Increasing Student Motivation & Engagement in Structured Literacy
For several years I have been providing explicit, structured literacy instruction to intermediate, striving readers. I have had many successes and just as many failures. Somewhere along the way, I made one change that has made all the difference. It wasn’t a costly program or fancy resources. Do you want to know what made the most impact?
The key is really building intrinsic motivation in students. They have to be on board and want to be a better reader or it will never work. Here’s how I do it.
It sounds something like this, “Reading is complex. And, for a LOT of people, it takes really careful training to teach the brain this unnatural thing humans do called reading. Your brain has a lot going for you! You are really good at ___ and ___. After looking at your data, I know what might be making reading more difficult for you. The good news is that I know just what to do to make it easier. It’s going to take some hard work, but I am positive that we can figure this out!”
I might add, “In fact, did you know that about 1 out of every 5 people’s brains work similarly to yours? It just takes a different kind of teaching and practice to make reading work for your brain. We can do that this year! You are going to be amazed at how much you’ll grow as a reader! I’ll show you exactly how much our work is paying off as we go. You know how doctors measure your physical growth each year? Let’s do that with your reading! You’re going to grow off the charts and reading will start feeling easier and more fun. Are you ready?”
These are a few examples of how I’ve created motivation through transparency and celebration.
Challenges
I start by explaining that language is made up of words and words are made up of sounds. I explain Phonological Awareness (P.A.) in a kid-friendly way by relating it to the baby shark song. You can learn more about that here. I explain why phonological awareness is SO important to reading and spelling. Then, I show them their Kilpatrick PAST (found in diagnostic resource tab) results. I celebrate their strengths, and I show them where they need work. We make a plan (these are our learning objectives and goals), but we relate it to video games; of course we do!
I tell them that each P.A. skill is a level. So, like in video games, our objective is to “Level Up.” Students have their own personal scorecard that’s kept in their Everything Reading Notebook. The rule is that we don’t share our level. We are only competing against ourselves.
Tracking Progress
Next, I go into great detail about how written language is like a code that we must crack. I share why matching sounds to letters (phonics) is so important, and that with each new phonetic pattern learned, we can accurately read and spell more words. Using the diagnostic assessments, I show them the phonemes and phonetic patterns they’ve mastered and the ones they have not. Then, we set to work. Every single week, we know exactly what we are learning and why.
Lastly, be transparent about all student objectives and goals. My students know where we are and where we are going. We struggle and celebrate. I share accuracy and fluency goals. I share vocabulary and comprehension targets. These are the “I can” statements we’ve done for so long, but the difference is that students need to understand the why and build intrinsic motivation by feeling and seeing success. The biggest impact can be made when our instruction is based in science and data-driven, and our students are informed and inspired.
Join our Reading Rev Members Group where we share ideas, problem solve, and chat about all things literacy! You can also check out what's happening on our Facebook and Instagram. Our YouTube channel has instructional videos and many other ideas to support your structured literacy journey. Teachers, I know how dedicated you are and how much work and love this profession requires. Thank you for all you do to inform and inspire every day!
~Bri