Increasing Intrinsic Motivation and Reading Comprehension in Children

This action research studied the impact of strategic methods employed to help increase in intrinsic motivation of children to read while increasing comprehension ability. The study occurred in a private Montessori elementary classroom (grades 1-4). Eight students were exposed to a variety of literature genres strategically introduced and displayed and had the ability to choose literature at their leisure, participated in a book club, and completed weekly comprehension examines. Sources of data include dialogue recorded through teacher journaling, comprehension exam data, tally sheet containing data regarding book selections and also student self-evaluations. Following the implementation of the motivational techniques, participants’ demonstrated a significant increase in motivation to read. In addition, the comprehension exa