Attitudes

The purpose of this study was to determine if reading aloud to children regularly would have an effect on their motivation and desire to read independently. Subjects, 100 fourth and fifth grade students in Wayne, New Jersey, participated in the study. One fourth and one fifth grade class were read to on a daily basis for 30 minutes. The second fourth and fifth grade classes read independently in their free time if they chose to do so. A pretest and posttest were given using the Estes-Scale-to Measure-Attitudes toward Reading. The school librarian kept a running record of all four classes, indicating by classroom the amount of books that were taken cut per class. The results indicated that reading aloud to fourth and fifth grade-students does result in a positive change in their attitudes toward reading, and motivated them to take out books independently. This study'spanned a fairly short period of time; a longer study could reexamine the hypothesis. Admittedly, reading aloud to students will not solve all the problems, but it may be one of the most important steps toward creating a positive attitude and motivation toward reading. (Contains 68 references and 3 tables of data; the survey instrument is attached.) (Author/RS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document