Students are not machines who can take information in and eject information later. Students must be interested in the subject and understand authentic reasons to learn the new material (Edmund & Bauserman, 2006). If children are bored, they are likely to tune out, causing them to miss important learning opportunities. Children are more likely to be involved in the learning process if their prior knowledge is activated, their interest is piqued, and they are captivated by the mater-ial (Edmund & Bauserman, 2006). Students are diverse with various interests and learning styles, but children can learn if they are moti-vated. Activating prior knowledge while stimulating interest generates a learning atmosphere in which students learn purpose-fully. The aim of this article is to educate teachers in the effectiveness and benefits of using before, during, and after reading strategies in the classroom.
Background
Prior knowledge is the first step in compre-hending text (Guthrie & Alvermann, 1999b). Students must make connections from what they already know to what they will learn. According to a study by Schiefele (1991), students who activated their prior knowledge before reading the text read more deeply and applied more learning strategies to investigate
the material. Once this knowledge is
initiated, the teacher can begin teach-
ing new concepts, but knowledge
cannot be built upon without get-
ting the students’ attention first.
This is where engagement activ-
ities play a role in the learning process. Once students are engaged, their prior knowledge can be activated. Students then take owner-ship of their learning and reflect upon it because it is authentic (Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz, 2011). In this way, students will become confident in their learning and their ability to read texts.
According to Guthrie and Wigfield (1997),
“Efficacy expectations, or their beliefs that
they [students] can accomplish a given task,
are a major determinant of activity choice,
willingness to expand effort, and persis-
tence” (p. 16). If students believe in their
abilities, they will more likely be
engaged in a task and motivated
to complete it. “Children are more
likely to read frequently when
they feel efficacious about their
reading skills and are intrinsi-
cally motivated to learn” (Guthrie
& Wigfield, 1997, p. 27). According to Guthrie and Alvermann (1999b), true motivation comes from intrinsic motivation, and “to make mean-
ing, readers use skills and strategies” (p. 31). Strategies are the tools for engaging and motivating students to learn. Vacca et al. (2011) stated that teachers can incorporate the Evocation (before reading strategies), Realization of Meaning (during reading strategies), and Reflection (after reading strategies) Framework to instill motivation in students. Meredith and Steele (2011) believe the following:
The ERR framework provides a mechanism
for organizing instruction and applying
systematically the best strategies for
teaching particular lessons, enabling
students to be engaged in an effective
learning sequence that is intended to
energize students’ involvement and solicit
them as partners in their own learning
experience. (pp. 27-28)
Student motivation is the key to student achievement.
A Causal Comparative Study of the Use of Reading Strategies on Reading Achievement
by Chelsea Boehler
Resourceful Research
48