S5.3 Motivating Readers and Writers

Motivation as a Key Element  

Motivation is a key element in all learning. Think about factors that influence motivation and successful strategies either from your professional practice or those you have observed and/or experienced that help to motivate reluctant readers.

Read, "When Kids Hate to Read (Links to an external site.)" from Reading Rockets. This article is directed towards parents of reluctant readers, but has useful information for classroom teachers. As you read think about some of the barriers to reading you have observed in your professional practice.

Next, read "Motivating Readers: Helping Students Attain Personal Reading Goals.” In this article, Cabral-Marquez talks about the value of helping students to set and attain personal reading goals. While you read, think about how you might use goal setting to motivate students to improve their reading. You may wish to refer back to this reading and the following reflection as you complete the final project in Session 6.

Finally, read "Teacher Practices that Impact Reading Motivation (Links to an external site.)” from Reading Rockets. As you read, think about what you can do to motivate your students and how you could use PBS shows and interactive activities to motivate your students to read and write.

Submit your response to the prompt below to your facilitator in the Session 5 Online Journal.

Reading as Problem Solving  

Prediction is an essential strategy for constructing meaning. Students make predictions based on a variety of resources (e.g., prior knowledge, familiarity with text structure, imagination, logic, etc.). Before reading the next article, try your hand at prediction. Read the text below and then predict what will happen next, in the notes section of your online journal.

Once upon a time a poor woman lived with her daughter in a stone cottage not far from the queen's castle. The daughter was lazy and would not spin, and her lack of industry constantly annoyed the mother. One day, the mother lost her patience entirely and came at the daughter with a broomstick. The maiden cried out loudly. The queen happened to be driving by in a golden coach pulled by six white horses. When the queen heard the cries, she ordered her coachman to stop, swept into the house, and demanded to know why the mother was beating her daughter. The woman was ashamed to admit to having such a lazy daughter, so she said, "Oh, your majesty, I cannot keep the girl from spinning! She is always at the wheel, and I cannot afford all the flax that she demands daily!" "Well," said the queen, "I love the sound of a spinning wheel, and I have a fine supply of flax. Let me take the girl to my castle. She shall live in comfort and shall spin there to her heart's content." The mother agreed at once to this plan and so the maiden returned to the castle with the queen. There, the queen led her to three rooms, each filled to the ceiling with bundles of flax. "Now," said the queen, "you shall spin this flax for me. When you are finished, you shall have my eldest son for a husband. I know you are poor, but your industry is dowry enough. Would that more were like you, my dear!"

Before continuing the story, stop and make a prediction about what will happen. Give reasons for your prediction. Read the next section of the text and assess the accuracy of your prediction.

Distraught, the maiden paced back and forth. If she lived to be 100, she could never spin all that flax! Not knowing what else to do, she sat in the window and began to cry. Three strange women were passing by. One had a broad, flat foot; the second had a large lip that hung down over her chin; the third had an enormous thumb. They stopped and called to the maiden, "What ails you, my dear?" The girl explained her problem. The women agree to help her, on one condition. They said, "Will you promise to invite us to your wedding, introduce us as your cousins, and ask us to sit at your table and share your food?" The maiden agreed gladly, and the odd women came in at once and began to work. The first drew out the flax and worked on the treadle with her broad foot. The second moistened the thread with her large, protruding lip. The third twisted the thread with her gigantic thumb and rapped with her fingers on the table. Each time she rapped there fell a heap of beautifully spun flax. And so they worked, deftly threading, licking, and twisting, day after day. When the queen came to the spinning rooms, the maiden hid the women from sight and showed off their finished bundles as if they were her own work. The spinsters continued to work diligently until all the flax was spun. Then they took their leave, saying to the girl, "Do not forget what you promised, Child!" When the queen saw the completed work, she began at once to plan for the wedding. The prince rejoiced at the prospect of having such a clever and diligent wife. The queen came one day to discuss the guest list and to ask what names the bride wished to add. The queen had invited noble families, wealthy merchants, and kings and queens from neighboring lands. The maiden thought of how the three women would look amid such elegant company.

Make another prediction about what you think the girl will do next. Then reflect on your predictions. Were your predictions based mainly on the events that you read, your prior knowledge of fairy tale text structure, or your own personal experiences or imagination? Finally, comment on the effectiveness of prediction strategies for students at the grade level and/or reading level that reflect your interests.

This story comes from an article that addresses the value of using prediction to help students construct meaning as they read. Read "Reading Comprehension: Asking the Right Questions." As you read the article, you will also have a chance to see how the story ends and to check your predictions.

Return to your online journal. Review your responses and revise them as necessary by adding ideas and questions that have occurred to you up to this point in the course. Be sure that all of your responses are complete and free of grammatical and structural errors. Your facilitator will be assessing your journal reflections at the end of this session.