Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2018
Abstract
The purpose of this action research project was to determine if sixth grade English and language arts (ELA) and reading students’ reading habits are due solely to Accelerated Reader (AR) point mandates by their classroom teachers and if by allowing them to set their own reading goals, whether or not they will be able to attain an equal or greater amount of AR points. Rather than be given a minimum number of AR points for a quarter which would then be input to the grade book, students were asked to create self-set goals based on their final fifth grade quarter totals. Along with parents, students set goals to challenge themselves and met with the teacher following the quarter to discuss their progress towards their quarter goal, amount of time spent reading outside of school, and appropriate difficulty levels of books read. Students then set AR-point goals for the second quarter as well as general independent reading goals. The researcher’s hope was to see an increase in intrinsic reading motivation with the setting of their own goals and reading books based on interest rather than just maximum number of points.