Motivation is key!

My family dog is an affectionate, loving brown mutt. When we first picked the little ball of fur up from the rescue agency six years ago, he was affectionately referred known as “Macadamia Nut.” We shortened it to Mac; not because we had a fondness for the moniker, but because he reminded us of a large Big Mac from McDonald’s. Poor, poor, chubby Mac. Well, I suppose Mac decided that he was set up for failure, and thus would live up to his name. Mac loves food. Mac also loves to explore: down the block, around the street, through the neighborhood. So, although it shames me to admit it, we have developed the fool-proof way to get our wandering mutt back into the house after being “let-out.” Slim Jims.

The only way to motivate Mac to return to the house on one of his “outings” is to yell Slim Jim out the back door. It’s embarrassing. Other dogs are proudly prancing up and down the street with their muscular chests held high and ears pointing. Chubby Mac trips over his own legs, belly flopping, to get to a Slim Jim.

Motivation is key. Dogs need motivation to return home, adults need motivation to get into freezing cars on Monday mornings, and students need motivation to read. Motivation is key to success!

According to Gambrell, “It is generally acknowledged that motivation plays a critical role in learning. It often makes the difference between learning that is superficial and shallow and learning that is deep and internalized” (p. 15). Moreover, fostering motivation in the classroom is key to developing engaged students; according to Guthrie, self-determination is the eventual step for engaged learners who internalize a variety of personal learning goals (p. 433). Guthrie states, “Literacy serves the need to gain concepts that explain” (p. 434).

Teachers, I am speaking to you here, so perk up. It is YOUR JOB to create engaged readers who are motivated, knowledgeable, strategic, and socially interactive!

Steps to planting and growing a motivated reader (because we know motivated students who read for authentic purposes are truly better readers):

• Step 1: Show YOUR love of reading! Share parts of books YOU enjoy and how reading enhances YOUR life. Students need to see firsthand that reading can be enjoyable, and it has a place in life outside of the classroom! I try to bring books I am reading, or books I have read, into the classroom to share with my students! Last month, I shared one of my recent favorites, The BFG by Roald Dahl, with the class. They constantly asked me, "Miss B., did you like this part, too?"
• Step 2: Build up your library! Create a book-rich classroom environment, encourage students to try new genres and bring books home, and provide them with high-quality literacy experiences!
• Step 3: It’s all about choice! Let kids self-select books based on interest rather than restricting them. Your children are not criminals-let them out of book jail. 
• Step 4: INCREASE opportunities for social interaction; students should have the opportunity to discuss books ALL OF THE TIME! I try to incorporate small and large group discussions, constantly mixing up the kids and partners during pair-share activities. Kids will look for any chance to talk, so why not make it about a book? Let them learn from each other!
• Step 5: Create opportunities for students to become familiar with lots of books. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it will increase your students’ appetite for reading.
• Step 6: Provide students with reading-related incentives! I’m not talking about candy and bouncy balls; rather, use reading itself as an incentive for students by giving away books, bookmarks, and reading passes. My students love receiving books on their birthdays, and my "Get Caught Reading" punch cards have been motivating my little readers to pick up a book when I'm not looking! Don’t forget about teacher praise!

Grambrell, L.B. (1996). Creating classroom cultures that foster reading motivation. The Reading Teacher,

       50(1), 14-25

Guthrie, J.T. (1996). Educational context for engagement in literacy. The Reading Teacher, 49(6), 432-445.

Depolo, Steven (photographer). 2012. Keep It Up Sign Card Motivation 2012 Girls on the Run Grand Rapids Montessori (Image), Retrieved February 21, 2014, from: http://flic.kr/p/bAbBje

Read, Kid, READ!

It is a harsh reality that middle school is generally considered to be the most awkward three years of any pre-teen girl’s life. The braces, the frizzy hair (which never goes away for exceptionally lucky girls like me), the sudden realization that you should have two eyebrows, the list goes on and on. Thus, it makes sense that some girls hate to be pushed into the spotlight at this point in their lives, especially in gym class, where any number of horrific incidents can ruin the carefully constructed bubble layer of confidence surrounding a self-conscious girl.

Mr. Koss swore I could serve the volley ball; it did not matter that I had never touched a volley ball, or that 40 people were starting at awkward, little me in a joint gym class. I could serve the volley ball, and I would serve the volley ball, or else I would not receive my participation grade. So, staring at the volley ball as if it sprouted horns, I served it, right into Mr. Koss’s forehead.

Now, if Mr. Koss had taken a moment to model exactly how to hold a volley ball and discuss the process of making it soar, he may have saved himself a nice welt and a headache. Alas, explicit instruction was not utilized.

Comprehension instruction must be taught explicitly; students need to observe and discuss before they can act and complete. Language is the instrument of choice in explicit instruction. Students need to see, hear, and discuss how skilled readers approach text and use strategies to comprehend and deepen thinking in a variety genres. They need to understand why strategies are being taught, and how they can be applicable, and beneficial, in their own reading. Whether it’s during whole-group instruction, guided reading groups, or conferring with students, teachers need to explain their thinking process so students may learn to do the same. It is not all about modeling, however, as the following approaches should all be utilized in a classroom (Harvey & Goudvis, 2007)

• Think-alouds
• Read-alouds
• Interactive read-alouds
• Lifting text
• Guided discussion
• Anchor lessons and anchor charts
• Rereading for deeper meaning
• Teacher sharing of literacy by modeling with adult literature 

Thinking should be a visible, tangible thing. Kids need to be up close and personal, interacting with text, and leaving tracks of their thinking behind. A classroom should not be quiet; students should be active learners that are engaged in focused discussions. Ditch the question-and-answer model in favor of a turn-and-talk-method, Post-it notes, and clip boards, anything interactive that will engage students and force them to ask questions and draw conclusions.

This being said, I have made a list of goals for myself. I am going to “spice up” my reading instruction. Over the next few weeks, I am going to incorporate more of these strategies. My third graders won’t know what him them!

• Try new discussion structures, such as compass-groups and jigsaw discussions, instead of always relying on turn and talk and pair share activities.
• Model the importance of jotting notes and leaving “thinking tracks” in margins of text. Ditch the beloved highlighters!
• Ask “What did you notice I did?” ALL OF THE TIME.
• Lift text, especially content area text, in order to rehearse how to read.
• DEMONSTRATE FIX UP STRATEGIES- Why do I always read correctly? Students don’t! I need to show them what good readers do when we lose our train of thought or stumble! Get back on the bike, little readers!

Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.