Engaging reluctant readers in an immersion classroom

• Main Author: Borton, Amanda T.
• Other Authors: Bryan, Gregory (Curriculum, Teaching and Learning)
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Reading; Education
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/8606

As a classroom teacher, I had found that many of my grade one reluctant readers—those students who could read but chose not to—lacked the motivation to engage in the reading process. Using a qualitative-oriented action research approach I introduced and taught seven classroom practices—Read Aloud, Self-Selected Reading, Literacy Circles, Drama, Reader’s Theatre, Author’s Theatre, and Inquiry—to see which ones helped my reluctant readers increase their motivation to read. By applying multiple methods of data collection and organization—a questionnaire; learning conversations; observations; journaling; and recording sheets—I was able to record what reluctant readers had to say and show about these seven classroom practices. The findings provided that classroom practices that allowed for social interactions, freedom of choice, and the use of voice and movement were the best ways to motivate my young reluctant readers in reading.