After Reading What Can We Do to Motivate Students?

Once again, we turn to the research for some enlightenment.    Figures 2.3 and 2.4 indicate the activities and strategies students deemed motivational in the Gibbs (2004) and Giles (2005) studies respectively.

Figure 2.3  Favorite postreading activities and strategies for younger readers

• Seeing a video of the book you read
• Taking a test on the computer to earn points
• Meeting the author
• Doing an art activity
• Designing a book jacket
• Choosing another book to read
• Making a picture to go with the book
• Acting out part of the book
• Making a puppet show from the book
• Dressing as a character from the book and telling about the story
• Talking to your friends about the book
• Talking to a small group of students about the book

Figure 2.4  Favorite postreading activities and strategies for older readers

·      Play reading games with books you have read                                                    

·      Do an art activity based on a book you have read, such as a mural, a frieze,      

a poster, a diorama, a mobile, a collage, a cartoon, or a comic strip

·      Take a test on the computer about the book you have read so you can earn       

points

·      Read books for a reading contest, with prizes awarded to those who have       

read a certain number of books

·      Share books and talk about them with your friends                                            

·      Make models of the characters in a story out of clay, soap, wood, or plaster

           Once again, it is instructive to examine the commonalities from these 2 lists.   One of the common answers from elementary and secondary students has to do with completing some sort of art activity about the books read.  Whether it is a diorama or a sculpture or a poster or some other medium, a visual representation is one postreading activity that students across the grade levels find motivational.   Another common feature of the postreading strategies and activities for students across grade levels is the chance to talk with someone about the book they have read.  Older students prefer to talk to their friends;  younger students do as well, but will also talk to a small group about the books they have read.  However, the overriding elements of the activities and strategies students find motivating after they have read have to do with visual and oral media. 

           As enlightening as it is to examine the common elements of the two lists, it is also valuable to examine where the lists diverge and why there are differences between the responses of the younger and older students.    Younger students express an interest in meeting the author of a book as something that would motivate them to read more.  They also want to see a video or movie production of the book.  Remember, that for older readers, seeing a movie or video is something that would motivate them prior to reading.  This is an interesting difference.  Older students want to see the movie and then read the book;  for younger readers the reverse is true.  Additionally, older students indicate a desire to play reading games about the books they have read. 

           A final note about the postreading strategies and activities:  students across the grades expressed a dislike for most activities involving writing of any sort.   Figures 2.5 and 2.6 indicate the least favorite postreading activities and strategies.

Figure 2.5  Least favorite postreading activities and strategies for younger readers

• Writing down feelings about the book
• Writing a new ending for the book
• Writing a make believe letter from one character to another
• Writing another story about the people from the book
• Writing a summary of the book
• Writing a book report about the book

Figure 2.6  Least favorite postreading activities and strategies for older readers   

·      Write a formal book report on a book                                                                  

·      Write a biography of one of the characters in the book                                       

·      Write a newspaper story based on what happened in the book                           

·      Write a make-believe letter from one character in the story to another               

·      Write your own story with a plot like the one in the book but with different