CLC Survey Results by Amy Murphy

My first survey is from Teen Read Week Survey by SmartGirl. It revealed that most teens like to read and often do so for pleasure: 43% of the teens read for the pleasure of it. While most teens enjoy reading most have a hard time finding time to read. Those who found reading boring preferred to watch television or movies. Outside of books most teens also read other material such as, newspapers, magazines, "webzines", cereal boxes, and other product packaging. Teens also enjoy reading magazines because they focus on issues targeted for their age group. Half of all the teens that responded to this survey considered themselves having an advanced reading level. 34% of girls and 28% of boys receive good grades in school and are in the top 25% of their class (Teen Week Read Survey, 1999). The most popular genre for teens is mystery, adventure, and horror. Boys are more likely to enjoy books on collecting, how-to-books, nonfiction books, science fiction and books on sports. Girls tend to like realistic fiction, romance novels, fantasy books, and mysteries. Most teens surveyed are required to read about subjects that they aren't interested in for school, but 85% also read about subjects that appeal to them (Teen Week Read Survey, 1999.)
My second survey explores the home experiences and parent’s perspective on literacy in building connections between the home and school. This investigation examined the relationship between the attitudes of college students toward reading and the literary environment in which they were raised. Students in this survey who had a positive attitude towards reading reported having participated in experiences in the home that included both artifacts and reading events. This supports the argument that there is a correlation between owning and having access to books, newspapers, magazines, and library cards (Nickoli, 2004). This survey also supports the position that specific kinds of events contribute to positive attitudes toward reading. This includes events such as: visiting the library, attending story hours, having educated parents that show interest in what their child is reading and learning in school. These parents also restricted what was viewed on television and the amount of television watched (Nickoli, 2004). It was also determined that attitudes towards reading were acquired through direct and indirect experiences with reading. A positive attitude toward reading comes from families that support and value reading. Understanding how students were raised and the influence of reading in the home allows teachers to employ instructional strategies that build on positive attitudes and erase the negative attitudes.
I currently teach reading, spelling and language arts to all fifth graders at my school. When developing a literature-based unit I first consider the average reading level of my current class. The book I chose to use must be in the average reading level of most of my students. This ensures that my students will not struggle when reading the book. Second, I try to choose books with characters the same age as my students. This helps them to relate to the experiences and emotions presented in the book. Next, I try to make sure that I am using different types of genres. This keeps the interest level a little higher. Last, I try to coordinate the content area with the topic being taught in either Science or Social Studies.
References:
Teen Week Read Survey. (1999). Retrieved 4 9, 2010, from Smart Girl:
http://www.smartgirl.org/speakout/archives/trw1999/trwreadinghabits.html
Nickoli, A. (2004). Understanding the Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Reading
and Home Literary Environment. Retrieved 4 9, 2010, American Reading Forum: http://www.americanreadingforum.org/Yearbooks/04_yearbook/pdf/NickoliHendricks