The Missouri Reader Vol. 36, Issue 1 | Page 48
cookbooks, digital books, newspapers, song
lyrics, comics, and travel books.
Table 1: Student Reading Preferences vs.
Teacher Selections for Instruction
Student
Teacher
Materials
Yes
Sometimes
No
Yes
Sometimes
No
Websites
5
0
1
4
0
2
Magazines
6
0
0
4
1
1
Dictionaries
4
0
2
5
0
1
Comics
3
1
2
2
0
4
Manuals/instructions
5
0
1
4
1
1
Poetry
2
0
4
5
0
1
Catalogues
3
1
2
4
0
2
Song lyrics
6
0
0
1
1
4
Encyclopedias
2
0
4
5
0
1
Book series
5
1
0
4
1
1
Digital books
4
0
2
1
0
5
Newspapers
1
2
3
1
0
5
Fiction
5
0
1
4
0
2
Graphic novels
3
0
3
3
0
3
Emails
3
0
3
0
0
6
Text messages
3
1
2
0
0
6
Plays
0
0
6
4
0
2
Cookbooks
3
1
2
0
1
5
Posters/signs
3
1
2
5
0
1
Travel books
5
0
1
2
0
4
Books on tape
2
1
3
3
0
3
Factual books
4
1
1
6
0
0
Instructional Implications
Even though there is a large amount of
research on struggling readers and how specific
classroom instructions can help them overcome
their difficulties and become better readers, few
studies closely examine particularly how boy
struggling readers view themselves as readers,
what they like to read, and what are used to teach
reading by their teachers. This study contributes
to the existing literature by suggesting that
knowing the answers to the above questions will
help direct teachers‘ future instruction for boy
struggling readers.
The boy students in the study had a positive
attitude toward reading. None of them believed
reading is boring and all of them regarded reading
to be important. This finding may surprise people
who think the opposite of struggling readers –
disliking reading and considering reading as
unimportant. Enriquez and her associates (2010)
urged teachers to turn around their perceptions
of struggling readers, where teachers first turn
themselves around to see the strengths of
struggling readers and then respond differently
before turning students around as readers.
Having a positive attitude toward reading is the
first and foremost strength the students in this
study have. Student‘s attitude toward reading has
been recognized as a central factor affecting
reading performance (e.g., Wixson & Lipson,
1991).
It is important to note that the students
emphasized the fact that reading is not boring to
them especially when they are reading something
to their interests. Research suggests that
students‘ interests are closely related to
motivation and engagement with reading
(Guthrie & Davis, 2003). Ivey (1999) pointed out
that students‘ motivation and competence in
reading are circumstance related. In other words,
struggling readers will read more and
comprehend better if a text is appropriately
matched to their ability and interests. Therefore,
setting up a classroom library that includes a
variety of materials with a range of reading levels
and appealing to all children is one promising
approach to improving the reading competence
of struggling readers. Classroom teachers could
conduct brief interest inventories to identify the
personal and reading interests of each child in
their classroom and use that information to stock
the classroom libraries and interest centers.
Materials might be added or changed periodically
based upon current events, seasons, content area
themes, and author studies. Dan for example, a
black eleven-year-old in our study, indicated that
his reading interests are influenced by his
ambition (to be an NBA player) and his role
© The Missouri Reader, 36 (1) p.48