Elementary Reading Attitude Survey Paper

The Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS) / © PAWS survey designed by Dennis J. Kear from Wichita State University will be used in conducting this study. It provides a suggestion of student attitudes toward reading. The survey consists of twenty items and can be administered to the entire classroom in within ten minutes. Jim David, the creator of the Garfield cartoon character, and Paws Incorporated, the copyright owner, supplied camera-ready pictures of Garfield displaying a range of emotions from happy to very upset (Kear, 2000). Each item presents a brief statement about reading, followed by four pictures of Garfield. Each pose of Garfield is designed to depict an emotional state, ranging from very positive to very negative. To

The findings of this study indicated that there were no significant improvements in the area of student motivation when using partnership to engage in reading fluency activities. However, this study did note significant gains in the area of reading fluency among EIP kindergarten students. Gambrell identified several factors that contribute to reading motivation including self-concept and value of reading, choice; time spent talking about books, available texts to read, and the use of enticement (Gambrell, 1996). While these factor do contribute to student motivation, Bandura suggests that motivation or the lack of motivation is the result of the beliefs about ourselves. He went on to say that these beliefs cause us to make choices, put forth the effort required to complete tasks, and provides us with the persistence to continue when faced with complexity (Bandura, 1986). One study suggests that students with learning disabilities prefer to work in pairs rather than in whole group or by themselves. The study went on to say that students with learning disabilities consider the students they are paired with to be their favorite teachers (Klinger, Vaughn, Schymm, Cohen, & Forgan, 1998). In another study, students expressed a high motivation for working with their peers in reading partnership activities. Unfortunately, the

Originally, thirteen students were asked to participate in the survey. However, only nine students were given permission to participate by their guardians. The overall population sample only contained six boys and three girls. Of the nine students in the study, four of those students are labeled TIER II (intervention for students who are struggling with reading difficulties) students. Two other students are labeled as TIER III (intensive interventions for students with continued reading problems) students. One student in this study is an English Language Learner. The at-risk nature of the student sample also means that this sample contained more students in the lower part of the academic competence