The Impact of Just-Right Book Selection Instruction on the Reading Motivation of Fourth Grade Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors affecting reading motivation and to implement a teaching tool that would improve reading motivation in fourth grade students at a targeted Title I school. This study used a quasi-experimental design to compare the effects on reading motivation of targeted Title I fourth grade students who participated in the implementation of BOOKMATCH with the reading motivation of students in the control group receiving general reading instruction. The Motivation to Read Profile was used to gather pre and post-test data for both groups. The study began in February 2010 and concluded in March 2010. The results of the pre-test taken in February were compared to the results of the post-test taken in March. The results of this study supported that instruction of BOOKMATCH would not significantly increase reading motivation in fourth grade students. The difference between the two groups at the time of the post test was not significant enough to reject the null hypothesis; therefore, the null is true. There were several indications that the intervention group did show a positive change in reading motivation. Intervention student responses on both subscales increased from pre- to post-test and the examiner observed more positive attitudes towards reading independently and sharing what they read. Timing and strength of the reading motivation survey need to be considered in future research. It is crucial for future research to determine which types of instruction would be most beneficial to improve reading motivation in students so that they become proficient, life-long readers.