RE 5533 discussion

From the readings and links on the wiki, how do you see a site like Goodreads contributing to student reading motivation?

I think the sites would definitely contribute well to reading motivation. The more positives students hear about a book the more they will be drawn to read it. I also like Scholastic Book Reviews as well. You can find many reviews written by children. Often times, students tend to be more interested in what their peers have to say rather than the adults. So I think reading review from children is a huge motivator.

I also think that this site would contribute to reading motivation because children can see other books that are recommended. Also, reading reviews can pique your interest. Most of the books I read for pleasure are ones that someone recommends to me. According to Gambrell's The Seven Rules of Engagement a site lite Goodreads provides an opportunity for social interaction about books. This is one way to increase a child's motivation. They also are given lots of choices in books where they get to make the ultimate decision.

Lindsay wrote: "I think the sites would definitely contribute well to reading motivation. The more positives students hear about a book the more they will be drawn to read it. I also like Scholastic Book Reviews..."

Children are often more interested in what their peers say rather than adults. I agree that reading peer reviews can increase motivation. You want someone who is similar to you to make a recommendation. If a biologist recommended I read something or a teacher made a recommendation I would probably go with the teacher recommendation first just because I know we have similar interests.

Breanna wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I think the sites would definitely contribute well to reading motivation. The more positives students hear about a book the more they will be drawn to read it. I also like Scholas..."

That's a great point about the value we place on peer recommendations.

I like that at this site the students can search by genre. Some students dont know where to begin with a website such as this and they get overwhelmed with where to begin, which can decrease their motivation. They can also see the pictures on the front (which is how my son chooses books) and read "whats on the back." This gets students interested and motivated to read the books that catch their attention. If they are still a little anxious they can read the reviews provided.

Breanna wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I think the sites would definitely contribute well to reading motivation. The more positives students hear about a book the more they will be drawn to read it. I also like Scholas..."


I agree with you guys -- I am all for recommendations but they are more credible when I can relate to the "recommender" -- Kiddos are definitely the same way. They have the ability to teach one another every day. After I teach something content related or have gotten done explaining something we do "Turn and Teach" -- They turn to a partner and teach eachother (in their own words) what they have just learned. Their conversations are so cute!

I got off track (lol), but the student reviews and converstations can lead to motivation and further understanding of different books.

Guthrie et al. (2006) reseach showed that students "expressed very positive affect about collaborating with others on reading or sharing books
with others." This would be a great site to host that collaboration -- we could create a class group and have discussions, we can create book reviews and present them (on the smartboard), or we could even keep track of books we are reading and books we have read that we enjoyed.

I'm all for this site!

Breanna wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I think the sites would definitely contribute well to reading motivation. The more positives students hear about a book the more they will be drawn to read it. I also like Scholas..."

That statement is very true. I often see many of my students checking out books that their friends have read just because they trust their judgement.

This site would contribute to motivation students becuase while children are searching for books they are also reading the recommendations from other students their age. I think that the fact this you can search by genre would also be another motivator because most kids in 5th grade already know what types of books they like to read so the fact that they can look in one genre instead of hunting would be encouragement.

One of the points Gambrell made in her article was that social interactions with a text prompted reading motivation. I think this is really where a site like Goodreads can come in handy. Much like our RE5533 group, a teacher can create a group for student in a class. Here students can discuss books they're reading in and out of class. By recommending books to one another and discussing them, I thinks students would get more excited about reading. Goodreads also opens up great options when it comes to selecting books. You can see books other people have read or review lists of books by genres on the Recommendations page. There are even recommendations for your based on what you've listed as "read". I think this site could connect them not only with each other but with other students. There are a lot of possibilities to be explored on Goodreads.

Almost everyone has already said this, but one thing I noticed from the articles is that students who liked to read usually had some sort of connection, positive experience or interest in the book. Sites that help children find similar books can only pique interest in reading. Students can books that are similar to those that created a positive experience. I also think these sites are good, because they give students a summary of the story and critiques from real people.

Kassy wrote: "Breanna wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I think the sites would definitely contribute well to reading motivation. The more positives students hear about a book the more they will be drawn to read it. I a..."

One of the ways I incorporate book recommendations in my class is I have a bulletin board where students could put a note up of a book they enjoyed. These books were the ones that were checked out time and time again in my library.

Robyn wrote: "One of the points Gambrell made in her article was that social interactions with a text prompted reading motivation. I think this is really where a site like Goodreads can come in handy. Much lik..."

Robyn, I also like how Goodreads is set up. The way it opens up the options for students. If I had this tool when I was in school I would have been very interested in what the computer recommended for me to read. I could see older students really benefiting from this site, or one similar.

One year I made an anchor chart that had a place for the book title, who it was recommended for and why. I had really good intentions with this and I think it could be great for students. I just simply didn't do a good enough job modeling my expectations. It is the same concept as these book recommendation websites. This year I want to try a digital tool for this. I won't have to change paper as often, it can be another assignment during computer stations, AND kids won't spend all their time writing on the poster instead of actually reading!

I love this site!! It allows students to search by genre and by what they like!! I LOVE that when you click on a book it gives you books that are like this book. This is a great thing to have because 1. It can cause the students to pick those books or 2. it can cause the students to stay away from those books if they didn't like the first book. I would definitely use this site with my kids!

Breanna wrote: "Kassy wrote: "Breanna wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I think the sites would definitely contribute well to reading motivation. The more positives students hear about a book the more they will be drawn to..."

Breanna, I like what you said about the bulletin board. I have so much more space in my classroom I think it would be great to have that space in my room so kids can post the books they've read!

Breanna wrote: "Kassy wrote: "Breanna wrote: "Lindsay wrote: "I think the sites would definitely contribute well to reading motivation. The more positives students hear about a book the more they will be drawn to..."

I also did that this past year and students loved it, especially the ones that always had trouble finding books to read.

Natalie wrote: "I love this site!! It allows students to search by genre and by what they like!! I LOVE that when you click on a book it gives you books that are like this book. This is a great thing to have becau..."

They love to pick our their own books. This site allows them to browse and search independently. For second graders that is a big deal. Even when the students are participating in library skills in our media center, they enjoy searching, finding, and checking out their own books. I believe this site also allows for this independence.

Karie wrote: "One year I made an anchor chart that had a place for the book title, who it was recommended for and why. I had really good intentions with this and I think it could be great for students. I just ..."

Great idea! I need a place where they can suggest books to each other as well. I also want to give them more time to "book talk" as well as writing it down.

I feel like I am just repeating what so many others have said but yes, kids will read what they connect with. They will also read what their friends read. Students love to recommend books to one another and then they love to hear if the other student loved that book too. I see it all the time with the kids in my classroom. We constantly do book talks and book commercials and book recommendations. I've never tried a site like goodreads but I can definitely see this as a potential for recommending books to one another. Also, goodreads makes recommendation based on books you've read and books you've liked and disliked. There is such a huge pool of books to choose from that it allows for a lot of variety. I feel like when I read book reviews online I always try to read reviews from the best and the worst. What did people like and what did people dislike about the book? I have trouble trusting stranger's recommendations but the recommendations of people I know are so much more powerful and it is the same for kids. When they see other kids reading a particular book or series they get curious and go check it out. So often a student will check out a book from my classroom library and then they will pass it off to another student who will pass it off to another student and so on until four or five kids have read the book before it gets returned to my shelf.

Karie wrote: "One year I made an anchor chart that had a place for the book title, who it was recommended for and why. I had really good intentions with this and I think it could be great for students. I just ..."

I have something similar. We have a bulletin board where kids can make book recommendations and they use a sticky note. They write the name and title (and the tub number of the book if it is from my classroom library) and then they write a sentence teling why they are recommending the book. I will see kids walk past and read the sticky notes when trying to figure out what to read next. It works pretty good. However, I do find that by the end of the year they are just using word of mouth to tell each other about books they enjoy. But, at the beginning of the year it gets a lot of use as the students are getting to know each other better and are more shy and less open.

I know I was supposed to comment on this yesterday, but when I got up this morning of course class was the first thing on my mind. One other thing I noticed that really motivates student reading by choice in my classroom, is when we make class books. The students love those things. They even try to read them while I am teaching. I think they like seeing their work and other students work. I also make a class book called a sidewalk book. Groups work to make a page. (Make sure the text is big enough to be seen while standing). Then you glue it on a long piece of butcher paper. I laminate it, creating a sidewalk. Then students have to read each page before walking onto it. It's really cool.