Yesterday I began my small reading group time by giving the Garfield Reading Attitude Survey with my focus group. I explained to them that it is very important to be honest about how they feel about reading and reassured them that no one would get in trouble for how they answer. To make sure they didn't see what their neighbor was choosing, we got out our "offices" so they could have some privacy. I read each question aloud and explained what it meant, since most of my students in this group are ESL students and need paraphrasing to help them comprehend. I sat down last night with them and added up their scores and was very surprised at the results. One student has been absent this week so I don't have his results, but three out of the four I scored were above average, which means they enjoy reading more than the average student. One student scored in the 45th percentile, which meant that he enjoyed reading less than the average student. I was surprised because I figured since they struggle with reading, that they wouldn't enjoy it very much. My conclusion is that they are not aware of how to look of themselves as readers. Do they know they aren't reading at the level of most of their peers? I am hoping that their attitude about reading stays positive because it will be easier to motivate them and teach them strategies that will help them become better readers.
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ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting. I gave this survey to a student I tutored and found it very insightful. I think you are right about them not really being aware of who they are as readers. But, I think that could be a good thing...you can continue to motivate them and hopefully they will continue to love reading and becoming better at it too! Good luck... I look forward to hearing about what you do this week!
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You have done a nice job explaining your findings from the survey. It is interesting that your students were enthusiastic about reading. Good for them! Along with their lack of self awareness, I also wonder if the desire to please you impacted the responses. I have found this to be the case with my students sometimes.
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteI found myself interested in the same issue when reading Megan's inquiry. I wonder about their self perceptions of themselves as readers. These guys are so young that they have not had much time to internalize what standardized tests are saying about them as readers ( a wonderful characteristic of young readers) Later, after they have taken a deluge of reading tests they understand that the tests are saying they are not good readers and their perceptions often change--is it any wonder that reading motivation declines throughout schooling?