Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Strategies for Motivating Students: Howard Lomax Individual Post

Team Green used several surveys to identify the reading preferences and habits of a wide range of students. Even though there were differences in age, gender, and ethnicity, there were some common threads. For instance, it seems that students today have a wide variety of reading interests. They are interested in realistic fiction, romance, mysteries, and science fiction. It appears that reading interests diminish as students age. It also seems important that students are introduced to reading at a young age and are encouraged to read as they develop because there appears to be a correlation between how well students read and how well they do in school, regardless of the subject.
I teach 11th and 12th grade students. I try to consider my students' prior success in school, their individual reading abilities, standards and course requirements, and their background when trying to develop a literature based lesson plan. I start with the standards and course requirements because that forms the foundation of what we are required to teach. Beyond that, I am interested in helping the students gain confidence and become successful readers. Success in students' eyes is connected to grades and it is important to help them see tangible results in their grades. They need to know that their effort is producing something beneficial. I also want to prepare them for entering the real world, whether that is college or the job market. It's important to have strong reading skills and it is a shame that some of these students by the time I get them have not developed reading skills that will carry them very far in the real world. What I do in that situation is to try to give them as much practical help as possible. That way, they at least have the fundamentals and may go on to work on these skills after they leave my class.

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