How can teachers use technology to motivate students in the areas of reading and literacy?
One of the most common challenges that teachers face when trying to get their students to read critically is boredom. Boredom can come from many places; a text could be too hard or too easy, the material may not be relevant or meaningful to the student, or the student may just not see the point in wasting her time with the book! (Guthrie & Klauda, 2012). Recently, much educational research has been conducted in to the areas of reading and technology. Guthrie and Klauda have developed a multifacted approach to engaging students—especially middle school students—with reading. Their strategies include showing the students the value of texts, giving students choice and control over what they read, and encouraging collaboration and social motivation. In this resource, we try to apply these principles specifically to the area of reading and technology. Specifically, we present three separate lesson plans that can be used and adapted by teachers that encourage student motivation in reading areas where students can become easily discouraged and bored.
The keys to encouraging student motivation and active participation in reading and in literature are authenticity and adaptation. By “authenticity,” I mean the process of having a student make a text his or her own. Often, students are not motivated to participate because they don’t see how or why what they are reading affects them. In this way, the reading of canonical pieces like Homer, Shakespeare, or Dickens becomes nothing more than a boring task. However, if students can engage with literature on their own terms, by relating its themes and elements to themselves and to their lives, then it becomes relevant and alive to them, and they become more motivated to dedicate themselves to becoming critical and active readers.
This is where the second key concept, “adaptation,” comes in. By focusing on adaptation, and on how and why classical texts become adapted, students can explore the myriad ways in which different authors have made these texts their own. Students can also “play” with texts, changing elements of story such as plot or character, and making it their own. If successful, this type of playing with literature will encourage active participation and a sense of ownership on behalf of students (Hickey, 2011).
The use of new media and technologies are directly related to the processes of authenticity and adaptation. If used smartly, technologies will assist a student in seeing how the deconstructing and reassembling of a text and its elements creates a new story, with new meaning. In addition, as students become more literate with different technologies, they will become more confident in their abilities to be literate citizens in the 21st century (Judson, 2010). Research has proven that student gains in the areas of technology literacy lead to increased confidence and ability in other academic areas (Judson, 2010). Teachers should be as encouraging as possible when students are trying out new technologies, and should make explicit to students the relationship between being fluent in the use of technology and being successful as students of literature (Adams, 2012; Guthrie, 2012).
All of the three following lesson plans are variations on these themes of authenticity and adaptations. The Common Core State Standards for English and Language Arts clearly proscribe a longitudinal approach to teaching reading. In other words, the lessons that students learn in elementary school will be reinforced in middle school and high school.
4th grade lesson plan
7th grade lesson plan
10th grade lesson plan
Additional resources
The power of new media
More ways into Shakespeare's Othello
Myths from around the world
Teaching Twain with The New York Times
References
Adams, J. (2012). Making learning matter for the multitasking generation. Middle School Journal, 43(3), 6–12.
Guthrie, J. T., & Klauda, S. L. (2012). Making textbook reading meaningful. Educational Leadership, 69(6), 64–68.
Judson, E. (2010). Improving technology literacy: Does it open doors to traditional content? Educational Technology Research & Development, 58(3), 271–284.
The keys to encouraging student motivation and active participation in reading and in literature are authenticity and adaptation. By “authenticity,” I mean the process of having a student make a text his or her own. Often, students are not motivated to participate because they don’t see how or why what they are reading affects them. In this way, the reading of canonical pieces like Homer, Shakespeare, or Dickens becomes nothing more than a boring task. However, if students can engage with literature on their own terms, by relating its themes and elements to themselves and to their lives, then it becomes relevant and alive to them, and they become more motivated to dedicate themselves to becoming critical and active readers.
This is where the second key concept, “adaptation,” comes in. By focusing on adaptation, and on how and why classical texts become adapted, students can explore the myriad ways in which different authors have made these texts their own. Students can also “play” with texts, changing elements of story such as plot or character, and making it their own. If successful, this type of playing with literature will encourage active participation and a sense of ownership on behalf of students (Hickey, 2011).
The use of new media and technologies are directly related to the processes of authenticity and adaptation. If used smartly, technologies will assist a student in seeing how the deconstructing and reassembling of a text and its elements creates a new story, with new meaning. In addition, as students become more literate with different technologies, they will become more confident in their abilities to be literate citizens in the 21st century (Judson, 2010). Research has proven that student gains in the areas of technology literacy lead to increased confidence and ability in other academic areas (Judson, 2010). Teachers should be as encouraging as possible when students are trying out new technologies, and should make explicit to students the relationship between being fluent in the use of technology and being successful as students of literature (Adams, 2012; Guthrie, 2012).
All of the three following lesson plans are variations on these themes of authenticity and adaptations. The Common Core State Standards for English and Language Arts clearly proscribe a longitudinal approach to teaching reading. In other words, the lessons that students learn in elementary school will be reinforced in middle school and high school.
4th grade lesson plan
7th grade lesson plan
10th grade lesson plan
Additional resources
The power of new media
More ways into Shakespeare's Othello
Myths from around the world
Teaching Twain with The New York Times
References
Adams, J. (2012). Making learning matter for the multitasking generation. Middle School Journal, 43(3), 6–12.
Guthrie, J. T., & Klauda, S. L. (2012). Making textbook reading meaningful. Educational Leadership, 69(6), 64–68.
Judson, E. (2010). Improving technology literacy: Does it open doors to traditional content? Educational Technology Research & Development, 58(3), 271–284.