talks in order to have time to talk, laugh, and review books.

3. We have friendly competitions, which my students love. We compete with: pages read, activities completed, etc.

Explicit Instruction to Teach Comprehension Strategies

I believe it is important to explicitly teach comprehension strategies. Why do I believe this? Simple: teachers assume too much! We often assume that as long as we are choosing ability-level appropriate texts, our students will automatically know how to read, interpret, and analyze them. Wrong! We must teach students how to effectively and appropriately use these strategies.

Besides practice, practice, and more practice, I believe THE BEST way to do this is through MODELING! We must show our students how we use these strategies in our own reading and what using the strategy looks like. I have found that being silly is a great way to go about this. For example, when teaching making predictions to my 8th grade students, I use a short story called, "The Story of an Hour." I chunk up the story so they are forced to read it in parts. I choose the first chunk and model how I make a prediction. I put a fake light bulb above my head, I turn my head to exaggerate pondering, I put my hand on my head and scratch my head, I sigh and hmph, etc. You get the point. I make it a big deal! I then explain WHY I made these predictions. What evidence from the story did I use? What background knowledge or prior knowledge do I have that made me think this? What other story have I read or movie have I scene that sparked these thoughts?

In conclusion, I believe in explicit instruction of comprehension strategies. And don't forget to MODEL MODEL MODEL!