An Investigation of the Relationship Between Amount and Type of Reading of 5th Grade Students and their Reading Achievement

This study examined the relationship between amount and type of reading of 5th grade students and their reading achievement. To generate answers to the research questions, four variables were investigated: students' gender, students' self-concept as a reader, students' value of reading, and students' reading achievement. The type of reading and amount of reading were then related to these variables. Fifty students completed a Daily Out-of-School Time Activity Log for a one-week period. They completed the Motivation to Read Profile (MRP) (Gambrell, et al., 1996) and a questionnaire about topics of interest to 5th grade students. The Stanford Achievement Test (SAT10) was used to determine students' reading level. The five most frequently selected materials were: novels, directions, Internet sites, electronic games, and something that the student wrote. The reading logs were analyzed to determine how many hours each student read during the 7 day time period. Approximately 36% of the students read at least one hour per day or more during this study. Thirty-eight (76%) of the fifty students read from 0 to 2 hours during the weekend and 15 (30%) students read from 0 to 2 hours during the weekday time period. There were no significant correlations found between amount of reading and any of the variables of self-concept, value of reading, total score on MRP, or SAT10. Above average readers had a tendency to score higher on value of reading and self-concept as a reader. There were no significant differences found between boys and girls between amount of reading and any of the aforementioned variables. There was a tendency for girls to value reading more than boys. Boys identified the reading of electronic games significantly more often than did girls. Type of reading was not significantly related to any of the variables. There was not much difference between girls and boys in relation to total hours reading and any of the variables. A total of 14 boys and 17 girls read something from the public library during their 7-day period. The participants chose to read as their favorite topics: fantasy characters, sports, and characters who do amazing things. This study revealed the important place that technology has in the reading lives of adolescents