Making Reading Fun

In the United States, the interest in reading has been on a decline in and outside of school. Children are not as interested in reading as they are in their video games or tablets. After reading various articles, researchers found that engaging students in reading was only possible if students were intrinsically motivated by the positive outcomes that reading will have on their lives (Froiland & Oros 2013; Springer et al. 2017; Daniels & Steres 2011). Thus my self study focused on the effect that extrinsic motivation had on independent reading. I collected data from students in a 6th grade English/Language Arts class with 25 students and found that my self-study greatly varied from current literature on independent reading engagement and specific strategies that would motivate students to actively independently read. Independent reading is the act of engaging in “Independent, self-selected reading… where reading and student choice are valued” (Stairs & Burgos, 2010, p. 43). In my self study, I found that around half of my students achieved their individualized goal created by themselves whereas the rest were not affected by my extrinsic motivational strategy. Further research needs to be done on what specific independent reading strategies would benefit students in engaging in reading.