Date Approved

12-23-2015

Embargo Period

1-5-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. Reading Education

Department

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Education

College

College of Education

Advisor

Abraham, Stephanie

Committee Member 1

Browne, Susan

Keywords

culturally relevant text, discussion groups, literature circles, motivation, reading comprehension

Subject(s)

Group reading; Reading comprehension; Motivation in education

Disciplines

Elementary Education and Teaching

Abstract

Many educators arrange students in guided reading groups based on their reading lexile. Usually the books selected for guided reading are from a basal reading series and are used to teach different reading components and strategies. However, the books don’t always reflect student cultures, making it difficult for students to hold discussions and make connections. Oftentimes, students are unmotivated to read the assigned books and rarely engage in discussions. Based on research conducted by Daniels (2006), when kids are engaged in well-structured book clubs their comprehension and their attitude towards reading both improve. With ongoing changes in education, educators must provide opportunities for students to read culturally relevant text and discuss with peers who share similar interests. This can be accomplished by implementing literature circles as a daily reading activity.

This study was designed to determine how literature circles affect reading comprehension and student motivation towards reading. After collecting and analyzing the data over the course of three weeks, the researcher determined that the implementation of literature circles increased student motivation towards reading and deepened comprehension. The results indicated that students benefited from choosing their own books, roles, schedule, and discussion topics.

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