Examining Sixth Grade Students’ Reading Attitudes and Perceptions of Teacher Read Aloud: Are All Students on the Same Page?

Abstract

The purpose of this embedded mixed methods study was to examine how sixth graders with high and low reading attitudes perceive teacher read aloud. We utilized quantitative data by surveying sixth graders (N = 87) about their reading attitudes and then collected qualitative data by interviewing five students, interviewing the teacher, conducting classroom observations, and reviewing read aloud materials. Students with lower reading attitudes enjoyed the relaxed classroom setting, while those with higher attitudes enjoyed the books being read. Other themes suggested that all students engaged inconsistently with the text, and that students are indeed aware of the potential instructional benefits of reading aloud. Implications are discussed including the importance of pairing teacher read aloud with other strategies to help students engage more explicitly with the text.

The Effect of Anxiety and Attitudes of Secondary School Students towards Reading on their Reading Habits: A Structural Equation Modeling

“…Bu süreç okuyucunun zihinsel sözlüğünü kullanımı sonucunda mana denilen ürünün açığa çıkarılmasını sağlayan beceriler bütünüdür (Akyol, 2005). Zihinsel, akademik ve duyuşsal gelişime en çok katkı sağlayan dil becerilerinden biri olan okuma becerisi, öğrencilerin sadece akademik yaşamlarında değil gelecekteki yaşamlarında da başarılı olmalarının en kritik noktası olan bilgiye erişimin anahtarı niteliğindedir (Clark ve Andreasen, 2014;Hassen, 2016;Stadler, 1980). Eğitim sistemimizde okuma becerisinin kazandırılmasıyla kastedilen temel hedef; okuma eyleminin sürekli ve isteklilikle yapılan bir alışkanlığa dönüştürülmesidir (Demirel, 2003;Güneş, 2007;Karatay, 2011).…”

Interactional organization and pedagogic aims of reading aloud practices in L1 education

“…It has been shown that reading aloud is beneficial to language growth and awareness, it increases reading motivation and gives positive experiences, expands vocabulary and offers models of various linguistic and textual structures, gives information, and helps particularly struggling readers to grasp the meaning of the text as well as to critically reflect on the text (e.g., Albright & Ariail, 2005;Clark & Andreasen, 2014;Roe 2014, 163Á165). In addition to all of these benefits, according to student surveys, pupils enjoy the moments of teachers reading aloud (Clark & Andreasen, 2014). Particularly L1 teachers read aloud often, especially fictional texts but also other kinds of texts (Albright & Ariail, 2005).…”

“…Clark & Andreasen, 2014), the studies on reading aloud practices in upper grades remain as exceptions. For example, Albright and Ariail (2005) and Ariail and Albright (2006) have conducted surveys on US middle school teachers on their read-aloud practices, and they found out that teachers often use this pedagogic tool in their teaching.…”

“…The reasons for read-alouds varied among teachers, the main reasons being the modeling of reading practices, making texts available for all students, increasing the understanding of the text, and reinforcing content knowledge (Albreight & Ariail, 2005, p. 584). Clark and Andreasen (2014) conducted a survey among sixth grade students to find out what they thought about teacher read-alouds and how they experienced them. All students enjoyed these moments, but for different reasons.…”

“…However, even if in this excerpt the teacher uses fiction as an integral part of a pedagogic aim connected to another subject, which here is geography, this was not the case in all of our examples. The teachers could introduce the activity of reading fiction aloud without giving it any particular reason, and the teachers did not always use the potential of the activity for other pedagogic purposes than for encouraging their students to enjoy literature and to engage in a peaceful moment in the classroom (see Clark & Andreasen, 2014). This is possibly the case, for instance, in a lesson, not analyzed here in detail, where the teacher read an original edition aloud.…”