By: Elizabeth Rowland

Since I have become a teacher, it has been a constant struggle to maintain

students’ engagement and motivation in reading. I could see and feel the dislike of reading and reluctance to read in my students every day, especially since I teach at a Title 1 school where many students have other factors that they are facing which can affect their academic learning and success. Pressley and Allington (2015) state "for academic motivation to remain high, students must be successful and perceive that they are successful (pg. 378)." It is not surprising that students who have a difficult time in school experience a decline in academic motivation. After repeatedly encountering this problem, I became interested in learning how I can motivate students to want to read and to help them realize the true value in reading. I want to be the teacher that plants the seed of a lifelong reader in students. Throughout this program, I have taken classes that have taught me numerous ways to make sure my students are motivated and thoroughly engaged, especially those extremely reluctant students. I was able to witness firsthand the change in students’ desire to read. I saw the excitement and motivation these students showed toward reading because of the changes I made in my teaching beliefs, attitudes, pedagogical knowledge, and instructional strategies. In this presentation I will share content I have learned from my classes— Reading in the Content Areas, New Literacies and Media, Reading in the Elementary School, Theory and Research in Global Learning, and Teacher as Researcher and how I have implemented this new knowledge in my classroom. I will specifically address how authentic reading experiences that incorporate technology, high quality literature, and cultural relevance can increase students’ motivation and engagement in reading. I will also address instructional strategies or activities that encourage students to take ownership of their reading journey.