Motivation in Relation to

Literacy Learning

TE 301, Summer 2009, Shedd

 Defining Motivation
• An internal state that arouses to action,
pushes the individual in particular
directions, and retains engagement in
activities.
• Motivation as part of the classroom or
learning environment is also called
situated motivation.
Ormrod, 2008
 Effects of Motivation
• Increases energy and activity levels
• Directs individual toward certain goals
• Promotes initiation of certain activities and
persistence in those activities
– Personal investment
– Time on task
• Affects the learning strategies and other
cognitive processes an individual brings to the
task
– Cognitive engagement
Ormrod, 2008
 Conflicting Viewpoints
• When kids are motivated to learn teachers
respond positively
– Provide additional support, affection, and
encouragement
• When kids appear unmotivated, teachers may
respond negatively
– Become coercive and neglectful
– Children in turn may display an increase lack of
motivation
Weinstein & Mignano, 2007
What is Motivation Related to Literacy
Learning?
• How can we apply the motivation
definition to literacy learning?
• Have you seen children in the classroom
motivated to learn?
• Have you seen children in the classroom
motivated to learn, but not motivated to
learn literacy?
• What does this mean?
Revisiting the Expectancy X Value
Framework
• Expectancy x Value Framework
– Student’s expectancy of success
– Student’s value of the task
– Need to have both to motivate students
– Need to help students believe they can
succeed
– Need to help students recognize the value of
the task
 Brophy’s Strategies for Enhancing
Motivation to Learn
• Strategies for Increasing Expectations of
Success
– Provide opportunities for success
– Teach students to set reasonable goals and
assess their own performance
– Help students recognize the relationship
between effort and outcome
– Provide informative feedback
– Provide special motivational approach to low
achievers
Weinstein & Mignano, 2007
How can we use Brophy’s Strategies
with Literacy Learning?
– Provide opportunities for success in literacy
– Teach students to set reasonable goals and
assess their own performance in literacy
– Help students recognize the relationship
between effort and outcome in literacy
– Provide informative feedback in literacy
– Provide special motivational approach to low
achievers in literacy
 Motivating Factors
• Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivations
– Extrinsic motivation occurs when a child is
motivated because of an expectation of a
“reward” for their participation.
– Intrinsic motivation occurs when a child is
motivated because of an internal desire to
engage in an activity.
What about culturally responsive
teaching?
• Learn about students’ lives outside of school
to understand what motivates their learning
• Learn about students’ perceptions of school
knowledge and cultural beliefs about potential
of school to improve their lives in the future
• Need to understand students’ experiences of
subject matter knowledge outside of school
• Learn about students’ community life
• Think about this in terms of literacy learning…
Villegas & Lucas, 2002
 How can teachers motivate children’s
literacy learning?
• Support literacy learning in the specific
domains
• Actively try to understand how each child as an
individual learns
• Create a community of learners where each
child is valued by the teachers and his or her
peers
• Connect instruction and assessment
• Link home and school, parents and classroom
• Scaffold literacy experiences
 Some Questions for Discussion
• What was the process of learning to read like
for you?
• Think about what motivated you as a student—
what does this mean for your students?
• What assumptions are we making about our
students as literacy learners in terms of
motivation?
• What biases are we making about our students
in terms of learning in general, but also literacy
learning?
• What kinds of questions do we need to be
asking ourselves as teachers?
Scaffolding of literacy experiences

High level of
support
• Modeled
• Shared
• Interactive
• Guided
Low level of
support
• Independent
 Motivation is a Teacher’s Hardest
Job
• Finding out what is motivating for a child
can be the hardest thing you do, but is
often the most rewarding
• Quick write time:
– Did you do the reading for today? Be honest!
What did you read and why? What motivated
you to do the reading? From week to week,
what do you find motivating about the
readings (or not).
 Thinking about Motivating
Literacy Learning
• Different literacy domains can be learned in
different ways using different strategies
• The following strategies will help us to think
about ways to motivate students in the various
domains we’ve discussed to date
• As we talk about each one, think about your
study child and which strategy might be
motivating to him or her
 12 Instruction Structures
• Teacher Read Aloud
• Paired Reading
• Shared Reading
• Group Reading
• Teacher-led Whole Class Literature Study
• Teacher-led Small Group Literature Study
• Literature Circle
• Readers Theatre
• Readers Workshop
• Sustained Silent Reading
• Choral Reading
• Popcorn Reading
Although all instructional structures may be used appropriately in
grades K-12, their frequency of use, the amount of classroom time
dedicated to the structure, and the number of students who
participate in the structure changes across K-12.

Teacher-Led Literature Study

Readers Workshop
Reader Theatre
Popcorn Reading
Literature Circle

K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Shared Reading
Choral Reading
Teacher Read Aloud
Paired Reading
Sustained Silent Reading
Guided Reading
 Teacher Read Aloud
• Teacher selects text for an instructional purpose:
genre, element of literature, style, theme,
connection with content study, etc.
• Teacher reads aloud to whole class.
• Teacher paces reading.
• Text is used as the basis for class instructional
activities
• Class discussions are teacher-directed.
• Most small-group work is organized by the
teacher.
• Students may keep literature journals or response
logs.
 Paired Reading
• Readers of similar or different reading competency
or interests pair to read a specific text.
• Pairs may be assigned in one of two ways: by
teacher selection or by student selection of
partners.
• Readers take turns reading the text to each other.
• Readers determine the length of each reader’s
piece to read.
• Emphasis may be placed on reading for pleasure or
teacher may assign a focus for the reading.
 Shared Reading
• Teacher selects text for an instructional purpose: language
pattern, predictability of text (rhyme, rhythm, or repetition),
genre, element of literature, style, theme, connection with
content study etc.
• Text selection may be brief as used in mini lessons.
• Text selection is visible to all students, e.g., on overhead
transparency, in big book, or large point on chart paper.
• Teacher leads the reading of a book or selection and students
“read with” the teacher. (Teacher may first read the
selection aloud while students follow silently. On subsequent
readings, students take part in rereading.)
• Teacher paces reading.
• Teacher selects text as part of a unit or lesson.
• Class discussions are teacher-directed.
• Most small-group work is organized by the teacher.
• Students may keep literature journals or response logs.
 Guided Reading
• Teacher groups students with like needs into clusters of
4-6 students.
• Grouping is flexible and short term.
• Teacher selects a text for a particular instructional
purpose based on the small group’s common reading
instruction need(s).
• Text selection is not coordinated with class theme study.
• Teacher leads a preview, “walk through,” of the text, a
text reading, and a return to the text guided by the
instructional purpose.
• Teacher and students talk naturally.
• Teacher coaches students to apply reading strategies.
• Students simultaneously read the text aloud, or students
read text silently.
• Teacher assesses individual student performance .
 Teacher-Led Whole Class Literature
Study
• Based on unit of study, teacher chooses selection and assigns and paces
reading.
• Whole class reads the same text selection independently.
• Teacher helps students prepare for reading the selection by engaging them in
prereading strategies, supports them during reading by guiding them with
during reading strategies, and helps them make sense of the selection through
the use of after reading strategies.
• Teacher leads whole-class discussion by posing questions and issues for
consideration or guides small-group discussion through directed activities.
• Teacher monitors both small- and whole-class discussions, requiring
justification of opinion and support from the book.
• Teacher takes advantage of teachable moment with follow-up questions or
probing.
• Teacher draws attention to art and craft of the writing.
• Teacher prompts students to analyze and interpret the selection.
• Teacher leads students to make comparisons and draw connections across
reading selections.
• Teacher supports and prompts students’ interest and inquiry beyond the text
selection itself.
 Teacher Led Small Group Literature
Study
• Based on reading competency, teacher groups students homogeneously
in clusters of 4-6.
• Homogeneous groups read the same book.
• Book may be teacher of student selected within teacher-set
parameters.
• Teacher leads discussion by posing questions and issues for
consideration.
• Teacher monitors discussion, requiring justification of opinion and
support from the book.
• Teacher takes advantage of teachable moment with follow-up
questions or probing.
• Teacher draws attention to art and craft of the writing.
• Teacher prompts students to analyze and interpret the selection.
• Teacher assigns or teacher and students negotiate reading
assignments.
• Teacher supports and prompts student interest and inquiry beyond the
book itself.
 Literature Circle
• Teacher selects an array of texts for an instructional purpose: genre, element of
literature, style, theme, author, connection with content study, etc.
• Students choose selection from available texts; copies are available so the 4-6
students may choose the same book.
• Students are placed in temporary groups based on their text selection.
• Different groups read different books.
• Groups meet on a regular, predictable schedule to discuss their reading.
• Groups set reading pace.
• Group members keep a reading response journal or learning log; teacher may give
groups response ideas in addition to student chosen responses.
• Discussion ideas are generated from students journals/logs.
• Group meetings aim to be open, natural conversations about books; personal
connections digressions, and open-ended questions are welcome.
• Newly formed groups may assign task roles to each member.
• Teacher serves as facilitator, not group member or instructor.
• Related explicit instruction regarding literature/content study takes place in mini
lessons prior to literature circle time.
• Students plan and conduct for the whole class a sharing session regarding their study.
 Reading Workshop
• Students choose selection from wide variety of available texts.
• For a particular genre study, teacher may set guideline, e.g., text must be
fantasy/science fiction, identity novel etc.
• Each student reads his/her book at an individual pace.
• Students keep a reading response journal or log; teacher may give response ideas
in addition to students chosen responses.
• Teacher responds to student journals/logs.
• Students may meet periodically in small groups to discussion ideas generated from
their journal/logs.
• Group sharing is open, natural conversation about books; personal connections,
digressions, and open-ended questions are welcome.
• Teacher may direct focus of small-group discussion.
• Teacher serves as facilitator, not group member or instructor.
• Related direct instruction regarding literature/content study takes place in mini
lessons.
• Teacher-student conferences regarding reading are scheduled regularly.
• Share time may be a component: teacher or student reads a brief passage or
shares an insight or makes a recommendation or observation regarding a selection.
 Sustained Silent Reading
• Specific amount of time is set aside per
assigned day(s) for students to read silently.
• Students choose selections to read, parameters
are usually very broad.
• Each student reads her or his book at an
individual pace.
• Teacher reads own selection as students read.
• Share time may be a component: teacher or
student reads a brief passage or shares an
insight or makes a recommendation or
observation regarding a selection.
 Choral Reading
• Two or more students read a passage in unison.
• Group members may include peers, teacher,
parent, adult volunteer, etc.
• Choral group practices reading in unison.
• Performance is the end product.
 Readers Theatre
• Performance may be whole class or with groups.
• Teacher and/or groups of students select published readers theatre
texts or create their own texts based on another genre, e.g., poetry,
fiction, nonfiction.
• Class/groups read through their script several times to 1) get familiar
with the language, diction, structure of readers theatre and the basic
story line, 2) hear a more fluid reading of the complete story and
begin to reach understandings about characters and interpretation.
• Class/group discusses text: plot, characters, tone, symbolism, theme.
• Class/group manages a process for selecting a director and script
manager or one person to perform both roles and for performance
parts
• Class/group works to interpret the script, focusing on oral
interpretation of lines.
• Class/group plans staging and performance according to readers
theatre conventions.
• Class/group rehearses performance.
• Performance is the end product.
 Popcorn Reading
• Teacher has students begin reading aloud (like
choral reading except one student reads aloud
while the rest of the group follows along).
• Teacher does not call on any particular student
• When that person finishes, another student is
expected to follow (again, teacher does not call
on any particular student).
• The process continues until everyone has taken
a turn.
• Students make sure they participate and choose
when they participate.
 References
• Ormrod, J.E. (2008). Human Learning. Fifth
Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education, Inc.
• Villegas, A.M., & Lucas, T. (2002). Educating
Culturally Responsive Teachers. Albany, NY:
State University of New York Press.
• Weinstein, C. S., & Mignano, A. J. (2007).
Elementary Classroom Management: Lessons
from research and practice. Fourth Edition.
New York: McGraw Hill