Motivating Students to Write About Their Reading in a Third Grade Classroom

Abstract

One way to strengthen the reading/writing relationship and increase relevance for students is through a method called Write about Reading. When students have the ability to write about their reading, connections are enhanced and making meaning becomes clear, which leads to deeper levels of comprehension. A student's motivation to take part in a task can be affected by many different aspects. This action research study examines the relationship between students’ motivation and Write about Reading in a third grade classroom. Three different modes of writing were used to determine which resulted in the highest motivation. Results indicate that student motivation increases when they have the opportunity to write digitally. However, further research would be beneficial to see if providing choice to students when writing about their reading would be just as motivating.