The first survey that I researched, What Do the Kids Think? was used in a fourth grade classroom in a suburban middle class elementary school. The article can be found at: http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/detail. The teacher who gave this survey actually started a reading program when the students were in fourth grade and gave them the survey when they were in the fifth grade. The students read fifteen to twenty minutes a day and they had to read thirty minutes each evening at home. The teacher read aloud to the students daily, they had regular reading groups, and they read three novels together that year. They had goals, and when they reached their goals the teacher held celebrations. The survey that was given to the students when they were in fifth grade was used to see how the program contributed to their reading interest. When the students entered fourth grade they did not like reading, however when they left at the end of the year they were all avid readers. The survey showed that students will work toward a goal, especially if there is a reward waiting when they reach it. It also proves that teachers and adults can help students who aren’t interested in reading become good readers who enjoy it.
The next survey, A Survey of the Habits and Attitudes of Urban Middle School Students Toward
Leisure Reading, was a modified version of the Teen Week Survey which is a survey that asks teens about their leisure reading habits. The article can be found at: http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/detail. The school where the survey was given is a small urban Middle School with the majority of the students being African Americans from low income homes. I found this survey interesting because when I think of students in Middle and High Schools I see reading as an activity that would be the last thing on a their list of things to do. However, in this survey 73% of the students were reading when they had free time. Because of this result, the article stated that writers and publishers need to write books geared toward urban teens because they really are reading! The survey also found that students read a lot of periodicals and that it is necessary for the school media centers to supply more of those for students to read. In this survey, school environment was a big influence on boys’ reading so it was concluded that more materials for boys needed to be included in the school libraries. I enjoyed this survey because for once I was seeing proof that those students who really need to read the most really are reading!
I currently teach a fourth grade inclusion class. Out of my 19 students five are students who are labeled ESE, however I have a total of eight who are below level. It is important that I expose my lower students to interesting books that they are capable of reading. It is equally important that I give my on level and above level students that same consideration. Our school has the Accelerated Reader program and it is strongly encouraged that we use it. We have many ways of encouraging our students to read. Three times a year students are given a test so that we can find their reading level. Once we have that level, students receive their reading range. This is written on their AR folder and color coded in the media center so students know exactly where to go to find books on their level. They are given a weekly and a monthly point goal to reach. They also have to get a score of at least 80% on the AR tests that they take on each book. We have school wide rewards, but I also give my students classroom rewards. On Friday during lunch our librarian calls students who have met a specific goal that she gives for that week up to the stage. She has games such as bowling, seeing how long they can keep a hula hoop going, and bag toss. All of the classes who are in the lunchroom love this. They cheer for their grade and they look forward to Fridays because of this. Students who meet their monthly goals get their picture on the morning news, and at the beginning of the year they also get a chain necklace. Each month they meet their goal they get a charm to put on it. In my classroom, students who meet their goal get a prize from the treasure box, and we also have class competitions to see whose class is reading the most.
Reading is important and it is up to teachers and parents to show students how important it is. It is also important to give students a goal to work toward and reward them when they reach it.
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