Student Reader Interviews

Emily Moog
T&L 322
Spring Semester 2017
March 24, 2017
 I have had the opportunity to observe in a fifth grade classroom in Puyallup, Washington

multiple times this year. I was able to be in the room during the first few months of the school

year and again this semester, which gave me a glimpse into the growth that students have over

time in their reading capabilities and comprehension. I visited the school again in spring

semester to gather information and the interviews included in this project. The classroom that I

observed is a shared classroom. There are two teachers with over 80 students sharing two rooms

with one collapsible wall separating them. It is clear that there are too many students for the

amount of space available and the teacher to student ratio is heavily skewed. However,

somehow, there is growth in student knowledge and comprehension. The two teachers do a

marvelous job with classroom management and student buy-in. I do think there are too many

students in the classroom and am shocked that they do not have educational assistants in the

room. But, the strategies that I have seen at work give me hope for the students.

I did not choose the students that I interviewed. Instead, the teachers chose three students

for me to interview, making sure that I received their strongest reader and two of their weakest

readers. I did not know the status of their reading capabilities until speaking with the students. It

was a helpful experience to be able to gage those statuses on my own from the conversations.

Following the interviews, I spoke to the two teachers about the students and what I observed

from their answers to my questions. I had come to the correct conclusions about their reading

comprehension and abilities.

Reader Interviews

Student 1: strong reader

Student 2: weak reader
Student 3: weak reader

1. When do you read?

Student 1: At home and at school. I also read in the car, everywhere I can It keeps mind off of
bad things and when I am sad because its quiet in my room and I get to be lost in my books.
Student 2: At home mostly
Student 3: I read for about an hour at home by myself. My parents dont come home until late at
night. I dont know, maybe 8 or something. So I read on our couch a lot. Or, I read during indoor
recess to read more.

2. Do you read mostly for fun or for school?

Student 1: Mostly for fun

Student 2: Kind of both
Student 3: Mostly for school

3. When you read for fun, what do you read? What types of books?

Student 1: I love fiction. Every type of fiction. I will read basically any fiction that you give me.
Student 2: I read chapter books. I sometimes read both nonfiction and fiction books.
Student 3: I read little kids books because I like all of the pictures. Plus, they are easier to read
and I like that. Its not as difficult for me. Im not a great reader, so sometimes some chapter
books.

4. Do you use basal readers in class?

Student 1: We use the books called Journeys with little stories and questions. We read out of
them randomly. It doesnt happen very often in our classroom
Student 2: We work on all the same story when we use Journey reading books.
Student 3: Yeah, we use Journey books. They are the really big books with lots of stories in
them.

5. Do you like it?

Student 1: Not much. I like reading by myself because fiction chapter books are more fun and I
get to choose what I read. When I read Journey books, I have to read what they give me and they
are really short. I would rather read longer ones with more of a story, if that makes sense.
Student 2: Kind of. I dont really care about them.
Student 3: No, because I dont like the big books it gives me paper cuts and I dont have band
aids.

6. Does anyone read to you at home?

Student 1: No
Student 2: No
Student 3: No

7. Do you remember them reading to you when you were younger?

Student 1: Yes, but it was a while ago. My mom read to me some, but she doesnt anymore
because I can read to myself.
Student 2: Yes, my mom used to read to me. She read chapter books to my brother and sister
and I would listen. They are older than me so sometimes I dont understand them, but I still like
them.
Student 3: My grandma, but when I was really little.

8. Do you read to anyone?

Student 1: Sometimes we play school at my house with my siblings. I also live at a daycare, so I
read to students when we play. Im the librarian and I read them kid books. They really like it
and its fun for me to read more because I love it so much.
Student 2: Not really.
Student 3: I read to my little sister who is three. We read a lot of books that she got for
Christmas like Dr. Seuss. I like poems because you get to learn all these different things.

9. Does your teacher read to you?

Student 1: No
Student 2: No
Student 3: No

10. Do you remember a teacher reading to you in past grades?

Student 1: Yes, my 2nd grade teacher read us some books. I dont remember what they were
about, but I remember that she would read to us when we were getting ready to go home. She
read to us chapter books and would ask us questions about the books as she read to us. We
answered them and then she would read again to us.
Student 2: In lower grades, yes, but I dont remember much about it. In 4th grade during lunch
my teacher would read to us if it was rainy day recess. I dont think she read to us much other
than that last year though.
Student 3: Yeah, in third grade. She read The Magic Tree House series to us. I didnt like it
because I dont like those books. They dont make sense to me because they couldnt really
happen. Those things arent real, so I dont get it.

11. Do you know what I mean when I ask you about reading strategies?

Student 1: Yes, I make predictions because sometimes I know something bad will happen in the
middle of a book. I then predict whats going to happen. Plus, I ask myself questions a lot when I
read. I ask about whats going to happen and what I think is going on. SOmetimes I dont know
whats going on so I ask myself and then sometimes I have to ask my teacher.
Student 2: No. (I then explained it to her and gave her some examples of reading strategies for
comprehension, continued in the next question)

12. Do you use any reading strategies when you read?

Student 2: I read the sentences around it and the whole sentence and gets me to where the book
is.
Student 3: No I get 100% on my tests on books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I get them already so
I dont need to use any.

13. Do you take reading assessments?

Student 1: Dibels. We also do reading assessment packets where we read a bit and then answer
questions about what we read. They arent long, usually. Its not like a chapter book or anything.
Its just a shorter story and then the page has us talk about it.
Student 2: I dont know. I dont think so.
Student 3: No? I dont know what that means.

14. What do you think of those?

Student 1: Yeah, Im not too fond of them. I just like the reading part but the questions are kind
of boring. Plus, the reading is too short and I want to read something longer. If I read something
longer, I get to know the characters longer and get hooked on the story. If its short like the tests,
then its not as fun for me.
Student 2: The tests are really difficult and you cant find the answers. You have to double
guess yourself. I dont do well because they are hard. I got 100% on only one of them about a
dog and a boy. I dont remember anything else about it, but I know I got 100%.

15. Do you enjoy them or do you not enjoy them?

Student 1: No, I dont really enjoy them, I guess. Id rather read a different book.
Student 2: No, I dont like them.

16. Do you think its important to read?

Student 1: Yes.
Student 2: Yes.
Student 3: I dont know.

17. Why do you think its important to read?

Student 1: You need to be able to read even if you are a construction worker to know how to
build a house. Theres instructions and you cant build the house if you cant read the
instructions. So in every job you need to be able to read and know how to do something. (Looks
around the room and sees a sign on a chair) You need to know to put the chairs back where they
belong, even!
Student 2: It teaches you stuff and you get better at it as you go.
Student 3: I dont really know.

18. Do you think you will read a lot in your future?

Student 1: Yes, of course!

Student 2: Probably.
Student 3: Yeah, when you have kids, you have to read to them. I want to be able to read books
that my mom likes, too. She talks about them, but I cant read them yet.

19. How?

Student 1: Im going to be a cook so I need to be able to read orders. Ill have to know what to
make people and how to make that dish. I cant make it if I cant read it.
Student 2: If I'm at home during the summer, Ill read some books.

20. How do you pick out books to read?

Student 1: I look at the information on the back or on the cover to see if I want to read it.
Sometimes the cover picture looks fun or interesting. Every now and then people recommend
books to me like by my mom or Cranny (the teacher). He recommended the Percy Jackson series
to me a while ago and I really liked it.
Student 2: I usually just go to the library and look for books. Or I ask a friend or the librarian
because the librarian knows a lot.
Student 3: I look through the ones that are interesting. If the cover looks happy, then I want to
read it.

21. Do you think you are a strong or weak reader?

Student 1: I think Im a strong reader. My teacher and my parents have told me that I am and I
know that I like to read and I read a lot. I think that makes me a strong reader.
Student 2: I dont know. I like to read, so maybe a strong one? I dont know.
Student 3: In middle because I dont understand all of the books but other books I do and get
high grades so I am in between.

22. Do you want to change that or improve your reading?

Student 1: No, Ill just keep reading more.

Student 2: Yeah, I want to improve by getting better. I can read a lot but some words I cant
understand. Ill just practice. Ill read.
Student 3: I dont know yet.

23. Why did you start loving reading

Student 1: My mom read me something about a kangaroo and a cookie. I think its called
Wheres All the Cookie Dough, or something like that. I really loved it and then loved reading
after that. You just have to find the right book.
Student 2: When I started to read books that were more interesting. I read Pig Carrot books at
the beginning of this year and it made me love reading. In fourth grade, my teacher had boring,
old books that werent good to read so I didnt like it. But now, my teacher has great books.
Student 3: At first I hated reading but now I love it because it gets me AR points. My teacher
told me I needed to get good grades and I want to do that for my teacher. He said that reading
makes that happen. I used to get an S in every single school I was at but thats not good. I want
to be able to get Cs in my classes. That would be really good. Cs mean I dont have to move
and I dont fail. I want to pass school.

Reflection

When beginning this project, I was skeptical of what I would notice. I figured that

students who did not excel in reading would not like to read. They would have no motivation to

read or to improve upon their reading skills. I had preconceived notions about what I would find

and thought that students who

My experience with science should have told me differently. I have always struggled in

science classes. I dont receive the grade I work for, mainly because I do not usually test well

and I cannot think of science concepts and how to relate them to each other in an orderly manner.

However, I often love science. Once I struggle with a concept long enough to finally

comprehend the information, I am hooked. The process of getting to that point hurts, but it is

always worth it. In the same way, the weak reading students I interviewed had the same outlook.

They did not do well naturally with reading, but worked hard and loved what they came up with.

The process was not pleasurable for them, but they still love to read.

I so enjoyed seeing this way of thinking in the students that I interviewed. The second

weak reader that I interviewed had a difficult home life. She talked to me a lot about her life

outside of what I included in this interview. She was not encouraged to read outside of the home
and struggled to do so herself. And yet, her desire to succeed carried her through. That is the type

of learning that I want to foster in my students in my own classroom. I want students to feels free

to stretch themselves, knowing that they will learn because of it.

I was encouraged by a few of the answers pointing back to the teachers and the positive

impacts they had on the students. Teachers were able to spur students on to read more and love

what they read. I want to be that type of teacher. Sometimes, when I am in a classroom, I feel

like situations are impossible to overcome in terms of reading. I dont know how to help a

student. Many times, if not all, there are moments where a student will need to learn the basics of

reading. However, even the smallest encouragement of the importance of reading and why it is

wonderful, can send a student skyrocketing toward reading success. I want to be that teacher.