No More Reading for Junk: Best Practices for Motivating Readers

by Barbara A. Marinak, Ellin Oliver Keene, Linda Gambrell, Nell K Duke

Overview

Pizza. Pez dispensers. Nerf balls. When we give students “junk” to reward reading, we are focusing their intention away from the act of reading and from their own independence as readers. Instead, we can create classrooms where reading is seen as its own reward. In this book, esteemed researcher Linda Gambrell provides a research-based context for cultivating children’s intrinsic motivation to read and identifies three essential principles, the “ARC” of motivation:

• access: giving kids a wealth of reading materials and opportunities to discuss texts

• relevance: offering high interest, moderately challenging and authentic reading experiences

• choice: allowing students to self-select texts and reading activities

What exactly do those principles look like in action? Reading specialist and researcher Barbara Marinak shares the strategies and techniques that make a difference for student readers’ motivation, turning disengaged readers into passionate ones. “Pizza and Pez dispensers are short lived,” Linda and Barbara write, “but confident and empowered readers are likely to remain motivated for life.”   

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780325061573
Publisher:	Heinemann
Publication date:	05/18/2016
Series:	Not This, But That
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 5.20(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 10 Years

About the Author

Ellin Oliver Keene has been a classroom teacher, staff developer, non-profit director and adjunct professor of reading and writing. For sixteen years she directed staff development initiatives at the Denver-based Public Education & Business Coalition. She served as Deputy Director and Director of Literacy and Staff Development for the Cornerstone Project at the University of Pennsylvania for 4 years. Ellin works with schools and districts throughout the country and abroad. Her emphasis is long-term, school-based professional development and strategic planning for literacy learning.

Ellin recently published The Literacy Studio: Redesigning the Workshop for Readers and Writers which is focused on an up-to-date conceptualization of Readers/Writers’ workshop. She is the author of Engaging Children: Igniting the Drive for Deeper Learning (2018), is co-editor and co-author of The Teacher You Want to Be: Essays about Children, Learning, and Teaching (Heinemann, 2015); co-editor of the Not This, but That series (Heinemann, 2013 - 2018); author of Talk About Understanding: Rethinking Classroom Talk to Enhance Understanding (Heinemann, 2012), To Understand: New Horizons in Reading Comprehension (Heinemann, 2008), co-author of Comprehension Going Forward (Heinemann, 2011), co-author of Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction, 2^nd edition (Heinemann, 2007, 1^st edition, 1997) and author of Assessing Comprehension Thinking Strategies (Shell Educational Books, 2006) as well as numerous chapters for professional books and journals on the teaching of reading as well as education policy journals.

Nell K. Duke, Ed.D., is a professor in literacy, language, and culture and also in the combined program in education and psychology at the University of Michigan. Duke received her Bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and her Masters and Doctoral degrees from Harvard University. Duke’s work focuses on early literacy development, particularly among children living in economic poverty. Her specific areas of expertise include the development of informational reading and writing in young children, comprehension development and instruction in early schooling, and issues of equity in literacy education. She has served as Co-Principal Investigator of projects funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the George Lucas Educational Foundation, among other organizations.

Duke has been named one of the most influential education scholars in the U.S. in EdWeek. In 2014, Duke was awarded the P. David Pearson Scholarly Influence Award from the Literacy Research Association, and in 2018 she received the International Literacy Association's William S. Gray Citation of Merit for outstanding contributions to research, theory, practice, and policy. She has also received the Michigan Reading Association Advocacy Award, the American Educational Research Association Early Career Award, the Literacy Research Association Early Career Achievement Award, the International Reading Association Dina Feitelson Research Award, the National Council of Teachers of English Promising Researcher Award, and the International Reading Association Outstanding Dissertation Award.

Duke is author and co-author of numerous journal articles and book chapters. Her most recent book is Inside Information: Developing Powerful Readers and Writers of Informational Text through Project-based Instruction. She is co-author of the books Reading and Writing Informational Text in the Primary Grades: Research-Based Practices; Literacy and the Youngest Learner: Best Practices for Educators of Children from Birth to Five; Beyond Bedtime Stories: A Parent’s Guide to Promoting Reading, Writing, and Other Literacy Skills From Birth to 5, now in its second edition; and Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose in K–8 Classrooms. She is co-editor of the Handbook of Effective Literacy Instruction: Research-based Practice K to 8 and Literacy Research Methodologies. She is also editor of The Research-Informed Classroom book series and co-editor of the Not This, But That book series.

Duke has taught preservice, inservice and doctoral courses in literacy education, speaks and consults widely on literacy education, and is an active member of several literacy-related organizations. Among other roles, she currently serves as advisor for the Public Broadcasting Service/Corporation for Public Broadcasting Ready to Learn initiative, an expert for NBC News Learn, and advisor to the Council of Chief State School Officers Early Literacy Networked Improvement Community. She has served as author or consultant on several educational programs, including Connect4Learning: The Pre-K Curriculum; Information in Action: Reading, Writing, and Researching with Informational Text; Engaging Families in Children’s Literacy Development: A Complete Workshop Series; Buzz About IT (Informational Text); iOpeners; National Geographic Science K-2; and the DLM Early Childhood Express. Duke also has a strong interest in improving the quality of educational research training in the U.S.

Barbara A. Marinak, Ph.D. is Professor and Chair of the Education Department at Mount St. Mary’s University where she teaches literacy and research courses. Prior to joining the faculty at Mount St. Mary’s, Dr. Marinak spent more than two decades in public education.

Linda B. Gambrell is Distinguished Professor of Education at Clemson University. She is past president of the International Reading Association and the Literacy Research Association. In 2004 she was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame. She is a former classroom teacher and reading specialist.

Table of Contents

Introduction Nell K. Duke vii

Section 1 Not This

1 We Can't Nurture Intrinsic Reading Motivation Using Rewards/Punishment Barbara A. Marinak

I Don't Want That Junk Anyway! 2

Rethinking (and Rejecting) a Behaviorist Model 3

Expanding Possibilities 5

Counting Ducks: Rethinking Public Displays of Achievement 6

Tired of Talking Bunnies: Learning About a Passion for Nonfiction 8

Insights from the Underground Book Club 9

I Read Only Dog Books! How a Student's Love of a Book Shaped My Thinking 10

Creating a Motivating Classroom Context for Literacy Learning 11

Section 2 Why Not? What Works?

13 What We Know About Reading Motivation, and What It Means for Instruction Linda B. Gambrell

What's Lost When We Use Rewards and Incentives to Motivate Students to Read 13

Goals of Section 2 15

Why We Say "No More Reading for Junk!" 16

What Theory Tells Us About Motivation to Read 19

Intrinsic Motivation: Getting Students Hooked on the Reading Habit 21

The ARC of Motivation: Access, Relevance, and Choice 22

Access: Provide Access to Reading Materials and Opportunities to Read and Discuss Text 23

Relevance: Provide High-Interest Moderately Challenging, and Authentic Reading Experiences 26

Choice: Provide Opportunities for Students to Self-Select Text and Reading Activities 30

The Big Goal: Supporting Students in Developing Intrinsic Motivation to Read 33

Moving from Understanding to Practice 33

Section 3 But That

34 Using the ARC of Motivation to Engage All Readers

The A of ARC: Afford Access to a Wide Variety of Print 35

Recognize Your Super Power! 37

Book Blessing 38

Personal invitation to Read 40

Picture This! 42

Selecting Books for the Library 44

Engaging Students in Fact Checking 46

The R of ARC: Invite Children into Relevant Reading Experiences 48

Promote Personal Enjoyment of Reading 49

Celebrate Students' Reading Lives 51

Book Tweets 54

Form Book Clubs 55

Listen Actively 57

Who Knew? 59

The C of ARC: Afford as Much Choice as Possible 61

Promote Library Values 62

Offer Choice of Teacher Read-Aloud 63

Allow Students to Choose the What, Where, and How 65

Let It Rain! And Other Enticing Book Displays 68

Bridging the Book Divide 70

Representing Reading 72

Next Steps 75

Afterword Ellin Oliver Keene 77

References 79