CLC Survey Results & Question Response by Julie Snyder

Reading Motivations and Habits
I teach 5th grade in a self-contained classroom. Motivating my students to read is an everyday battle. I have found that by staying away from the basal reader and having them read in more real-life situations, they are more likely to read the material thoroughly and be willing to discuss what they’ve read. Literature circles are a great format for this type of reading. There are a few books that I’ve had great success with when it comes to getting students to read. They are: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, any book by Roald Dahl (particularly James and the Giant Peach or The Twits), The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo, White Star: A Dog on the Titanic by Marty Crisp, and The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck. The following are survey results on reading which give insight into the motivations, habits, and attitudes of students.

CLC Survey Results
This article, “Children’s attitudes to reading” (Sainsbury, 2004), discusses a survey on attitudes of nine and eleven year olds towards reading. The survey was initially conducted in 1998, and then redone in 2003. This article compares the findings of the two surveys. This survey was conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in England.
Children were asked to agree, disagree, or respond not sure to a series of positive and negative statements about their attitudes towards reading. Many of the questions focused on reading at home. Survey results were organized according to teacher assessed reading levels. The correlated results indicated that students who enjoy reading more are generally better readers. Survey results also indicated that better readers prefer stories, magazines, and newspapers. Between the 1998 and 2003 surveys, children’s confidence in their own reading had improved. The results of the survey indicate that by providing training, advice, and strategies to schools children have become better and more confident readers.

9 year olds 11 year olds
Reading habits of students 58% go to the library.
Girls enjoy reading stories, magazines, & poems.
Boys enjoy reading comics, newspapers, & information books.
40% go to the library.
Girls enjoy reading stories, magazines, & poems.
Boys enjoy reading comics, newspapers, & information books.
Attitude towards reading 71% enjoy reading.
10% find reading difficult. 66% enjoy reading.
14% find reading difficult.
How many books student owns Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey
Why students read Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey
Motivation for reading Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey
Reading likes/dislikes >70% enjoy reading stories.
<80% like comics/magazines. 70% like stories;
80% like comics & magazines
Reading at home 50% prefer watching television to reading.
74% read at home daily.
4% never read at home.
Read stories, comics, magazines, poetry, and information books at home. 60% prefer watching television to reading.
69% read at home daily.
4% never read at home.
Read newspapers, stories, comics, and magazines at home.
Family attitude toward reading Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey
Feelings about digital text/e-books Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey

The Young Adult Library Services Association publishes a yearly reading survey for teens between the ages of 12-18. The survey results from 2001-2003 are analyzed (Marra & Witteveen, 2005). The survey was on on-line survey. There were three basic questions presented. What are the reading habits of teenagers? Why do teens read? Why don’t teens read? The survey is done to help identify trends in teen reading. The 2001 survey received 2,681 responses, the 2002 survey received 6,458 responses, and the 2003 survey had 3,777 responses.
The surveys indicated that while a majority of teens enjoy reading, a large percentage of those teens often don’t have time to read for pleasure. The survey also showed that teens have adults telling them to read. A majority of teen reader said they are encouraged to read by their mom, teacher, or dad. However, a small percentage of teens said they read because their parents urge them to do so. The survey results show that teen readers enjoy reading adventure, mystery, fantasy, horror, and true stories. They also like to read about realistic characters. A large percentage of respondents also indicated that they don’t read because it is boring.
The survey comes to the conclusion that media specialists and educators need to think outside of the box when it comes to motivating teens to read. Teens think of reading as something that is only done with a book. Teen reading needs to be encouraged through the use of websites, blogs, e-books, and other on-line services.

2001 2002 2003
Reading habits
of students 30.1% read
constantly for
personal satisfaction
44.31% don’t have
time to read for
pleasure.
24% read 2-3 books
per month. 54.04 % read
constantly for
personal satisfaction
52.06% don’t have
time to read for
pleasure.
13.31% never read
outside of class. 43.38% read
constantly for
personal satisfaction
50.1% don’t have
time to read for
pleasure
21.82% never read
outside of class.
Attitudes towards reading 33.92% listed
Reading as boring/not fun.
51% of those were boys.
49% were girls. 18.78% agreed with the statement “I don’t like
reading because it’s boring.”
<6% said reading wasn’t
cool. 22.44% agreed with the
statement “I don’t like
reading because it’s
boring.”
<8% said reading wasn’t
cool.

How many books
student owns Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey
Why students read 74% said someone
encouraged them.
20.28%-mom encouraged them.
16.59%-teacher encouraged them.
13.36%-dad encouraged them. 18.72%-mom encouraged them.
18.02%-teacher encouraged them.
13.52%-dad encouraged them.
Motivation for reading 44.85%-just
for the fun
of it Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey
Reading likes/dislikes Not discussed in survey 13% enjoy adventures
13% enjoy mystery
12% enjoy fantasy
11% enjoy horror
11% enjoy true stories
18% like characters that
are like the reader. 13% enjoy adventure
12% enjoy fantasy
12% enjoy mystery
12% enjoy horror
11% enjoy true stories
15% like characters that are like the reader.
Reading at home 38% like to read
at night/in bed 55% like to read at
night/in bed 44% like to read
at night/in bed
Family attitude
towards reading Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey
Feelings about
digital text/e-books Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey Not discussed in survey

In conclusion, conducting surveys in our classrooms and reviewing survey research is an excellent way to gain an understanding into the reading habits, attitudes, and motivations of elementary, middle school, and high school readers. As more and more alternatives to reading become available, it has become critical for educators to learn new ways to motivate children and young adults to read. Survey data indicates that young people have less time than ever to read, so to win the battle for reading time teachers must be more resourceful and creative.

References
Marra, T., & Witteveen, A. (2005). Survey Says...Trends in Teen Reading 2001-2003. Young Adult Library Services, 4(1), 17-21. Retrieved on April 10, 2010 from: http://wf2dnvr13.webfeat.org/ZPW2O1106/url=http://content.ebscohost.com/pdf17_20/pdf/2005/R5B/01Oct05/18695644.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=18695644&S=R&D=aph&EbscoContent=dGJyMNLe80Sep7M4v%2BbwOLCmr0iep7VSs6a4Ta%2BWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGusUuxp7dOuePfgeyx44Hy7fEA
Sainsbury, M. (2004). Children’s attitudes to reading. Education Review, 17(2), 49-54. Retrieved on April 11, 2010 from: http://wf2dnvr15.webfeat.org/chD1O116907/url=http://content.ebscohost.com/pdf9/pdf/2008/6Q6/01Mar08/31704927.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=31704927&S=R&D=ehh&EbscoContent=dGJyMMvl7ESep7A4v%2BbwOLCmr0iep7VSrq64SK6WxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGusUuxp7dOuePfgeyx44Hy7fEA