Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Using adolescents preferred reading their own (Strommen & Mates, 2004). Gambrell,
Palmer, Codling, and Mazzoni (1996) developed
materials and modes of and standardized the Motivation to
instruction will lead to increased Pitcher and Mogge teach at Read Profile (MRP) to aid elementary
Towson University in
teachers in assessing the motivation of
motivation, and perhaps to Maryland. Albright teaches
at Texas Womans their students. In the study described
improvements in reading University. She may be in this article, 11 researchers worked as
contacted there (Texas
outcomes. Womans University a team to revise the Motivation to
Department of Reading, PO Read Profile to be used with adoles-
Box 425769, Denton, TX
76204-5769, USA); e-mail
cents and then assess students using
Interviewer: How much time do you
lalbright@mail.twu.edu. the Adolescent Motivation to Read
spend on the computer a
DeLaney teaches at Texas Profile (AMRP) at eight sites in the
day? State University. Walker
Adolescent: Two hours every day. teaches at the University of United States and Trinidad. Our work
La Verne in California. suggests that teachers need to ask dif-
Interviewer: What do you usually do? Seunarinesingh teaches at
the University of the West
ferent questions of adolescents than of
Adolescent: Search and play games on
the Internet. I go to Ask Indies St. Augustine, younger children. Some of the ques-
Trinidad & Tobago. Headley, tions that we found ourselves asking
Jeeves and ask questions. Ridgeway, and Dunston
Draw things and write teach at Clemson University. were the following: How do teachers
e-mails, print them out and Peck teaches at the State define reading? What kinds of reading
hang them up. Shop for my University of New York at
Geneseo, and Hunt teaches
will motivate adolescents today? How
mother so she can go to the
at Marygrove College in can these types of reading be incorpo-
store and buy things. Read Detroit, Michigan.
about things that are going
rated into secondary classrooms?
on around the world. I read
magazines and music on the Internet
and about getting into college and Motivation to read: The roles
things.
(The adolescent was a sixth grader in an urban public
of engagement, self-efficacy,
school when interviewed.) and purpose for reading
According to Guthrie and Wigfield (1997), moti-
How to increase students motivation to read has vation is defined in terms of beliefs, values,
long been a priority in what teachers want to needs and goals that individuals have (p. 5).
know. This inquiry usually starts with the ques- Thus, the closer that literacy activities and tasks
tion, Do adolescents read? Recent studies have match these values, needs, and goals, the greater
suggested that few adolescents choose to read on the likelihood that students will expend effort
and sustain interest in them. When some students material, their willingness to engage in reading,
judge reading and literacy activities to be unre- and thus their ultimate competence in reading,
warding, too difficult, or not worth the effort be- especially related to academic reading tasks.
cause they are peripheral to their interests and Although much is known about adolescent moti-
needs, they can become nonreaders (Strommen & vation to read, the existing research can be sup-
Mates, 2004) or aliterate adolescents (Alvermann, plemented by information that contributes to our
2003) who are capable of reading but choose not understanding of motivation to read amongst a
to do so. sample that is diverse in geography, ethnicity,
school type, school system, and gender. This in-
Generally, the two strands of research on
formation is pertinent given the range of findings
adolescent motivation to read focus on
about adolescents motivation to read.
(a) adolescents as meaning-makers in out-
of-school contexts that meet their com-
petency needs (Alvermann, 2003; Revision of the Motivation to
OBrien, 2001; Strommen & Mates, Read Profile for adolescents
2004), and
Yearly, at the National Reading Conference, atten-
(b) adolescents as victims of positioning by dees have the opportunity to participate in a
schools that have devalued literacy activ- study group on adolescent reading research.
ities at which they are literate and com- During the 2002 conference, the participants in
petentsuch as media-text, electronic the study group decided that understanding what
games, electronic messaging, and visual motivates teens to read could be the key to im-
productionsand instead have valued proving reading instruction at the secondary
primarily print-based, content-area texts level. Many of us were familiar with the
(Alvermann, 2001b; OBrien; Smith & Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell et al., 1996)
Wilhelm, 2004) that students have diffi- that was designed to look at motivation of ele-
culty comprehending. mentary school readers from different perspec-
tives using two different types of instruments. We
In each case, school practices act as disincentives decided to revise the MRP to provide a flexible
because they fail to take into account what moti- instrument for secondary teachers to better un-
vates adolescents to read. derstand their students motivations to read.
Although school reading is based on tradi- The MRP includes two instruments: the
tional textbooks (Alvermann & Moore, 1991), reading survey and the conversational interview.
out-of-school reading involves a range of multi- The reading survey, a group-administered instru-
media (Bean, Bean, & Bean, 1999). Traditional ment, consists of 20 items using a four-point scale
texts, according to the New London Group assessing self-concept as a reader (10 items) and
(1996), are page-bound, official, standard forms value of reading (10 items). The conversational
of the national language (p. 61) that limit the interview is individually administered with 14
possibility for multiple discourses in the class- scripted items that are open-ended to encourage
room. An expanded concept of text must tran- free response and assess narrative reading, infor-
scend print-based texts to also include various mational reading, and general reading.
electronic media and adolescents own cultural
Working with the original MRP and using
and social understandings (Phelps, 2006, p. 4).
an e-mail listserv for in-depth conversations, we
Thus, motivation to read is a complex con- discussed and revised items for the AMRP using
struct that influences readers choices of reading recommendations from adolescent research and
our own experience working with teens. We re- Have any of your teachers done something
viewed the research literature and revised the lan- with reading that you really enjoy?
guage of the instrument to appeal to teens. Using
adolescent research as our guide, we included
As an open-ended, free response, semi-structured
more questions on the AMRP about using elec-
interview, these questions (as the authors of the
tronic resources (Alvermann, 2001a), schoolwork
original instrument also suggested) likely lead to
and projects that students enjoyed (Wasserstein,
1995), and what students choose to read and additional questions such as the following:
write on their own (Roe, 1997).
Why?
We revised some language in the AMRP
What happens in that class?
reading survey (see Figure 1) to be more adoles-
cent friendly (When I grow up was changed to Can you give an example?
As an adult; When I am in a group talking How did that make you feel?
about stories was changed to When I am in a How is that different from _________?
group talking about what we are reading; and
I would like for my teacher to read books out
As noted above, recent research on adoles-
loud in my class was changed to I would like
my teachers to read out loud in my classes). We cent literacy reveals that adolescents are using lit-
changed the grades surveyed and added an item eracy for many purposes outside of school that
on race or ethnicity to help us better under- may bear little resemblance to traditional aca-
stand the differences and similarities of various demic literacy purposes. Therefore, the conversa-
populations. tional interview was adapted to include questions
and prompts to yield responses related to techno-
Gambrell et al. (1996) developed and field
tested a 14-item conversational interview to be logical, family, and out-of-school literacies.
used as a complement to the survey. The MRP To learn more about technology uses, we
authors indicated that the conversational inter- added the following questions:
view flexibly probes for more in-depth under-
standing and authentic insights on students Do you have a computer in your home?
reading experiences, attitudes, and motivations.
How much time do you spend on the
Gambrell et al. further suggested that the instru-
computer each day?
ment could be used by teachers for instructional
decision making with individual students and What do you usually do on the computer?
groups of students. The AMRP conversational in- What do you like to read on the Internet?
terview (see Figure 2) continues these emphases.
Finally, the MRP authors encouraged teachers
To learn more about literacy practices in
and researchers to extend, modify, and adapt the
home and family life, the following questions
interview for particular needs and, indeed, that is
were added:
what we did to create the AMRP. Understanding
that school reading experiences expand and di-
Do you write letters or emails to friends or
versify in junior and senior high school, the
family?
group added the following questions:
Do you share any of the following reading
In what class do you most like to read? materials with members of your family:
In what class do you feel the reading is the newspapers, magazines, religious materi-
most difficult? als, games?
Figure 1
Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile reading survey
Figure 1 (continued)
Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile reading survey
10. I think libraries are ______________. 16. As an adult, I will spend ______________.
a great place to spend time none of my time reading
an interesting place to spend time very little time reading
an OK place to spend time some of my time reading
a boring place to spend time a lot of my time reading
11. I worry about what other kids think about 17. When I am in a group talking about what we are
my reading ______________. reading, I ______________.
every day almost never talk about my ideas
almost every day sometimes talk about my ideas
once in a while almost always talk about my ideas
never always talk about my ideas
12. Knowing how to read well is ______________. 18. I would like for my teachers to read out loud in
not very important my classes ______________.
sort of important every day
important almost every day
very important once in a while
never
13. When my teacher asks me a question about
what I have read, I ______________. 19. When I read out loud I am a ______________.
can never think of an answer poor reader
have trouble thinking of an answer OK reader
sometimes think of an answer good reader
always think of an answer very good reader
14. I think reading is ______________. 20. When someone gives me a book for a present, I
a boring way to spend time feel ______________.
an OK way to spend time very happy
an interesting way to spend time sort of happy
a great way to spend time sort of unhappy
unhappy
15. Reading is ______________.
very easy for me
kind of easy for me
kind of hard for me
very hard for me
Note. Adapted with permission from the Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996)
Figure 2
Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile
conversational interview
Name ____________________________________
1. Tell me about the most interesting story or book you have read recently. Take a few minutes to think
about it (wait time). Now, tell me about the book.
Probe: What else can you tell me? Is there anything else?
1. Think about something important that you learned recently, not from your teacher and not from televi-
sion, but from something you have read. What did you read about? (Wait time.) Tell me about what you
learned.
Probe: What else could you tell me? Is there anything else?
2. How did you know or find out about reading material on this?
Figure 2 (continued)
Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile
conversational interview
2. Do you have anything at school (in your desk, locker, or book bag) today that you are reading?
5. Do you know about any books right now that youd like to read?
7. What are some things that get you really excited about reading?
Tell me about....
(continued)
Figure 2 (continued)
Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile
conversational interview
If you did have a computer in your home, what would you like to do with it?
Is there anything on the Internet that you would like to be able to read?
Why?
Why?
(continued)
Figure 2 (continued)
Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile
conversational interview
3. Have any of your teachers done something with reading that you really enjoyed?
4. Do you share and discuss books, magazines, or other reading materials with your friends outside
of school?
What?
How often?
Where?
How often?
6. Do you share any of the following reading materials with members of your family:
newspapers, magazines, religious materials, games?
With whom?
How often?
7. Do you belong to any clubs or organizations for which you read and write?
Note. Adapted with permission from the Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996)
To further explore nonacademic adolescent more deeply and broadly in light of adolescents
literacy, we added the following questions: responses. The interviewer decides whether indi-
vidual or small-group interviews are appropriate.
Do you share and discuss books, maga- Individual interviews may yield more open and
zines, or other reading material (with free responses while group interviews may lead to
friends or others)? discussion of popular or emerging literacy prac-
Do you belong to any clubs or organizations tices. The interviewer could also conduct the in-
for which you use reading and writing? terview over a few sessions covering some topics
in groups and others individually.
These questions lend themselves to alteration and We revised the teacher directions for the
follow-up, enabling the interviewer to probe reading survey (see Figure 3) to reflect the changes
Figure 3
Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile
Te a c h e r d i r e c t i o n s : R e a d i n g s u r v e y
Distribute copies of the Adolescent Motivation to Read Survey. Ask students to write their names on the space
provided.
Directions: Say: I am going to read some sentences to you. I want to know how you feel about your reading.
There are no right or wrong answers. I really want to know how you honestly feel about reading. I will read
each sentence twice. Do not mark your answer until I tell you to. The first time I read the sentence I want you
to think about the best answer for you. The second time I read the sentence I want you to fill in the space beside
your best answer. Mark only one answer. If you have any questions during the survey, raise your hand. Are
there any questions before we begin? Remember: Do not mark your answer until I tell you to. OK, lets begin.
Say:
Now, get ready to mark your answer.
I am a (pause) female, (pause) male.
Read the remaining items in the same way (e.g., number _____, sentence stem followed by a pause, each op-
tion followed by a pause, and then give specific directions for students to mark their answers while you repeat
the entire item).
Note. Adapted with permission from the Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996)
we made and used the original teacher directions other, and 1% of the respondents did not speci-
for the conversational interview (see Figure 4). fy an ethnicity. Additionally, some of the students
The original MRP reading survey scoring direc- interviewed identified themselves as Hispanic.
tions (see Figure 5) and scoring sheet (see Figure Early adolescents (grades 68) accounted for
6) are used to score the AMRP. Also see the origi- 43.8% of the sample, middle adolescents (grades
nal article by Gambrell et al. (1996) for more 910) comprised 35.2 %, and late adolescents
guidelines for scoring and interpretation. (grades 1112) comprised 21% of the sample.
Fifty-four percent were female; 46% were male.
In sharing the results of this study, often the
The study students own words are used. In all cases the
Eleven researchers at eight sites administered the names are pseudonyms. In some instances the
AMRP reading survey and conversational inter- students chose their own aliases.
view to teens from many different school settings
including public, charter, alternative, and
government-sponsored schools and in a variety The AMRP reading survey
of geographic areas of the United States (West, The reading survey provides scores for both Self-
Southwest, Northeast, Midatlantic, and concept as a reader and Value of reading and
Southeast) and the Caribbean. Surveys were ad- takes approximately 10 minutes to administer to
ministered to 384 adolescents and approximately a whole class. The multiple-choice format and
100 were interviewed. Of the 384 students who easy to follow scoring sheet provide a practical in-
responded to the survey, approximately 22% strument that can be used with large groups of
identified themselves as African American, 37% students. With only a small time investment,
were Caucasian, 30% were Afro/Indo-Trini (from teachers can assess at the beginning of the year
Trinidad and Tobago), 10% were classified as how their students feel about reading. This can
Figure 4
Te a c h e r d i r e c t i o n s : M R P c o n v e r s a t i o n a l i n t e r v i e w
1. Duplicate the conversational interview so that you have a form for each child.
2. Choose in advance the section(s) or specific questions you want to ask from the conversational interview.
Reviewing the information on students reading surveys may provide information about additional ques-
tions that could be added to the interview.
3. Familiarize yourself with the basic questions provided in the interview prior to the interview session in or-
der to establish a more conversational setting.
4. Select a quiet corner of the room and a calm period of the day for the interview.
5. Allow ample time for conducting the conversational interview.
6. Follow up on interesting comments and responses to gain a fuller understanding of students reading expe-
riences.
7. Record students responses in as much detail as possible. If time and resources permit you may want to au-
diotape answers to A1 and B1 to be transcribed after the interview for more in-depth analysis.
8. Enjoy this special time with each student!
Note. Reprinted with permission from the Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996)
Figure 5
Scoring directions: MRP reading survey
The survey has 20 items based on a 4-point scale. The highest total score possible is 80 points. On some items
the response options are ordered least positive to most positive (see item 2 below) with the least positive re-
sponse option having a value of 1 point and the most positive option having a point value of 4. On other
items, however, the response options are reversed (see item 1 below). In those cases it will be necessary to re-
code the response options. Items where recoding is required are starred on the scoring sheet.
Example: Here is how Maria completed items 1 and 2 on the Reading Survey.
Because Maria answered that she is a good reader the point value for that item, 3, is entered on the first line of
the Self-Concept column on the scoring sheet. See below. The response options for item 2 are ordered least
positive (1 point) to most positive (4 points), so scoring item 2 is easy. Simply enter the point value associated
with Marias response. Because Maria selected the fourth option, a 4 is entered for item 2 under the Value of
reading column on the scoring sheet. See below.
Scoring sheet
Self-concept as a Reader Value of reading
*recode 1. 3 2. 4
To calculate the Self-concept raw score and Value raw score add all student responses in the respective col-
umn. The full survey raw score is obtained by combining the column raw scores. To convert the raw scores to
percentage scores, divide student raw scores by the total possible score (40 for each subscale, 80 for the full
survey).
Note. Reprinted with permission from the Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996)
Figure 6
MRP reading survey scoring sheet
Note. Reprinted with permission from the Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996)
lead to different choices for different groups. Students perceptions of reading and readers.
Using the instrument again at intervals can also We entered the study under the assumption that
assess how different instructional approaches (lit- interviews would add descriptive data to the sur-
erature circles, choice reading, projects) affect vey results, and in most cases, our expectations
how students value reading and see themselves as were met. Yet in other instances, discrepancies did
readers. exist between survey answers and interview an-
swers. For example, Jason answered on the survey
Through this studys surveys, we found
that he never likes to read, but when asked in
some interesting data with implications for how
the interview about the most interesting story he
these teens see themselves as readers. Females had
had recently read, he talked about a survival story
significantly (p = .000) higher scores on the sur- in a hunting magazine. He went on to say that his
veys than males (p = .012). Males scored higher grandfather was going to help him pay for a sub-
on the survey in their early teens but their scores scription to the magazine, because Jason loved to
decreased in their later teens. Females across all hunt. Similarly, Jared checked that he liked to
groups valued reading more than males (p = read not very often on the survey, but when
.000). We also found that females value of read- asked about something important hed learned
ing increased with grade level but males de- recently outside of school, he mentioned how
creased. African American (n = 84) and hed learned new fishing tactics from Field and
Afro/Indo-Trini (n = 115) adolescents valued Stream magazine.
reading significantly (p = .000) more than
One of the most extreme examples of sur-
Caucasians (n = 141) or students from other eth-
vey and interview discrepancies arose with Paul,
nicities (n = 39). There were no significant differ-
who shared on the survey that he found reading
ences on self-concept between grade level, gender,
a boring way to spend time. The interview told
or ethnic groups.
a different story when he mentioned spending
These interesting trends often seemed puz- about 20 hours a week on the Internet reading
zling when we considered the data from the inter- e-mails, articles, games, and stuff. Michael, an-
views. In comparing answers from the surveys other student from the same school, checked on
and the interviews, we were better able to under- the survey that he never reads a book, but his
stand the reasons behind the data above and to conversation during the interview included his
ponder more implications for instruction. reading of magazines, hobby books, and stories
written by friends. He and his friends write and
share stories on e-mail often. The definition that
The AMRP conversational interview these boys assigned to the word, reading, may
The interviews provided a view of instructional not have included the reading of magazines,
methods that were used in the classrooms and of e-mail, games, or other leisure reading for pleas-
how teens spent their free time. The main themes ure or information. Additionally, their reading in-
that emerged from the interviews were the dis- terests did not seem to include any forms of
crepancies between students views of themselves academic reading.
as readers in school and out of school, students Generally, students self-concepts as readers
use of multiliteracies, the influence of family and and their value of reading coincided with their
friends on reading, the role of teachers and in- reading choices and overall enjoyment of reading.
structional methods, and the importance of Jesse was one of several exceptions. On the survey
choice. These themes are described below and il- he selected poor reader in the self-concept sec-
lustrated with comments from students. The tion, and he checked that he read not very often
grade levels of these students ranged from 6 to 11. in the value portion. Conversely, when asked
about the most interesting book he had read re- tional resources on the Internet. For example,
cently, he explained, The most interesting book I adolescents used it as a newspaper (e.g., several
have read was by Michael Crichton. It was about talked about reading America Onlines front page
alternate universes, time travel. I first saw this for the latest news). They also used it for personal
book at a store, read the review, and decided to purposes to locate information about a topic in
buy it. I liked it because it involved history, tech- which they were interested. Nikki said, I read,
nology, a different perspective on the universe. uh, about kittens of course and about other ani-
This students choice of books, along with his mals and how to take care of things. Like a while
speaking vocabulary, would not have led us to back I was looking up about a dog for my sister.
view him as a poor reader, but he was one of the Students also used the Internet to find song lyrics,
students enrolled in a summer class after failing converse in chat rooms, role play, play games on
English 11. Obviously, in English 11 he was con- gaming sites, and find game codes. Heidi shared
sidered a poor reader, a fact that suggests a strong that she gets on the Internet to e-mail family in
disconnect between academic forms of reading Hawaii, read and write fanfiction about Harry
and pleasure reading. Potter, and fix up her own website.
Adolescents need for connection to a topic Family and friends. Students multiliteracies of-
was well expressed by Tommy. In answering the ten involved friends and family members, who
survey question of how often he likes to read, exerted considerable influence on what these ado-
Tommy marked sometimes. When asked during lescents read and write. These influences occur
the interview to tell about the most interesting both through direct recommendations and
story he had read recently, Tommy replied that it through informal talk and sharing about books.
was a book about the U.S. Civil War in which the Friends are recipients and senders of e-mail and
South won. He added that it was mostly histori- IMs, and they recommend and share books with
cally correct. In answer to why this story was in- one another. They talk about magazine articles
teresting, Tommy replied that he had Confederate they have read and sometimes about school-
ancestors. assigned readings. According to Carrie, she and
Use of multiliteracies. Students use of multilit- her friends discuss magazine articles at lunch,
eracies was overwhelmingly apparent in the inter- and like during class when they give us, like, five
view data. Students talked about reading minutes before class ends to talk or whatever.
magazines and, to a lesser extent, newspapers. Jimmy and his friends share magazine and news-
Favorite topics of magazines chosen by students paper articles about sports or stuff were talking
were teens, cars, sports, fashion, and people. about.
Electronic literacies were very frequently Family members, including mothers, grand-
mentioned as a form of communication and in- mothers, aunts, uncles, and siblings, are influen-
formation gathering, and most students discussed tial forces. Students mentioned mothers and
using computers in their homes. They regularly grandmothers recommending and buying books
sent e-mail and instant messages (IM) to friends and magazines for them. Carrie explained her
and family members. Jenna even made a distinc- mothers strategy, She knows what kind of books
tion between e-mail and instant messages. I like so she...buys me a bunch of books and she
Friends, I dont really e-mail because I talk to just puts them on my shelves and I just end up
them almost every night on IM, but I do e-mail reading them anyway. They discuss and share
them sometimes. When asked whether they read newspaper articles with their mothers and fa-
informational text, students often talked about thers. When asked if he shared any reading mate-
Internet sites, and when asked about the comput- rials with family members, John replied, Yes, I
er, they commonly talked about reading informa- would say my stepfather because we both really
like sports, and we look at the...sports section of Pinball, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in language
the newspaper a lot. These adolescents e-mail arts classes. Enjoying these texts helped make
relatives who live away from them, and some read their classes the ones in which they most like to
to their younger siblings. read. Two dislikers of reading said that the most
interesting story or book they had read was in
Teachers and instructional methods. Some inter-
English classLord of the Flies and The Great
esting replies resulted from the question, Have any
Gatsby. At one survey site the students talked a lot
of your teachers done something with reading that
about reading books in classroom literature cir-
you really enjoyed? There were students who an-
cles. Whether the students really enjoyed these
swered, No. For example, out of 21 summer
books or most recalled them because they were
school students at one site, 19 said no. Of the 2 that
done in school, was not clear. The data did
said yes, they added that the teacher read aloud.
show that these assigned readings could also
Surveys and interviews from a small, experi- turn them off from reading if the book was
mental middle school in an urban setting pro- too hard or boring. Nevertheless, assigned
duced very different findings. Here, students school reading also influenced what was read at
enthusiastically talked about literature circles, sus- home and kept in the school locker. We did not
tained silent reading time, and choosing books in obtain as vivid descriptions about nonfiction
literacy centers that were part of a new reading in- books as we did of the traditional novels.
tervention program. Most of the 10 students in-
Nick enthusiastically captured the influence
terviewed at this site shared that they either
of teachers.
borrowed from the teachers or went to the library
to get books that other students in their class
talked about. Across all sites, adolescents discus- I think that my sixth grade teacher, her name was
Miss Sawyer, she was, uh, she was like one of my fa-
sion of teacher instruction revealed that the mod-
vorite reading teachers, and I used to go to her class-
eling of strategies for comprehending text and room everyday to see what books, like, she would be
finding information has a strong influence on stu- reading...so she could, like, tell me about them so I
dents views toward academic forms of reading. could check them out to read them, and...we always
would read books in her class and she always, she had
In addition to instructional methods, we like a great voice and...she taught reading like more
noted the powerful influence of teacher talk and some of the skills I have in reading like very, like, very
modeling about books and authors. From inter- enthusiastic and stuff like that.
views, it became clear that teachers enthusiasm
Choice. The final theme was related to both the
can have a tremendous impact on students read-
role of teachers and the discrepancies among
ing habits and attitudes. The interview partici-
teens views of what counts as reading.
pants discussed how teachers excitement about
Adolescents clearly identified the importance of
reading, knowledge of various authors, and en-
choice in their literacy lives, an issue long docu-
joyment of certain books affected their own read-
mented in the literature (Ivey & Broaddus, 2001;
ing. Teachers were often sources for book
Oldfather, 1993). When asked if teachers had ever
recommendations. Some students reported that
done something with reading that they really en-
they discovered their most interesting story or
joyed, several in this study mentioned teachers al-
book read recently from a teacher, as in the ex-
lowing them to choose a book to read. Students
perimental middle school.
also valued choice in topics and formats for as-
The teens talked a lot about books that were signed projects. They recognized the need for
assigned in class. They mentioned reading books teachers to assign some readings, but they wanted
such as Holes, the Harry Potter series, The Dark Is them to take into account student preferences in
Rising, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Scorpions, these assignments.
include reading materials of varied for- time. Furthermore, Partin and Hendricks (2002)
mats, levels, and topics in the classroom; suggested that teachers broaden their scope of
and what they consider acceptable reading material.
incorporate elements of choice in readings Expanding the notion of text to include popular
and projects. culture and music, the Internet, magazines, and
other alternatives could invite opportunities for
adolescents to become critical consumers of texts.
Like Gambrell et al. (1996), we believe that
information from the results of the AMRP should A decline in reading motivation as students
be used in planning developmentally appropriate progress through middle and secondary school
instruction. Adolescents, in particular, could ben- has been blamed on the mismatch between typi-
efit from more meaningful, motivational con- cal reading assignments and student preferences
texts for reading instruction (Gambrell et al., p. (Ivey, 1998). Because we know that young people
530), because of their tendency to read less fre- reject literacy tasks that are lacking in purpose
quently as they enter the teen years (Moje, Young, and interest, we need to become more aware of
Readence, & Moore, 2000). From the survey re- students personal uses of literacy and what is im-
sults, males in particular seemed to lose interest portant to them. When reading is limited to text-
in reading by late adolescence. Smith and books and whole-class literature, we limit
Wilhelm (2004) attributed this decline to feelings ourselves as teachers, and our students as readers.
of incompetence with school literacy tasks. Yet, as Adolescents are, after all, the major stakeholders
past research indicates, positive attitudes are es- in their education, and we, the adults, need to lis-
sential for mastery of a text but are often given ten to what they have to say.
less attention than decoding skills and compre-
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