CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
AN ANALYSIS OF INTEREST AND ITS RElATIONSHIP TO
READING COMPREHENSION
A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts in
Elementary Education:
Reading Improvement
by
Marion Bleier Abelson
May, 1982
The Thesis of Marion Abelson is approved:
Dr. Walter Nelson
California State University, Northridge
ii
DEDICATION
The writer wishes to dedicate this thesis
to her loving husband and children.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGD1ENTS
I wish to extend my gratitude to the following for their
assistance in the preparation of this thesis:
Dr. Arlinda Eaton, Chairperson of my committee, for generously
giving of her knowledge, advice, encouragement and time.
Dr. Fehl Shirley and Dr. Walter Nelson, for their guidance
and time.
My husband, Art, for his sustained support and understanding.
My children, Elise and Michael, for their love and cooperation.
lV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
....................................................
APPROVAL ......................................................
TITLE PAGE
i
ii
D'EDICATION •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• iii
..............................................
ABSTRACT ...................................................... vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
lV
CHAPI'ER
I.
.........................................
1
Statement of the Problem.............................
3
INTRODUCTION
..............................
Procedure of the Study ...............................
Definition of Terms ..................................
Limitations of the Study .............................
6
Sl.lJI'D'l"B.r' • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
6
Importance of the Study
II.
3
5
5
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE OF THE FACTORS WHICH
....................................
7
Age an.d Sex • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • . • • • • . • • . •
8
AFFECT INTEREST
.........................................
Socioeconomic Status .................................
Intelligence
Physical Make-up of the Material
Reading Ability
.....................
19
22
24
.......... ·-· .......................... . 26
v
III.
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE VAilJE OF
IN'I'ERE ST • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
31
...........................
31
Effect on Comprehension ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
38
Effect on Teaching Reading
..................
TOOLS FOR MEASUP-ll1ENT ................................
Reading Record .......................................
Effect on Basals and Self-selection
IV.
58
59
Pictl.li"e. Rating . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . .
59
Questionnaire or Interest Inventory ••••••••••••••••••
60
............................................
63
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HIGH INTEREST /LOW
READABILITY AND HIGH INTEREST MATERIALS
VI.
58
Observation •••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Interview
V.
45
............
..............
..............................
73
High Interest/Low Readability Materials
73
High Interest Materials
77
SUMMARY, CONCIDSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
79
SlDTJJ'Il:3.ry • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
79
..........................................
Recommendations ......................................
REFERENCES ....................................................
Conclusions
Vl
82
84
85
ABSTRACT
ANALYSIS OF INTEREST AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO
READING COMPREHENSION
by
Marion Bleier Abelson
Master of Arts in Elementary Education:
Reading Improvement
Interest plays an important role in the child's cognitive and
affective development in reading.
A historical review of the liter-
ature on interest and its relationship to reading was conducted.
The
areas examined were the factors which affect interest; the value of
interest in teaching reading, its effect on comprehension, its relation to self-selection and basals; tools used in measuring interest;
and high interest/low readability and high interest materials.
The view that children's interests are important in the learningto-read process has prevailed over the past fifty years.
Age and sex,
intelligence, and physical make-up of the material affect interest;
however, socioeconomic level and reading ability generally do not.
vii
Interest is the key to motivating the child to read, and it tends to
increase comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency.
Self-selection of
reading rraterials appears to offer a greater variety of high interest
topics than the use of basal readers.
Among the tools used for measure-
ment of reading interests are the reading record, observation, picture
rating, questionnaire or interest inventory, and interview.
commonly used is the questionnaire.
Most
The high interest/low readability
rraterials reviewed in the thesis are available at the California State
University, Northridge Instructional Materials laboratory (IML), the
University Reading Clinic, and the Conejo Valley Unified School District
Multimedia Center.
The high interest materials are from
Choices for 1981.
viii
Children's
AN ANALYSIS OF INTEREST AND ITS RElATIONSHIP
TO READING COMPREHENSION
Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
According to Zeligs (1937), "books are am:mg the greatest factors
of an individual's growth" (p. 257).
They permit interaction with the
greatest and !lDSt wise from the past and present.
Our philosophy,
ethics and attitudes are greatly influenced by our reading.
There is much agreement in the literature that interest plays an
important part in motivating children to decode and comprehend what
they read.
Reading comprehension is generally defined as getting mean-
ing from print (Deighton, 1971).
A child must be able to choose the
appropriate meaning for a word or phrase in the light of its context,
select the main idea of a passage, draw inferences and detennine the
writer's purpose (Bernstein, 1955).
Barl:.e (1963) indicated that " .•. once interest is aroused, the
learning to read process is greatly simplified" (p. 486). Corrtprehension
carmot be taught directly, but situations can be provided to facilitate
and encourage the processing of print into meaning.
1
"Wanting to know
2
is vital if children are to be involved successfully in the reading
process.
The predictive process is impeded when the message is not of
interest to the reader" (Tovey, 1976, p. 290).
Smith (1971) supported this view; he maintained that in reading,
the information that passes from the brain to the eye is much more
important than the information transmitted from the eye to the brain.
In other words, the information which guides the reader's eye moverrents
comes mostly from cues other than visual ones.
These other cues come
from his/her experience and involve his/her knowledge of the language
and content of the material being read.
The interests of children are consistently described in the literature as unique and individual.
Smith (1940) felt that reading guid-
ance involves understanding the needs and interests of the individual
child.
Deighton (1971) stated that there 1s a growing trend towards
individualization of instruction in and away from the basal reader.
High interest has become the key motivational factor in teaching readlng.
"The historically early attempts to assess and quantify ... reading
interests appear to have influenced much of the subsequent research as
well as the recommended procedures for teacher evaluation of pupil
interests" (Carter, 1978, p. 61).
During the 1890's at least seven
studies were made of the reading interests of elementary and secondary
school students.
They were concerned mainly with library withdrawals,
favorite books, literature and characters which appealed most strongly,
and changes in reading interests.
During the period 1900-1920, studies
of reading interests averaged less than one per year.
From 1920-1929
3
interest in the field grew rapidly and has continued to grow steadily
(Ama.tora & Edith, 1951).
Carter (1976) stated that the bulk of research on reading interests took place before the 1950's.
ln the early 1960's, authorities
acknowledged that children's interests may be influenced by societal
changes in the culture and by new media of communication (Johnston,
19 64) •
Much of the research with children before the 1970's reported
interest in terms of sex preferences (Carter, 1978).
Researchers
during the mid 1960's were looking for better descriptions of reading
interests, and there was an increased emphasis on individualized differences in reading growth patterns.
The tendency was to rely more on
understanding the pupil's individual differences and interests in order
to build a psychologically sound reading program (Townsend, 1965).
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of this study was to exarrune activity over the past
fifty years in the area of the reading interests of elementary school
students in grades one th.rDugh six, looking at trends in research on
reading interests, factors which affect interest, the value of interest
in teaching reading, its effect on comprehension, interest in relation
to self-selection and basals, tools used in measuring interest, and
high interest materials.
Importance of the Study
Reading is a critically important skill for children to master.
Their success and achievement in school are largely dependent on how
4
well they read.
Sclmayer (1968) indicated that it would seem to be
mandatory for teachers to capitalize on interests of students in order
to increase their self confidence and to insure continued learning.
Witty (1959) added that "by associating instruction in reading with
worthwhile interests, the efficiency of learning is usually heightened"
(p. 484).
'This is supported by Barbe (1963)' who felt that reading
instruction can be successful only when permanent interests in reading
have been established and there has been mastery of basic skills.
Flesch (1981), in Why Johnny "Still" Can't Read, cited a 1975
U.S. Office of Education Study in which it was found that 23 million
people between 18 and 95 years of age "couldn't read a want ad, a job
application form, a label on a medicine bottle, or a safety sign at a
workplace" (p. 2).
Of these 23 million, 19 million had had four or
more years of schooling but never learned how to read.
Also, many
colleges today offer remedial reading classes for their students.
'There is much agreement in the literature that interest has a
positive effect on reading comprehension.
Furthermore, in order to
motivate children reading below their grade level and the large number
of second language readers, the teacher needs to be sensitive to individual interests.
'The basal reader may not provide enough interest
for these students, in particular.
Moir and Curtis (1968) described
the shortcomings of the basal readers in relation to their lack of
interest to children; they concluded that "children become better
readers by reading materials of vital interest to them" (p. 6 26) .
Teachers need to be aware of children's interests since reading
competes heavily with other media, e.g., television and movies, for
5
the child's time.
As far back as 194 7, this problem was discussed:
" ... to meet the competition of moving pictures, radio serials, and
comics, with books, we mus·t find many that are easy to read, with
clea~cut
themes and plenty of exciting action"
(Arbuthnot, 1947,
p. 321).
The results of this study can be a valuable aid to teachers and
librarians.
It is hoped that teachers will give attention to children's
interests in the teaching of reading, and that librarians will consider
children's interests in making recommendations and in purchasing reading ITB.terials.
Procedure of the Study
This historical study of interest and its relation to reading
comprehension constitutes a review and analysis of available commentary
and research since 1930.
Definition of Terms
The terms used in this study have been defined as follows:
Reading:
" ... an active process of directly reconstructing
meaning fn:>m seimn tic and syntactic cues as well as graphic information"
(Hocovero, 1973, p. 2).
Comprehension:
getting meaning fn:>m print; the word "comprehen-
sion" literally means "holding together" (Deighton, 1971).
Interest:
what the reader is attracted to (Guthrie, 1981);
"Something is interesting when you like it and would like to find out
more about it" (Asher and Markwell, 1974, p. 682).
Dewey (1913) stated
6
that "genuine interest is the accompaniment of the identification ... of
the self with sorre object or idea because of the necessity of that
object or idea for the maintenance of a self-initiated activity"
(p. 14).
He added that to be interested in the matter is to be
actively concerned with it.
Basal Reader:
a textbook, usually part of a graded series,
used for instruction in reading (Good, 1973).
Limitations of the Study
The questionnaire appears to be a popular means of ascertaining
children's reading interests.
The questionnaire studies have a built
in weakness in that what children say their interests are rray not
truly be reflected in their selection of reading materials.
Summary
In this intruductory chapter, the prublem was stated, the importance of children's reading interests was discussed, a description of
the study was presented, definitions of terms were stated, and the
limitations of the study were cited.
Chapter Two reviews the litera-
ture on the factors which affect interest, examining age and sex,
intelligence, socioeconanic status, physical nake-up of the material,
and reading ability.
Chapter II
REVIEW OF 'IHE LITERATUHE OF 'IHE FACI'ORS
WHICH AFFECI' INTEREST
What children are interested in reading is determined by three
inherent factors: age, sex and intelligence.
these
inhe1~nt
Norvell (1973) called
factors the general interest factors.
Certain other
interest factors residing in the material relate to content (hUJIDr,
adventure) , or to form (poetry, prose) .
These may be called the
special interest factors.
In 1937, Zeligs stated that a favorite or well known author is
the greatest single influence on the child' s book choice , while title
and attractive illustrations rank second and third. Also important
are the format of the book, table of contents , and how the book begins.
Recommendations by teachers, children or librarians are also considerations.
Additional influences upon which reading interest depends are
growth and development in reading skills; experiences at home, school
and in the outside world; likes and dislikes; urban or rural environment; ai!d supply and availability of reading material (Cundoff, 1948).
In addition are television, comics, ethnicity, and language develop-
ment.
The factors which this thesis will examine in relation to reading
interests are age and sex, intelligence, socioeconomic status, the
7
8
physical make-up of the rnaterial, and reading ability.
The rnaj ority
of the studies examine age and sex; therefore, these factors are the
most thoroughly discussed.
Age and Sex
1930's
Previous to the age of nine, there is a great similarity in the
reading interests of boys and girls.
Animal stories which involve
personification offer their favorite theme.
The nature story and
fairy tale reach their highest appeal at about the age of eight.
Then
children become interested in stories about real life (Hitty and Kopel,
19 36) .
According to Gates, Peardon and Sartorius (19 31) , in grades
one through three, fictional narratives were selected seven times in
ten over information.
Johnson (1932) stated that the rnajor interest
areas for boys in grades five through eleven is adventure and animal
stories; for girls they are horne, school and children.
For boys in
grades five and six during the month before the inquiry was undertaken,
the three most popular titles were Treasure Island, Lance of Kanana
and Robinson Crusoe.
For girls in grades five and six they were Little
Women, Heidi, and Bobbsey Twins.
There appears to be no relation
between sex and the number of boys and girls who read newspapers and
magazines, but the data did indicate that girls were more likely than
boys to read books.
Johnson also found that a number of authors most
popular among children are authors whose books were also favorites of
children from the previous thirty to fifty years.
Witty and Kopel's findings (19 36) indicate that boys' interest is
9
m stories with drama. and adventure, and it increases steadily from age
nine to thirteen.
Most boys of eleven enjoy series books.
Their inter-
est in science and invention increases , and interest in animal and
nature stories drops.
Nine to twelve year old girls primarily enjoy
stories depicting pleasant home life and school life.
The dramatic
element is more important to the boys than to the girls.
Girls read IIDre than boys, but boys have a wider range of interests.
No book has the popularity that Little Women has with girls.
Boys generally do not read girls' books, but boys' books are sometimes
read by girls.
The latter statement is also supported by Zeligs
(1937) and Thorndike (1940).
Sixth grade favorites based on the number of book reports submitted include Tom Sawyer and Treasure Island for boys, and Little Women
and The Little Princess for girls (Zeligs, 1937).
A study done by Dowell and Garrison (1931) with third graders
revealed that the elements which boys like most, in order of preference,
are kindness, humor, happiness, beauty, bravery and animals; girls
like kindness, bravery, happiness, beauty and love story quality.
These findings are based on their reading in approved texts ; perhaps
the findings would have been different if the students had chosen
from a wider range of reading material.
1940's
As a result of a questionnaire administered to students in grades
four through six in the spring of 19 39, Thorndike (1940) found that
when the story centers on a boy, the sex difference is srrall; however,
10
when the story centers on a girl, it is high.
fantasy have low appeal.
Titles of magic and
Girls are interested in love and romance,
whereas boys are attracted to stories of outdoor adventures and full
blooded and often violent adventures of adults, and stories of sports.
Both sexes like mysteries and detective stories, and titles of school
stories.
In nonfiction, boys are rrore interested in sports, science,
biography and war; girls prefer self improvement and feminine activities.
No major sex differences appear in hobbies.
In the kindergarten and primary lists of favorites, stories about
animals predominate.
Second in popularity is fairy tales.
Hwnor is
chosen by kindergarten and primary students; it is sometimes selected
by educators as a substitute for comics.
In grades four through six,
maturing tastes are reflected in the children's choice of fun and
nonsense in their reading, e.g., Mary Poppins, Five Chinese Brothers.
Adventure is high interest: titles frequently selected are Robin Hood,
Snow Treasure, and Robinson Crusoe (Witty, Kopel and McBean, 1946). It
is important to note that, "on the whole, the choices conform somewhat
closely to adult standards as to grade level and quality" (p. 271), represented in various standard book lists approved by qualified librarians and educators.
Also, since most kindergarten students cannot read,
their choices represent stories told or read to them.
In kindergarten
and the first three grades, the children were asked to name the stories
they liked best.
The children in grades four through eight filled out
a questionnaire listing the five books they had read and most enjoyed
during 1944-1945.
Perhaps if they had kept a written record of the
titles as they read the books, the possibility of the student's for-
11
getting any titles might have been elirilinated.
Also, it is difficult
to be certain whether the :rrost recently read titles were :rrost dominant
in their me:rrory.
Arbuthnot (1947) stated that children of six to seven are interested in machinery and will pore over books about trains and airplanes.
They want to read about real children of their kind, funny stories and
animal tales.
She questioned whether "this new centering on realism"
is the result of adult education that children were sharing, or the
unconscious emphasis of the adults at home and school.
Children
between eight and nine are interested in folk and fairy tales, and
real children.
Between ten and fourteen years is when reading begins to suffer
from cornpetition with :rrovies, radio and comics, added Arbuthnot.
One
reason is that this is the age when children's reading difficulties,
if they have any, become acute.
Their social interests and apprecia-
tion of good stories are beyond the age appeal of most of the books
they can read for themselves.
Another problem that arises in this
period of preadolescence and adolescence " .•• lies in the discrepancy
that apparently exists between the books literary adults think a child
ought to read and the books he actually does read with honest enthusiasm" (p. 314).
findings.
Arbuthnot did not indicate on what she based these
She stated that Marie Rankin's study of children's interests
in library books based on their unguided, voluntary withdrawal of
fiction revealed that children were looking for brisk, objective
style; clear-cut themes; adventure, characters which are real children
like themselves, or understandable people whom they might know any-
12
where; mystery; excitement; romance; and stories which emphasize findlng one's place in the world, and which give a sense of achievement.
Scanlon (1948) studied the one hundred m::>st popular books of
children's fiction selected by children from January 1947 to July 1947.
The library room used in the study was intended for the preadolescent
child.
The ten JIDst popular books, in order of preference, are Betsy-
Tacy, Magical Melons, Mr. Popper's Penguins, The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer, Little House in the Big Woods, Betsy Tacy and Tib, Heaven to
Betsy, Bright April, Ginger lee, War Nurse, and Strawberry Girl.
of the ten were written by Maud lovelace.
Three
Most of the children's
favorite books were of recent copyright dates; 64 were published after
1930.
Forty three of the books were written by nine authors; Seaman
was the favorite.
Of the 100 selections, 28 were animal stories.
Scanlon studied the cards for books checked out, but he did not indicate whether the checkout was done by a parent selecting for a child,
or by the child him/herself.
Furthermore, there is no age or sex
control; the findings, therefore, JIE.y not be indicative of boys' or
girls' preferred interests.
1950's
Shores' research (1953) involved 6,313 pupils in grades four
through eight who responded to open-ended questionnaires.
These stu-
dents indicated that science is among the top three categories of
children's reading interests ; as a group they chose to read about
mystery, adventure, children, horses , and dogs.
As they progress from
fourth to eighth grade, children's interest in sports and recreational
13
activities increases.
Shores stated that "contrary to the findings of
other studies, few sharp sex differences are found" (p. 494).
More
than girls, boys want to read about astronomy, geology, physical geography, space, Indians , science, sports , and planes.
Girls tend to
read more about an:i.rrals, literature, fairy tales, mythology, mystery,
teenagers and children, farrous people, boy-girl relationships, and
school.
Interestingly, children are not necessarily interested
ln
asking about the same things which they choose to read about.
Student preference for titles and stories in basal readers was
exarrdned by Droney, Cucchiara and Scipone (19 53) .
They found that
boys in grades four through six expressed great interest in titles
and stories which dealt with animals, out-of-doors, adventure, exploration and heroes.
Girls showed a marked preference for stories which
suggested the imaginative, the emotional, home life, and familiar
experlences.
Robinson (1955) s1.lJilllB.rized research reports which agree that there
lS a consistent change in the interests of children as they grow older.
At about the middle grade level, groups' interests begin to differ,
and this difference continues into adult life.
Robinson did not state
which grades comprise "middle grade level," but the writer infers that
it refers to grade four.
In looking at three types of fantasy -- social, aggressive, and
achievement, Vandament and Thalman (1956) found that in grades six and
ten, the achievement type of fantasy is more prevalent in storybooks
and magazines, and the social and aggressive types are characteristic
of the ccmic books chosen.
Girls show significantly more interest in
14
social types of reading than boys do, and the boys give more emphasis
to aggressive reading material.
Vandament and Thalman did not state
how the three types of fantasy are defined on the questionnaire for the
children; "the children were asked to place a check beside their preferr€d general form of reading" (p. 468).
It is not clear whether
examples of eaCh form are included on the questionnaire so that the
Children have a full understanding of what is asked.
1960's
Canfield (1960), during Children's Book Week, asked the Children
who visited the main library and branChes to vote for their favorite
book.
Their reading interests were very broad and were distributed
about equally between fiction and non-fiction.
The most popular books
were Lassie Corne Horne, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Pinocchio, Adventures
of Tom Sawyer, Little Women, Black Beauty, Cat in the Hat, Stuart
Little, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Exploring Mars, Fifteen, Freddy
the Detective, Rabbit Hill, and the Sue Barton series.
All of these
books have "one central Character with whom the reader can easily identify.
EaCh book has a strong theme and the majority have good plots.
Some are fantasy; others, humor, but all have a positive and optimistic
approaCh to life" (p. 117).
scientific investigation.
Canfield admitted that this was not a
A further limitation of this study is that
the ages of the children were not recorded, nor was a record kept of
the books selected by boys and girls.
Smith (1962) ascertained the interests of 113 first grade Children
through their free choice selections of reading materials at the li-
15
brary.
The five interest categories Which ranked the highest were
humor-fantasy, real animals, nature-science, holidays-birthdays, and
fairy tales.
The two lowest ranking categories were clothes and food.
Smith's findings do not correspond to those of Byers (1964).
Byers
taped the sharing of 1,860 first graders over a six month period and
found that the ten major categories reported were science and nature,
possessions, personal experiences, family and home activities, outdoor
recreation activities, books, clothing, events about friends and community, moving pictures and television, and music and recordings. Perhaps
if these children's actual reading choices had been recorded, the
correlation between the two studies would have been greater.
Smith
recorded the actual book titles selected at the library; Byers recorded
the verbal sharing of topics , which may or may not correspond to the
children's reading interests and choices.
A study by Stanchfield (1962) examined the reading interests of
elementary school boys in grades four, six and eight.
Outdoor life
was the most highly preferred of all fifty categories.
Explorations
and expeditions , and sports and games were close second and third
choices.
The topics of science fiction, sea adventure, and fantasy
tied for fifth place.
The topics which elicited the least interest
included plants, music, plays, art, family and home life, and poetry.
"All of the boys interviewed showed an overwhelming preference for
exciting, suspense-filled, dramatic stories with emotionally charged
vocabulary" ( p. 44) • There was a striking sirnilarity between the
reading interests of superior, average and poor readers .
In a study designed by Wolfson of children's reading interests
from grades three through six, it was found that boys were interested
16
in reading about more themes than girls.
Both boys and girls were
interested in fantasy, adventure, sports and social studies.
Boys
placed near the top of the list physical science, machines, and applied
science, while girls preferred topics such as children, family life and
personal prr>blerns.
Wolfson stated that "there was a more significant
difference between the choices of boys and girls than there was frr>m
grade to grade" (Shankman, 1963, p. 413).
The reading interests of 275 first graders were reported by Rogers
and Robinson (1963); five story ideas were liked by at least 90% of
the children.
They were a magic ring., George Washington, a happy
Christmas day, a friendly giant, and a funny clown.
Boys preferred
adventure, history and make-believe, while girls chose make-believe,
humor and happiness.
Butler (1964) found that "sex is a differentiating factor in
reading preferences by children enrDlled in Grade 2" (p. 7023).
For
boys, the preferred order of favorite categories were fantasy, fairy
tales and biography, and for girls, fairy tales, fantasy and animal
stories.
He pointed out that "contrary to the findings of si.J-nilar
studies ... stories of
anL~ls
involving elements of personification are
no longer the first choice of children of this age" (p. 7023).
In
spite of recent emphasis in society on science and nature, this category was least preferred.
1970's
Oliver (1977) investiga-ted the effect of three types of characters
and settings on the reading interests of first and third grade children.
17
Major findings reflected interaction between grade level and preference
for the three types of characters and settings.
"Children's prefer-
ences for animal characters decreased substantially from first grade
to third grade.
Children 1 s preferences for realistic and fantasy
characters decreased only slightly from first grade to third grade"
(p. 406).
r-t
is important to note that the children in the sample were
selected from an urban, middle-income, predominantly white, public
elementary school.
Therefore, the results of this study are not
necessarily generalizable to childr€n who are not from this environment.
Furthermore, the stories were read aloud to the students by a reader;
had the children read t'le stories silently, the results might have
been different.
Frasher and Frasher (1978) reported that even though boys' and
girls 1 reading interests overlap to a great extent, one sex difference
1s repeatedly reported:
" ... while girls will read and often appear
to enjoy stories about boys and stories with masculine themes ... boys
dislike and avoid reading stories about girls and stories with
feminine themes ... " (p. 160).
However, according to Feeley (1979),
some of the differences appear to be lessening.
For example, while
sports ranked last in interest for girls in 1971, it has JIK)Ved up to
the 5-6 spot in the 1978 rankings.
The boys' responses fell into
six groupings: sports, media, historical/ adventure, informational,
fun and fantasy, and social empathy I arts.
The girls' responses
clustered into eight groupings: media, animals, fun and fantasy, social
empathy, sports, arts, historical, and informational.
The data compiled by Greenlaw and Wielan (1979) suggest that
18
elementary students classify books according to time honored categories.
The rrost significant theme topics are included in the following categories: hurror, adventure, how-to, a.nirrals, rragic and fantasy, poetry
and rhymes, realistic fiction, nature, family relationships, infoY'ITB.tion, character actions and feelings, IIDral lessons , and pictures .
The story structures of fifty picture storybooks from Children's
Choices for 1979 were examined by Abrahamson (1980).
Boys and girls
ll1
a national sampling chose storybooks with episodic plots involving confrontation with a problem and characters who have opposite points of
view or experience the same thing in contrasting ways.
In looking at
other coJIJIIDnalities, realistic fiction rrade up about 24% of the
sampling, folktales about 16%, but fantasy 50%.
Arrong the fifty
books "is some of the finest literature for juveniles today.
Children
can select books that are beautifully illustrated and sensitively
written" (p. 170).
1980's
Schofer (1981) studied the reading interests of children between
the ages of seven and ten, using a rank-order preference list.
The
results indicate that the categories of adventure, a.nirrals, hobbies ,
sports, and fantasy, in that order, are the favorites.
A shortcoming
of Schofer's analysis is that the children identified these categories
abstractly.
Perhaps to be certain that they understood each category's
content, the teacher might have introduced concrete examples of reading
rraterial appropriate to the category being considered.
19
Sumnary
Reading interests as related to age and sex generally have stayed
the same over the past fifty years.
Before the age of nine, boys ' and
girls' interests are similar, and they are primarily around animals
and fairy tales.
At about age nine, sex diffel"'Emces appear.
Girls
have continued to enjoy stories about home, school, and children,
whereas boys appear to prefer topics such as adventure, animals , and
sc1ence.
There is a more noticeable difference between the choices
of boys and girls than from grade to grade.
Intelligence
A study by Huber, in which a series of thirty selections were
used, indicated that the ratios of choices for narratives and informative selections made by pupils in a wide range of intellectual status
from the "special classes" to groups of very bright were about the
same.
It is not clear how Huber defined "special classes;" the writer
infers that it refers to classes comprised of students of low intelligence.
The findings of this study are also confirmed by other studies
by Gates, Peardon and Sartorius (1931).
Hockett (1936) stated that the first choice of retarded intermediate grade students is Little Black Sarnbo, their second choice,
Robinson Crusoe, and their third, Tarzan of the Apes.
Unfortunately,
Hockett did not define "retarded;" the writer assl.IDles the term refers
to those who are below average in intelligence, and to those who are
below grade level in reading.
The purpose of Lazar's investigation (1937) was to compare the
20
reading interests, activities and opportunities of children of different intelligence levels.
schools in New York City.
used:
She studied 4,300 students in
thir~een
The following intelligence quotients were
bright/110-120, average/90-110, and dull/80-90.
Results showed
that girls reported reading more books than boys ; this was true for
the bright, average, and dull students.
books than dull students.
Bright students read more
Lazar stated that:
The types of books most frequently mentioned by bright
and average boys were adventure and history; by dull
boys, mystery and history. Science and invention were
mentioned by more than 50 per cent of the bright boys.
Only about 19 per' cent of the dull boys mentioned
science. Although detective and mystery stories were
mentioned by all types of boys , they were more popular
with the dull boys than with the others ... Adventure,
history, and mystery were included among the first five
reported by all three groups (p. 54).
Fairy tales, home and school, and poetry were liked to a greater
extent by dull boys than by average and bright boys.
Brigh-t, average, and dull girls showed little difference
in their choices of stories of home and school, of nature
and animal stories, and of poetry. However, for fairy
tales the difference was marked; 70 per cent of dull
girls mentioned fairy tales as compared with 62 per cent
of average girls and 41 per cent of bright girls. Bright
girls preferY€d adventure ... Novels were mentioned more
frequently by girls than by boys; and bright boys and
girls mentioned them more frequently than average and
dull pupils (p. 54-55).
Thorndike and Henry (1940) in their investigation of fast and slow
learners pointed out that results " ... are based as much on what the
children have been able to read as what they have wanted to read"
(p. 751).
Slow learning children in grades six through eight chose
with greater frequency one or more titles in the following categories:
useful feminine activities , hobbies , science and invention, biography,
self-impruvement, money-making and practical themes, and adventure-
21
children.
Fast learning children chose related titles.
The fast
learning group reported reading almost exactly twice as many items as
the slow learning group.
in the number of
1
"Perhaps the most striking difference ... was
comics 1 reported.
These represented 100 of the 282
items reported by the slow learning group, while for the fast learners
they made up 23 of the 560 items reported" (p. 763).
Thorndike and
Henry did not indicate whether the "fast and slow learners" are of
high, average or low intelligence.
David and Taylor (1943) summarized research findings which indicated that:
... bright children ... read three or four times as many
books as do children of "average" intelligence; their
reading covers a wider range; and it includes material
of superior quality. The typical gifted child attains
his ma.xirrnJm with respect to number of books read at
the age of eight to nine rather than at thirteen, which
is average (p. 359).
They added that gifted children prefer to read abstract rather than
practical subjects.
Cundiff (1948) stated that "surveys have shown that dull children
like humor less than do the average and the bright children.
They also
like familiar experience stories more than do the brighter group.
This
may be because these stories are usually less difficult and lower in
quality" (p. 259).
In a summary of research on reading interests, Furness (1963)
cited Thorndike:
In their pattern of reported reading interests , bright
children (median IQ about 123) are most like a group of
mentally slower children (median IQ about 92) who are
two or three years older than they are. The patterns
of interest for bright and slaw children of the same
age are much alike ... but the resemblance is increased
22
when the bright children are two or three years ymmger
trBTI the slow group (p. 4).
The relationship between reading interests and intelligence has
not been clearly established, according to Purves and Beach (1972).
One factor rarely confronted in the research is that
scores on a verbal IQ test as opposed to a nonverbal
IQ test may yield different relationships; a second
is the -difficulty in using IQ as an index of intelligence. In general, the research indicates trat gifted
children read higher amounts, mature earlier in their;
interests, reach the "reading peak" at ages 8-9, rather
than 12-13, read over a wider range, read for more informational purposes , buy more books, and prefer humor,
complex plots, and more dilemmas than students with
average or low intelligence. Much of the research also
indicates that hi~~- and low-intelligence students by
and large have similar reading :interests. While these
two conclusions may seem contradictory, they suggest
that it is the combination of high IQ and high reading
ability which is a primary determinant ... (p. 95-96).
Summary
Among bright, average and dull students, girls were fmmd to read
more books than boys.
Bright students read more than students of low
intelligence, cover a wider range of reading topics , :include material
of superior quality, and mature earlier in their interests.
Socioeconomic Status
Vandament and Thalman (1956) conducted a study involving 1,034
students in grades six and ten.
socioeconomic status.
One classification was based upon
A questionnaire was administered, and the
children were asked to check their preferred form of reading.
The
three forms of fantasy examined were social, aggressive, and achievement.
There was a "lack of significance found when the reading pref-
23
erences of the various socio-economic groups were analyzed according
to fantasy content" (p. 469).
reading interest.
However, only fantasy was examined as a
In addition, the information as to socioeconomic
status was secured by asking each child how his/her father earned a
living.
Four general divisions were made: professional, business,
labor, and farm groups.
A subjective judgment was made as to actual
income.
Byers (1964) conducted a six month study of 1,860 first graders
in which she found that:
Lower class children evidenced a poverty of interests;
usually they were lacking in breadth of experiences and
concepts. They had more knowledge of the seamy side of
life but were impoverished in general information. In
one school in a lower class neighborhood where tapes were
made for a series of sharing periods, not one first grader
shared a book or mentioned having read or heard one read
at home (p. 231).
Byers indicated that 34 corrnmmities from 14 states participated, and a
balance was achieved in rural-urban population.
mated by the fathers' occupations.
A spread was approxi-
It is important to note that the
students shared their general interests on tape, not necessarily their
reading interests.
Ford and Koplyay (1968) examined the story preferences of kindergarten through third grade children using a nonverbal test.
Of the
children, 169 were suburban, upper-middle class Anglos, and 204 were
urban lower class Blacks.
The results showed their interests were
related to sex and age to a IIn.lch greater extent than to socioeconomic
background.
There is no indication of how the categories were created;
for example, the categories of fantasy and animals may overlap.
Also,
the highest interest category was Black heritage, but over half of the
24
children were Black.
It is important not to generalize these findings
of interest to all primary students.
Furthermore, the variables of
culture and socioeconomic status were not separated for examination.
Purves & Beach (1972), in a summary of research, indicated that
"socioeconomic factors do not significantly affect interests, and that
lower, middle, and upper class students have relatively similar interests, although differences in am::mnt and range due to IQ and reading
ability do appear" (p. 104).
They also pointed out that it is difficult
to separate variables such as intelligence and education from socioeconomic determinants.
S1.1JT01E.rY
l.Dwer socioeconomic children show a lack of interests, experiences, and concepts.
However, socioeconomic factors do not appear
significantly to affect reading interests.
lDwer, middle, and upper
class students generally have similar reading interests.
Physical Make-up of the Material
Another factor Which influences the reading choices of children
1s the physical IIBke-up of the material.
According to Witty and
Kopel (1936):
The large book has a greater appeal than the diminutive
volume. Blue of an intense shade and high degree of
brightness is the favorite color in a cover, with red
a close rival and yellow in third place. Children like
colorful full-page illustrations. Pr:i.mary children
prefer the crude primary colors but older children
prefer the softer tints and tones. Girls show a finer
artistic discrimination than boys. Titles have an
interest appeal. Girls like titles which include the
name of the heroine. It has been demonstrated that
25
disabled readers should be provided with books
brightly colored, attrac·tively illustrated, and
clearly printed, yet whose format does not connote
definite, low grade-levels of difficulty (p. 2).
In addition, yonng children like books with at least one fourth
of the space devoted to pictures, and they prefer large pictures with
strong colors to black and white illustrations.
Realistic pictures
which show action or hUITkJr and which tell a story are of high interest.
The books can be on a wide variety of topics (Shankman, 1963).
Further-
more, in examining illustrational preferences of fourth through sixth
graders, Bloomer fonnd that the picture styles and themes for which
children expressed a preference did not coincide with those about which
they chose to write stories.
More than 40% of the stories they wrote
were stimulated by pictures they disliked.
This relationship between
illustrations and the content of children's books " ••• would add a
valuable dimension of nnderstanding in our efforts to appeal to the
aesthetic, recreational and intellectual interests of children (Zimet,
1966, p. 127).
Summary
Little research is available on physical make-up and its affect
on reading interests.
However, it has been fonnd that a large book
has greater appeal than a srraller one.
Brightly colored books with
attractive illustrations are of greatest interest to students with
reading difficulty.
Titles have interest appeal, also.
26
Reading Ability
Witty and Kopel (1936) stated that rapid and very slow readers
often select the same types of books.
They described the slow reader:
... who also attempts as many books as does the rapid
reader but more often falls to finish them; the slow
reader usually comprehends little of what he reads; and
seldom does he read a book twice. And since children
select for recreational reading books that are below
rather than equal to their actual reading level, children
with retarded reading ability find new books appropriate
in soc1al experience and general interest. The dearth
of materials accounts, in part, for the limited reading
of these children, and presents one of the greatest
obstacles to effective therapy (p. 6).
Also, the interests of poor readers are varied, heterogenous, and
typically immature.
There is a striking similarity between the reading interests of
superior, average and poor readers in Stanchfield's study (1962).
Ramsey's findings (1962) differ from those of Stanchfield's.
In
studying the reading interests of poor and good readers in grades
four through six, Ramsey found that among girls who were good and
poor readers, the choices were similar, e.g. , mystery, children and
familiar experiences , romance, and animals.
In contrast with the
girls, adventure stories were an overwhelming first choice among the
boys who were poor readers ; those boys who were good readers selected
biography and adventure first.
Poor readers were classified as one
grade level or more below the level expected of pupils in that grade;
the good readers were those who were one grade level or more above
the expected grade level.
In an attempt to determine potential read-
1ng interests, a list of eight fictitious titles was given, and
the children were asked to indicate the book they would prefer to read.
27
Both poor and good readers expressed the same preference; however,
among the boys who were good readers, 27% chose mystery while only 9%
of the boys who Y.Jere poor readers selected mystery.
In assembling a collection of fiction and non-fiction for
the reading laboratory or classroom there is probably no
need to choose books on topics of a particular nature for
poor readers and books on different topics for good readers. Rather, books should be chosen so that they appeal
to the differing interests of boys and girls. In the
same manner, there is a need to provide books of a wide
variety of reading difficulty (p. 93).
The reading interests of good and poor readers m first grade
were found to be similar in a study conducted by Rogers and Robinson
(1963).
The five most preferred categories by both the good and
poor readers were IIEke-believe, hUJI'Or, happiness , history and adventure.
However, because of the small number of poor readers , caution
must be taken in IIEking any generalization.
Only 33 of the 248 chil-
dren were assigned to the poor reader group;these children were reading in a primer or preprimer in May 196 2.
Surmna:ry
Reading interests are generally similar among superior, average,
and poor readers.
The main problem appears to be a lack of interesting
materials available to students with reading problems.
SUIIll!BrY -- Chapter II
Individual differences in reading interests are great and may be
related to many factors, e.g., age and sex, intelligence, socioeconomic
status, physical make-up of the reading material, and reading ability.
28
The majority of studies which examine children's reading interests
focus on the factors of age and sex.
There appears to be a sparsity
of research which specifically isolates the variables of intelligence,
socioeconomic status , and reading ability.
For example , although many
studies include socioeconomic level, they do not examine reading interests specifically in relation to socioeconomic status.
Furthe:nrore,
even if this variable were isolated, factors such as age, intelligence,
and sex would be important to consider.
Over the past fifty years, primary students appear to be most
interested in animals and fairy tales, whereas intermediate students
seem to prefer action and adventure stories , sports, science, and
mysteries.
After the primary grades, at about age nine, sex differ-
ences in reading interests become apparent.
Intermediate grade boys
choose sports, adventur"B, biography, and science; girls prefer to read
about mysteries, children with familiar experiences, humor, romance,
and adventure.
High intelligence students tend to read more than students of low
intelligence, and among students of all levels of intelligence, girls
tend to read more than boys.
Adventure, history, and mystery are the
most popular reading interests among boys of all intelligence levels;
horne, school, nature, and animals are most popular among girls.
Socioeconomic factors do not appear to significantly affect the
reading interests of children.
Children of all levels have similar
interests.
Physical rrake-up of reading material affects interest.
The size,
color, quality of illustrations, and titles influence children's
29
choices.
Reading interests among students of superior, average, and
poor ability in reading are generally similar.
A recurrent message throughout the last fifty years of research
on children's reading interests is that:
Knowledge of the child's background of experiences, his
ability, and his interests must be obtained and utilized
if reading is to be considered 'not ••• an isolated phenomenon
but one closely related to everything in the life of the
child' (Witty and Kopel, 1936, p. 36).
Although it is possible to generalize to some extent with respect
to interests for certain ages and grades, the individual and his/her
needs are more important than the group differences.
Interests:
1930's
Girls
19~0's
Home, School,
Cllildren
(Ages 9-12}
Love & Rolli3I1ce
Self-improvement,
(Ages 9-12}
Adventlli'e,
Animals
(Ages 10-12) ;
Adventlli'e,
Sports
Science,
Biography
(Ages 9-12)
Drama
(Ages 9-12)
Boys
Girls
&
Boys
Animals , Natlli'e,
Fairy Tales
(Ages 6-8};
Real Life
(Ages 10-12}
---~--L--
Animals,
Adventlli'e,
Mystery
Real Cllildren
(Ages 6-8}
Adventure,
Fun & Nonsense
(Ages 9-12)
1930's - 1980's
1950's
Animals, Fairy
Tales , Myths •
Mysteries, Teenagers & Cllildren,
Boy-Girl Relation~
ships, School
(Ages 9-12}
1960's
1970's
1980's
Home , Children,
Personal Problems,
(Ages 8-12};
Fantasy, Fairy Tales
Animals, HUIIVJI'
(Ages 6-7)
Adventlli'e, Sports,
Adventlli'e,
Science, Indians, Garnes, Science
(Ages 9-12);
Animals , Planes,
Fantasy, Fairy
Outdoors
Tales, Biography,
(Ages 9-12)
Adventlli'e
(Ages 6-7}
Animals,
Adventure
Mystery, Real
Cllildren
(Ages 9-12)
Animals, Fantasy,
Fairy Tales,
Nature-Science,
Holidays-Birthdays
(Ages 6-7);
Adventure, Sports,
Fantasy, Social
Studies
(Ages 8-12)
Animals, Fairy
Tales,
(Ages 6-8};
Mystery, Jokes,
Animals
(Ages 9-12)
Animals,
Adventure,
Hobbies.
Sports,
Fantasy
(Ages 7-10)
---~--~--
w
0
Chapter III
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE
VAWE OF INTEREST
Effect on Teaching Reading
As early as 1913, Dewey stated that the rrain difficulty with the
schools was that they had not adequately used the interests of children
in their schoolwork, and that "it is psychologically :impossible to
call forth any activity without some interest" (p. 2).
supported by Jersild 36 years later:
This view was
"A large number of activities
lil
which children are expected to engage in school seem to violate the
conviction that the interests of the children themselves are important"
(1949, Forward) .
According to Guthrie (1981):
Learning requires sustained energy which ... requires
the use of materials that will attract and engross the
students. High interest materials are intriguing, and
students study them with pleasure for a long period of
time, whereas low interest materials are boring and
do not command attention (p. 984).
The idea that information is most useful and interesting when it is
related to work which the child pursues should be considered (Gates,
1931).
Interest " ... can provide unusual impetus for sustained effort
and accomplishment" (Witty, 1959, p. 481).
The idea that interest is
an important consideration has prevailed over the last 50 years.
In teaching reading, interest provides the key to rnotivating the
child.
" ... the highly personal feelings that a child has when he is
31
32
confronted with reading materials may be a key to what he will or will
not understand, to what he will or will not read" (Schnayer, 1968, p.2).
If the teacher presents instruction in conjunction with worthwhile
interests, the child's efficiency of learning is raised (Witty, 19 59) •
Furthermore, children read faster· if they are interested in the reading material (Robinson, 1955).
Gordon (1967) added that if children
do not connect reading with pleasure, they probably will not learn to
read.
Once children are interested in what they are reading, the
teacher can JIDre easily lead them from the familiar to the unfamiliar
with materials designed to maintain their interest ( Zimet, 19 66) •
A complete reading program would include books for every child at
his/her appropriate reading and interest level (Hogenson, 1960). Harris
noted that one of the JIDst important goals of a reading program is to
change indifferent children into avid readers (Streit, 1973).
The
importance of developing a love of reading is crucial to teaching read1ng.
However, " ..• in their [teachers'] eagerness to see results in
oral reading, they IIRlSt not sacrifice the children's genuine interest
in reading and in a variety of reading material" (Kirronel, 1945, p. 512).
Gardner and Ramsey (Kimmel, 1945) stated that:
If the teacher can present good literature in a sufficiently
attractive manner with due consideration for children's
interests, she may hope to counteract the influence of the
trivial, -the cormnonplace, and the vicious, by rendering permanently interesting the books that offer enjoyment, foster
noble ideals of conduct, and stimulate the clear thinking
that makes for growth of character (p. 515).
The importance of orderly, systematic instruction is stressed in
the literature on the interest factor.
" ... interest is engendered by
successful accomplishment and the mastery of the skills in any subject
p '
33
field" (Witty, 1958, p. 481).
Townsend (1960) added that the focus on
the child's interests keeps him/her in the center of the teacher's
attention.
"Probably the great flexibility of the pupil and the ease
with which a healthy, well-adjusted child adopts interests and enthusiasm is our greatest educational aid" (p. 302).
Spiegler (1956) pointed out that children learn to read while they
develop the desire to read.
Interest and learning to read go hand in
hand:
No modern, first-grade teacher insists on teaching the
alphabet until Johnny has first heard the lovely melody
that words are. Once introduced to the beauty of the
spoken word, Johnny must, to read, learn that the word
has a face as well as a melody. And the first faces he
learns how to recognize are those that have meaning to
h~-his awn name, for example, pasted on top of his
cubbyhole; the names of some classmates. If a boy has
brought a frog to school and the children have played
with and loved the frog, the word frog appearing in
sentences on the blackboard is a word they will learn ...
(p. 185).
Spiegler spoke to Professor Arthur Gates about why children read.
Gates
indicated that the key to what children like is interest. "The mechanics
we teach are but the springs and spindles in a lock.
Only interest will
turn that lock and open the door to the world of fun, information, escape, and wonder· that reading can be" (p. 183).
Spiegler emphasized
that the teacher must let the children read what they like and appeal
to their interests, and then they will read.
For nonreaders and remedial readers, interest has special value
in teaching reading.
"A heightened interest is the greatest aid to
both pupil and teacher in cases requiring remedial treatment.
This
interest can be developed only by conscious and planned effort" (Fox,
1947, p. 400).
Witty and Kopel (1936) indicated that for poor readers,
34
rarely has the reading process provided a complete, satisfying experience.
The poor reader, therefore, must have contirmous success in
reading experiences.
"Reading must become an experience identified
with vital, meaningful, and interesting aspects of growth" (p. 9).
Even with the slowest readers, the teacher can use interest as the
bridge to successful reading, to building growth from nonreader to
reader.
Witty (1961) quoted Edgar Dale:
"Take advantage of interest.
A strong interest in a particular topic is often motivation enough
for a student to read what for him would be relatively difficult
rraterial" (p. 34-35).
The most important factor in a remedial program
is lots of books which are easy to read, but particularly whose content
the child respects and enjoys.
No book is good for a child if he does not like it.
Nothing will keep him from struggling to read except
intense satisfaction from the reading he is able to
do. He must have exposure to enough of these good
and easy books to gain a sense of fluency, of reading
power ... (Arbuthnot, 1947, p. 313-314).
The effect of interest on teaching reading is also related to the
affective development of the child.
Aiding children to develop favorable attitudes towards
reading and towards good books is of utmost importance
for their development. Uninteresting or unpleasant
associations with books may cause a child to dislike
reading and therefore limit his growth ... (Zeligs, 1937,
p. 259).
Twenty seven years later Zeligs' view prevailed.
Byers (1964) stated:
What a child reads with interest is rewarding to him and
rray lead to further reading; what a child reads without
interest rray assist in the development of reading skills
but may impede the formation of positive attitudes toward
reading and desire to do more reading (p. 227). Basic attitudes toward reading begin to form in the early grades,
and there would seem to be a definite relationship between
inherent interes·t in the rraterials read and children's
pleasure and satisfaction in the reading (p. 228).
35
Further support for the importance of attitude come from Reed
(1979).
She felt that the ultimate success which children experience
in reading is, to a large extent, determined by their feelings about
reading.
It is becoming IIDre and IIDre apparent that cognitive
growth is related to affective growth. Therefore,
evaluations of reading programs and instructional
procedures that do not make use of appropriate measures of affective responses to reading can no longer
be considered valid assessments (p. 149).
Purves and Beach (1972) recalled Getzel's distinction between
attitude and interest:
Attitude implies merely the readiness to react in a
particular direction while interests impel an individual' s attention toward a work. Attitude does not
necessarily entail interest, but interest does entail
an attitude--a student cannot be interested in a book
and have no attitude toward the book, but he may have
an attitude tcward the book without being interested
in it (p. 98-99).
The self esteem of children 1s bound up with success in reading.
In the early stages of reading, success leads to higher self esteem,
which leads to higher aspirations and further success.
On the other
hand, failure leads to lower self esteem and avoidance of reading
(Athey, 1978).
The JIDre positive the attitude towards reading, and
the greater the interest in what is being read, the greater is the
likelihood that children will experience success in reading and
have high self esteem.
Combs (1977) studied fourth through sixth graders and determined
a significant correlation between student attitude and reading
achievement.
Male students generally produced a higher correlation
than females.
Witty and Kopel (1936) pointed out that "much more
36
significant than the gains recorded by the achievement tests are the
changes in the attitudes and mental hygiene of the children" (p. 17).
It is important to consider both achievement and attitude, not excluding
one at the expense of the other.
Because interest in reading competes with interest in television
Vlewlllg, educators involved in teaching reading find it necessary to
use high interest materials and strongly build on individual reading
interests.
Ne1..ID1an (1980) stated that there are two schools of thought
on the relationship between television viewing and reading behavior.
One group asstnnes a negative relationship, hypothesizing that time
previously devoted to reading has been replaced by increased television
viewing.
She added that research in this area has produced uneven
results.
The second point of view assumes a positive relationship
between the two media and suggests that television can stimulate
reading.
"Authorities now estimate that young children between the
ages of 3-5 view approximately twenty to twenty-four hours a week.
Preschool children, according to Larrick, spend more than 64% of their
waking hours before the television set" (p. 1).
Witty (Neuman, 1980)
analyzed the relationship between television viewing and reading from
1949 to 1960.
He found that high achievers tended to view less often
than low achievers.
Nonetheless , Witty (19 59) claimed that even though
television offers a temptation for children who read poorly to escape
into a pleasant, effortless pasttime, for other children watching television may also take too much of their time.
Neuman (1980) concluded that utilizing children's interests
lil
media to teach basic skills in the home and school appears to be the
37
predominant trend in education at this time.
However, " ••• this trend
has raised concerns about giving the television medium more legitimacy
than it deserves and about contributing to declines in the emphasis on
print and the quality of reading materials" (Abstract).
Witty (1961)
felt that if parents and teachers help children read better and encourage them to associate reading with worthwhile interests created by
television shows, then television might become an asset.
An example of how television was utilized to encourage interest
in reading is the Television Reading Program conducted by Soloman
(1976).
He presented an individualized reading program by using video-
tapes of popular shows and scripts.
Although this was not scientifi-
cally researched or supported,
.•• students showed remarkable changes in attitudes towards
reading. Teacher and student interviews pointed out that
the motivation to read television[script@ and act out a
favorite star's role was the factor which brought about
instant movement towards reading instruction. Children were
reading scripts, asking each other to help read the words.
The children would refer to the videotape to repeat the
segment and again act out the parts. While all this
occurred, the children were motivated to read (p. 135).
The following year, five other schools in Philadelphia used this program with the same success, and a citywide expansion was planned.
Although the reading rraterial may not conform to standards of children's
literature, teachers might consider the possibility of a high interest
approach such as this to improve attitude towards reading and to build
on the interests of students in the teaching of reading.
Sumnary
In teaching reading, the teacher needs to use interest to motivate
38
the learner.
Efficiency of learning is increased and children read
faster when they are interested in the reading material.
In a complete
reading program, books appropriate to the child's reading and interest
levels should be included.
For children having difficulty with
continuous success is especially critical.
the gap from nonreader to reader.
relevant, interesting topics.
readin~
Strong interest may bridge
Reading must be identified with
Cognitive growth appears to be more and
rnore related to affective growth, and affective responses to reading
material need to be included in reading behavior.
to watch television more than high achievers .
Low achievers tend
However, if children
are helped to read more efficiently and encouraged to associate reading
with worthwhile interests created by television shows , television may
become an asset.
Effect on Comprehension
Although there has been IIUlch research and commentary reported
during the last fifty years on the reading interests of children and
support for the value of interest in the teaching of reading, the first
available research which examines the relationship between interest
and reading comprehension was conducted by Hogenson in 1960.
Two
groups of sixth graders chose the three kinds of stories they liked
best.
Each child was individually helped to select books appropriate
to his /her reading ability and interest.
After sixteen weeks, it was
found that the experimental group had achieved significantly greater
gains
in reading ccmprehension, speed and vocabulary than did the
control group.
The experimental group averaged twice the gain of the
39
control group.
Schnayer (1968) studied the performance of 578 sixth graders who
were divided into seven ability groups.
included as a factor.
Speed of comprehension was not
Each group read fifteen stories with readability
scores, according to the Dale-Chall formula, of two grades higher than
the mean reading ability for each group.
The subjects rated the
stories to determine the degree of interest and then answered questions
ranglilg from literal to inference.
Comprehension scores from stories
of high interest were compared to scores of lav interest stories.
Schnayer concluded that a high interest in stories read by children
results in greater comprehension than that which results from low
interest, and that "reading interest, as a factor of reading comprehension, rray enable most students to read beyond their measured
reading ability.
High ability students are less affected by reading
interest than lav ability students" (p. 6).
\.Vith children whose
reading ability is from two years below grade level to one year above
grade level, reading interest is significant.
Beyond that level,
high ability is sufficient to rraintain comprehension.
These findings have significant implications for teachers whose
students have reading problems.
Schnayer found that "a low interest
in the content of reading rraterial is better able to discriminate
between the reading ability of children than high interest rraterial"
( p. 6) .
It is important to note that the sixth graders who read at
fourth grade level were given stories with a readability index of
sixth grade.
This procedure was followed for all reading levels
represented in the student population.
However, perhaps it would
40
have been more meaningful to have given the sixth graders reading at
fourth grade level, material written at that reading level to determine
whether or not reading high interest materials positively affected
their reading comprehension at the instructional level more than
reading low interest materials.
Having students read at their instruc-
tional level would then be a separate variable from measuring their
capability of reading beyond their measured ability if interest is
high.
Estes and Vaughan (1973) also supported the hypothesis that interest does appear to be a very potent factor in determining reading comprehension.
They used an informal inventory with 5. 5 grade level of
difficulty which included six passages of text, each drawn from a
different interest area--folk tales, animal, sports, space, mystery,
and foreign land.
Before reading a pair of selections , the children
were to indicate which of the six topics they would most and least be
interested in reading.
They then read the selections and completed
comprehension checks.
The 46 fourth graders were reading at least at
4. 0 level.
The average difference between the high and low interest
scores for each child was twenty points.
The average high interest
score was 86; the average low interest score was 67.
Estes and Vaughan
did not indicate what the actual reading levels of the students were,
nor did they state haw the students were tested in comprehension.
However, their primary point is again critical in teaching reading;
the child's reading level can fluctuate depending upon the interest
variable.
Hocover and Hocover (1973) studied the results of facilitating
41
beginning reading with the use of meaningful content.
There is evl-
dence that primary students read words less accurately when they appeal""
in list form than story form.
The beginning reader, like the fluent
reader, can use semantic and syntactic infonnation.
Hocover and
Hocover cited Ausubel, who stated that "meaningful learning occurs when
the potentially meaningful material is related in a substantive fashion
to what the learner already knows" (p. 4).
Their research involved 54 beginning readers in grades one through
three.
An elementary science program was used as the source of meaning-
ful learning.
recorded.
given.
Each child read two passages aloud, and errors were
When the lessons were completed, a reading posttest was
Each child read again the same two passages he/she had read
as a pretest.
Results indicate that when the content was meaningfully
related to recent concrete exptriences, the beginning readers read with
25% fewer errors.
This finding is in keeping with findings of studies
using the language Experience Approach.
A major shortcoming of this
study is the presumption that a science program is a realistic source
for high interest and/ or meaningful content.
How interest and meaning-
ful learning were determined was not specified.
Also, comprehension
was not measu;red; only oral reading skills, or decoding ability, were.
Hocover and Hocover did not indicate what definition of reading they
used.
Therefore, it is important not to assume that because the stu-
dents called out words better with high interest than low interest
materials, they were comprehending bet-ter, as well.
Asher and Markwell (1974) investigated whether or not sex differences in reading comprehension were affected by variations in the
42
interest level of the material.
They assessed individual children's
interests since individual interests differ from group nonns .
a picture rating technique was used to determine interests.
later, reading comprehension was assessed.
interest and three low interest passages.
First ,
A week
Each child read three high
They were also asked how
much they would like to read rrore about each paragraph topic; this procedure served to assess validity of the picture technique for selecting
material.
The results were that:
Both boys and girls preferred to read more about the
material corresponding to their high-interest topics.
There was also a significant effect of interest on
reading comprehension. However, the effect of interest
on comprehension was stronger for boys than girls. The
sex difference in reading performance was significant
on low-interest material but not on high-interest
material. Finally, the effect of interest was similar
for high-and low-achieving students (p. 685).
Asher and Markwell pointed out that "previous generalizations about
the inferior reading performance of boys need qualification.
When
boys were interested in the material, they read as well as girls ... "
(p. 685).
The distinction to be made from this research is that when
boys read more poorly than girls, it was because of low motivation,
not lack of skill.
A possible limitation of this study is that the
passages which the students read were from Brittanica Jr. Encyclopedia.
Even if the topics were of high interest, the children did not select
their reading material.
The variable of interest in encyclopedia read-
ing was not considered.
Scholtz (1975) checked for a significant relationship between
reading interest and comprehension and determined that expressed
interest is not a factor which affects comprehension.
Although an
43
interest rating inventory was used to measure interest in the topic to
be read, the reading material consisted of the McCall-Crabbs Standard
Test Lessons in Reading.
In other words, the topics were taken from
"reading drill passages" with comprehension questions at the end of
each passage.
SCholtz did not suggest that interest in a copic is not
necessarily synonymous with interest in a McCall-Crabbs presentation
of that topic.
Nor does she cite the reading levels of the 110 fifth-
grade students 'Who participated in the study.
In another study utilizing encyclopedia material, eaCh child
received either all high or all law interest material and was tested
for comprehension using a cloze teChnique.
Results revealed that
children comprehended more of high interest than low interest material
(Asher, Hymel and Wigfield, 1978).
However, it is again important to
note that to read about a topic of interest in an encyclopedia, which
is nonfiction, may not accurately reflect the Child's interest.
If
a Child indicates that he/ she is in teres ted in astronauts , it may mean
adventure fiction, mystery or nonfiction.
Fur;thermore, it is not clear
what levels of comprehension are assessed by using the cloze procedure.
It may include all levels of comprehension represented in a taxonomy,
or only lower literal level thinking.
Asher, Hymel and Wigfield re-
recommended that:
Further research is ... needed to learn why children read
better on high than low-interest material. One possibility is that children are more motivated on high-interest
passages and attend more, work harder, etc. Another
possibility is that Children comprehend more of highinterest material because they are more knowledgeable
about the content (p. 46).
To test the effect of interest on reading comprehension, fifth
44
and sixth grade students read paragraphs from McCall-Crabbs Standard
Lessons on Reading on topics previously identified as being of higher
or lower interest to them.
Results were analyzed by ability level,
sex, and interest condition.
Higher ability students comprehended
significantly better under the high interest condition than under the
lower interest condition (Stevens, 1980).
This finding conflicts with
that of Schnayer (1968) who found an interest effect only for lower
ability readers.
This discrepancy may be due to methodological dif-
ferences between the two studies. For example, Stevens used McCallCrabbs passages, which, again, may have topics of interest but not
presentation of interest.
to high interest.
Schnayer used a variety of stories related
Another important factor is that the readers with
good decoding and comprehension skills had superior intelligence, which
is not true of all superior readers.
In general, "high interest materials are more fully comprehended
than low interest materials" (Guthrie, 1981, p. 984).
Guthrie added
that children work harder to derive concepts , information, and inferences from high interest materials, and they may have superior background knowledge, as well.
It is assumed that children know more about
topics in which they are interested.
" ... interest leads to knowledge
which leads, in turn, to increased comprehension" ( p. 98 5) .
S1.1Jim3rY
Comprehension, vocabulary and fluency are found to be higher when
students read materials of interest to them.
Reading interest as a
factor of reading comprehension may enable students to read beyond
45
their measured reading ability.
Children may read higher reading level
materials than their assessed reading level if they are interested in
them.
Also, facilitating beginning reading with use of meaningful
material may result in improved decoding.
Effect on Basals and Self-Selection
The literature on interest examines the question of whether basal
readers or self-selection of reading materials more accurately reflects
students' reading interests.
Robinson (1955) felt that "textbook pub-
lishers usually give very careful attention to the research dealing
with group interests at various ages when they choose the contents of
their books.
But there are many pupils whose interests deviate from
those of the majority" (p. 173).
Basals have been criticized for some-
times using a meager vocabulary which is repeatedly employed in almost
meaningless situations.
"Thus not only the bright child but others
become convinced that reading is a profitless or unrewarding pursuit"
(Witty, 1959, p. 481).
In addition, many of the textbooks, particu-
larly at the primer level, include repetitious, limiting and uninteresting material.
Rogers and Robinson (1963) stated that beginning basals are
slanted toward the child and his/her immediate environment, whereas
trade books encompass a large variety of interests.
Furthermore,
family activities ranked in sixth place as an interest, yet they provided a dominant theme in basals.
"The confines of reading textbooks,
graded and used in series , would seem to be a clear violation of the
interest needs of children" (Schnayer, 1968, p. 9).
46
Moir and Curtis (1968) described the feelings of students about
their basal readers in a conversational tone ; the message is that "ten
pupils of varying ability are brought together to read a passage in a
book that no one in the group has selected.
(p. 624).
What about interest?"
Children become better readers by reading materials that are
of high interest to them, but "in the final analysis very little is
accomplished by the basal approach but the exceeding hatred or disinterest in reading by JIDst elementary children" (p. 626).
The needs
of the children appear to be ignored in the teaching of reading,
according to Moir and Curtis.
In examining the content of first grade reading books, Blom,
Wait and Zimet (1968) found that
"· .. writers of textbooks for children
need t0 demonstrate greater sophistication and awareness concerning
the real life of children and their families and the developmental
interests of children" (p. 322).
They found that 47% of the stories
focus on the themes of real life with positive
and pets.
e~rotions,
active play,
However, "the activities are neutral and redundant without
TITilch content significance and variation" (p. 321).
In looking at
interests of primary children, animals and fairy tales appear to be
the primary interest areas; the category of "pets" does not necessarily
comprise what
11
animals 11 suggests.
Blom, Waite and Zimet further stated
that the first grade readers concentrate on activities that:
... are happy family centered and tend to be ambiguous
as to sex role. A child is most always with other children and is seldom alone. Older age children are siblings
and peers rarely appear. In contrast, there tends to be
a regressive pull through the emphasis on family attachment and younger siblings, animal stories, anthropo~rorphized
figures, and arnbigui ty in sex role. The setting is most
typically in the suburbs, rarely in the city, and usually
47
in and arDund the home. Pets are amusmg, cute, and
frustrating nuisances (p. 321).
However, this portrayal is very different fran the realities of community, family and child life and from what is known about child
development:
Most children live in cities and are in contact with other
children of different skin color and national background.
Family life is not so exclusively child centered, nor is it
constantly happy and smiling .... Pets have various meanings
to children such as companions in adventure, exploration,
and rough play and as a method to learn about biological
happenings (pregnancy, birth, growth, infancy, weaning,
toilet training, old age, death, illness and injury) .
The stories obviously do not deal with these issues (p. 322).
After 1961-1962, the stories tended to show activities which were more
age appropriate for children older than six, that included boy activities more often, and in which boys and girls had equal success.
However, sex role arnbiguity still remains.
Zimet (1976) concluded that in spite of the fact that textbook
content has been documented as lacking interesting themes and realistic portrayals of life, " ... it appears that girls are more willing than
boys to disregard content in the process of learning the reading skill"
(p. 758).
Zimet analyzed the most widely used publisher's series in
the 1960's, the new multiethnic series as they emerged in the 1960's,
and a representative sample of texts used from 1600-1960's in relation
to sex differences in achievement.
Her findings reveal that " ... a sig-
nificant number of incidents of dependent behavior were recorded for
all characters ... [and]
was
all age levels" (p. 759).
rewarded overwhelmingly for both sexes at
She stated that it is possible that boys
react with aversion to reading because this dependent model creates
anxiety for them.
Furtherrrore, " ... such an overabundance of dependent
48
behavior in texts
inappropriate if the schools hope to capitalize
lS
upon and maxirrdze the child's search for knowledge and desire for skill
mastery" (p. 759).
The theme of aggression was rarely present in the
readers, and when it was, nonht.nnan characters were usually the aggressors and were punished for exhibiting this trait.
Besides the fact
that boys are traditionally encouraged to be aggressive, "learning
andachieving requires a form of assertive aggressiveness" (p. 760).
Zimet concluded from her experiment that the boys read as well as the
girls on high interest materials, but were significantly poorer readers
of low interest material.
The focus should be on breaking away from
old patterns of stereotyping and building on what are the real interests of
childl~.
Oliver (1977)
indicated that even though first grade children
prefer stories about animals, they also like realistic and fantasy
characters.
Stories for first-graders could best feature all kinds of
characters and settings, especially talking animals. Thirdgrade reading stories would probably best center on fantasy
or realistic characters. The emphasis on animal characters
could be reduced substantially (p. 406).
Oliver also felt that reading textbooks should appeal to children's
interests and
pr~sent
material which will motivate them to learn to
read.
Further support for this v1ew came from BetteTheim (1978):
Learning to read is serious business for the child, and
by and large the pleasure that can be gained from reading
is a serious pleasure, not a vacuous one. There is no
reason why our basal readers could not confer dignity
on learning to read, as the Austrian primers do--and the
Russian ones, too, for that matter, and those of other
countries •.• If the stories we use in teaching our
children to read do not reflect purpose ... , and if they
49
do not give the child :i.rrrrnediate pleasure, and add
meaning to his life by opening up new perspectives-if, in short, these stories fail to provide the child
with deep satisfactions--then they also unintentionally
belittle reading itself (p. 58).
The intermediate level basal readers of eight series , all with a
copyright date of 1971 or later, were examined to determine whether or
not their content reflected student interests.
It was found that cur-
rent basal readers, with rrrinor exceptions, do reflect reasonably well
the reading interests of children in grades four through six.
However,
the categories of mystery and hlUilOr, which are interests of children
at this age, are only "slightly represented."
Nonetheless, the basal
should not be expected to reflect all the interests of intermediate
students.
The other materials within the system serve to supplement
the interest areas not found in basals.
five to seven years to complete.
Most basal series take from
"However complete a reflection it is
of student interests at the time the authors conceived it, it may not
reflect children's interests at the time of publication ... " ( Pieronek,
1980, p. 411).
It is, therefore, the responsibility of the teacher
to augment basal reader content with materials which meet the individual needs and interests of the child.
Bettelheim (1981) cited Benjamin Bloom, who found that " ... who
will do well in school and who will do poorly is largely determined
by the end of the third grade.
Thus , reading instruction during the
first three grades is crucial" (p. 26).
However, Bloom viewed the
basal readers as lacking rewards for children.
" ... since poor readers
continue to be subjected to these primers well past third grade, their
reading can only get worse as their interests and experience diverge
50
further fran the content of the books" (p. 26).
The number of new words presented in the average readers was also
discussed by Bettelheim.
Beginning readers published in the 1920's
contained an average of 645 new words, dropping to about 460 words in
the late 1930's, and to about 350 words in the 1940's and 1950's.
The
vocabularies of primers in seven textbook series published between
1960 and 1963 ranged from 113-173 new words.
Although in the 19 30 's few children went to kindergarten and little preschool reading instruction was
given, by the 1970's, when many children were attending
kindergarten and reading was consistently taught there,
the first-grade primers contained only a quarter of
the vocabulary presented to first graders fifty years
ago (p. 26).
Furthermore, when children start school, they already know and use at
least 4,000 words.
"By encouraging the adoption of less challenging
books, it has helped to deprive rrost children at school. .. " ( p. 26) .
Research in the teaching of reading fails to justify the reduction of
words in primers.
As primers become simpler, children, who become bored, read with
less facility, and the publishers make the books even simpler.
have no authors per se;
Primers
many people help to create the books, and the
financial investment is great.
"To recoup the large investment in a
series, a publishing house must be able to sell it to schools all over
the country.
It cannot risk controversy" (p. 26).
To compensate for
the boring stories, according to Bettelheim, the number of pictures in
primers has increased.
For example, between 1920 and 1962, the number
of pictures in primers of the Scott, Foresman series doubled.
However,
the printed text became even less appealing and interesting in compari-
51
son to the pictures.
The "double bind" in psychology was also described by Bettelhe:i.m.
He stated that "al.rrost every preprimer and primer bears ... contradictory
messages" (p. 28), and that nothing is rrore confusing to children, or
can be more harmful, than contradictory messages from an adult about
important issues:
Tacitly, they say that the educational system, which
requires the child to go to school and presents him
with a book so that he may learn to read, holds that
school and learning are serious business. But the explicit message of the text and pictures is that the
child should think--that is, read--only about playing .... From a psychoanalytic perspective, the primers'
e.JT!Phasis on play ensures that the books will be addressed solely to the child's pleasure-seeking ego-the earliest, rrost basic, but also most primitive
rroti vating force in man. But as the child reaches
school age, around age five, he should have learned
to exchange ... living by the pleasure principle
with the reality principle. The primers, by presenting
him almost exclusively with irrages of fun, throw the
child back to the developmental phase he is trying,
with difficulty, to outgrow. Such primers insult the
child's intelligence and his sense of worth, and the
offense goes far to explain why children reject their
reading books as empty. The books talk down to children; they do not take children's aspirations seriously
(p. 28).
It is not incongruous for pleasure and interest to coincide with reali ty.
Perhaps textbook publishers need to build on the child's reality
and utilize the interests and needs which he/she brings to the reading
situation.
In Houghton Mifflin's Teacher's Edition of Fiesta, 1971 edition,
it is indicated that the Houghton Mifflin Readers do several things to
help children develop an interest in reading a wide variety of materials
for a diversity of purposes.
One area of focus is to " ... supply in the
52
basal readers a multiplicity of informative and fictional selections
of outstanding quality and of proven interest ... " ( p. 11) .
the word "proven" is not explained.
However,
In the Teacher's Edition of
Looking Around, part of the Merrill Linguistic Reading Program, 1975
edition, the publisher pointed out that children's attitudes towards
reading become more positive when they are given "interesting and
varied material that is easy to read" (p. 17).
what is interesting is not described.
How it is determined
Harper and Row appeared to be
concerned with the interest factor, also.
In the Teacher's Edition
of Time and Tigers, 1976 edition, the publishers stated that "to catch
and hold children's interest in reading, Reading Basics Plus offers
the diversity and frequent change of pace teachers want" (p. TS).
They did not explain how they select reading content in relation to
children's reading interests .
Perhaps publishers might include
information explaining how content is determined to be of high
interest.
According to Barbe (1963) the idea that all children at a certain
age are interested in the same reading material is being challenged.
" ... each teacher
Irn.lst
identify the unique interests of children in
his own classroom and .... supply the materials that fill these unique
desires" (Weintraub, 1969, p. 655).
Allowing children to select their
own reading materials, even though the materials may be difficult for
them, is part of the technique being used in many schools to encourage
the development of permanent interests in reading (Barbe, 1963).
Kimmel (1945) stated that children should be exposed to a wide
range of rnaterial in order that they develop their interests.
"Books
53
that are above the grade level should be included to challenge the best
readers in the group.
Materials for easy reading should also be pro-
vided to increase ease in reading and reading vocabulary" (p. 512).
Also, the poorest readers need to have material that keeps them interested and stimulated in reading.
Mcintire (1967) conducted a class-
room reading program in which the key was self-selection of reading
material.
The emphasis was on getting the second graders motivated to
read while she maintained basal instruction.
Self selection may present some problems, yet " ... instead of being
disadvantages the problems actually can be turned into teaching aids"
(Barbe, 1963, p. 488).
which they can read ;
Children need help in selecting materials
this is a valuable skill for them to learn.
More
important is the idea that children should be allowed to read for a
variety of reasons , regardless of level of the material.
The notion of a single reading level can easily be disproved. When children are vitally interested in a particular topic, they are able to read material at a much
higher level than they are when the topic is of little
interest to them (p. 488-489).
Gordon (1967) cited Fader's corrnnents on self selection: "I'd get
rid of standard textbooks where these marginal readers are concerned.
To those kids, textbooks aren't associated with life or reality at all;
they're just symbols of failure" (p. 6).
He continued by indicating
that he would use reading material produced by professionals for competing in the open market--newspapers , magazines , and paperbacks.
Using an individualized reading program in Which pupil selection
of reading materials is an integral part is recommended by Hawes (1963).
Teachers and pupils who have tried the individualized
approach are enthusiastic about results. Teachers note
54
increased pupil interest in reading ... There is JIDre
self-initiated reading and children make increasingly
better selections of reading materials (p. 494).
The main point of an individualized reading program is that it tailors
the curriculum to the students and allows them to proceed at their own
rate (Weinstein, 19 71) .
Its goal is " ... to give particular attention
to the needs and interests of each individual student" (Beery, 1974,
p. 401).
According to Bohnhorst (Weinstein, 1971), the children's
individual reading needs, interests, and abilities are met.
The pro-
gram is
... based on a premise that a child's pattern of learning
cannot be predetermined in either rate or matter and
can best be guided within a highly flexible framework
allowing for considerable pupil choice and teacher
judgment (Beery, 1974, p. 402).
Messina (1979) studied the relationship between expressed reading
interests and free choice library selection.
There was a JIDderately
positive correlation between these two factors.
Boys selected JIDre
books than girls over the twelve week period; however, it is not clear
whether the boys actually read all of these books.
Also, the sample
was very small; only 21 fourth graders participated.
Another study also examined the relationship between stated
attitudes and interests of sixth grade students and their self-selected
reading materials.
Fifty students completed questionnaires concerning
their attitudes and interests in reading and then logged their selfselected reading materials.
In a nine week period, boys read about 17
books while girls read about 24.
The majority of the students reported
that they preferred to choose their own reading materials, and that
their interests were relevant to their self-selected materials
55
(Ciccone, 1981).
Other researchers have studied how closely the interest categories
foillld in basals match the reading interests of children when they
select reading material themselves.
Smith (1962) foillld that "the
examination of the preprimers and primers showed a narrower span of
reading interests than in the children' s choices since eight of the
twenty-three interest categories were not found in the content of the
selected readers" (p. 209).
The 113 first graders were :rrost interested
in the categories of humor-fantasy and real animals; however, the
categories emphasized in the preprimers and primers were childrenparents, and real animals.
Toys and games were third and fourth in
the basals, while nature-science, and holidays-birthdays were third
and fourth in children's expressed interests.
Smith summarized that
the basals " ... do not really satisfy their reading interests as shown
by their 'free-choice' of books at the library" (p. 209).
Book pub-
lishers and writers of children's first grade reading materials need
to expand the interest content to meet the interests of the child.
Primary readers, according to Byers (1962),should deal :rrore with real
life drama, and that content should be assessed for its appeal to
boys.
Groff (1967) administered a questionnaire to children in grades
four through six to determine whether they preferred basals or tradebooks and why.
It was found that 84% chose library books over readers
because they were viewed as more interesting, exciting, entertaining,
and suspenseful, or were thought to be easier to identify with than
were the basals.
They also preferred being allowed to read at their
56
own speed and being able to choose the ma.terial to be read.
It is
interesting to note that the girls tended to be less critical of
readers than the boys.
A comparison between the content of first grade primers and the
free choice library selections made by first graders reveals that there
was a preference for h1..llll0r, fantasy, animals, nature, and science, and
these categories were not well represented in preprimer and primer
stories.
Wiberg and Trost ( 19 70) also pointed out that:
In general, we were impressed by the restrictiveness
and inappropriateness of primer content in relation
to the developmental interests of the first grade child.
We found an extreme discrepancy between actual lives of
children and what is depicted in the story content, a
predominance of poorly defined sex roles, an emphasis
on middle class suburban settings, themes of pollyannish
quality ... and a tendency to denegrate the masculine
role (p. 792-793).
The sample was middle to upper middle class first graders in a suburban
elementary school; 1,307 stories from the most commonly used publishers
of basals were used.
Further support for the discrepancy which exists between the interest content of basal readers and children's interests when they select
their own reading ma.terials comes from Weisel and Glass (1970).
First,
they discovered the reading interests of fifth grade students by keeping a record and examining the books which they withdrew from the school
library.
The second part of the study involved a similar analysis of
the interest areas of the basal reader, Scott, Foresman's New Days and
Deeds, 1956 edition.
Of the children's ten most popular interest
areas, only four were found in their basal.
"The results of this study
tend to support the hypothesis that the type of story found in the basal
57
reader is generally not the type of story that children voluntarily
choose to read themselves" (p. 659).
older edition.
However, the basal used was an
Perhaps if a more recent edition had been used, the
results would have been different.
Surranary
Children's interests do not appear to be reflected in most basal
reader stories.
More emphasis by textbook publishers needs to be
placed on real life concerns of children and in their developmental
interests.
It appears that girls are more willing than boys to dis-
regard basal reader content in the learning to read process.
behaviors tend to be reinforced in basals.
Dependent
However, boys are tradi-
tionally encouraged to be aggressive, and learning and achieving
require assertiveness.
The teacher needs to augment basal reader con-
tent with materials which meet the needs and interests of the child.
Self-selection is used to encourage development of interest in reading
since all children at a certain age may not be interested in the same
material.
The interest categories in basals do not appear to match the
reading interests of children when they self-select their reading
materials.
Chapter Dl
TOOLS FOR MEASUREMENT
Many attempts have been made to develop reliable and valid techniques for investigating reading interests.
Among those used have been
the reading recor-d, observation, picture rating, questionnaire or
interest inventory, and the interview.
advantages and disadvantages.
Each tool has its unlque
Therefore, it is important to note that
they may yield somewhat different results.
Reading Record
The reading record is a tool for measurement kept by students
and/or teachers.
It has provided information about actual reading,
" ... but often the reading is not reported fully.
The record may re-
fleet certain reading patterns as determined by the nature of the
books available rather than by reading interests" (Purves & Beach,
1972, p. 65).
Researchers sometimes have used records of library
withdrawals as a means of measuring interest, as well.
However, Cook &
White (1977) indicated that records of library withdrawals may reflect
a child's attraction for the physical attributes of the book, peer
pressure, or teacher-librarian approval.
Purves & Beach (1972) stated
that:
... the socioeconomic class of subjects who frequent the
library results in a selected sample; libraries may not
have additional copies of popular books, reducing their
availability; subjects may be more attracted by the size
or appearance of the book than by content ... (p. 64).
58
59
The JIDst serious drawback of a record of library withdrawals has been
that the books may never have been read, although the withdrawal itself
may have reflected some interest :pattern.
If the teacher or librarian
were to request further information from the borrower when he/she
returns the book, perhaps these disadvantages could be offset.
Observation
Observation of children's behavior has also been used to reveal
children's reading interests.
Carter (1978) pointed out that "direct
observation and unobtrusive measures represent means of investigating
pupil interests and have historical precedent.
Nonetheless , these
methods are seldom discussed or recommended as interest assessment
materials for classroom teachers" (p. 62).
Strang (1969) felt that
an alert teacher could benefit from the many opportunities on a daily
basis to study students' reading interests through observation.
She
stated:
The teacher notes which books a child chooses, the degree
of concentration and enjoyment with which he reads them,
his eagerness to talk about them, his desire to read rrore
books of a like nature or books by the same author. When
the teacher is reading a story aloud, he can easily sense
the students' interest or lack of it by the quality of
their attention, the degree of their eagerness to talk
about it, and the insistence with which they ask for
more (p. 110).
Picture Rating
Another tool for measurement was developed by Jan-Tausch (1968).
To assess the interests of individual children, she used a picture
rating instrument consis·ting of 36 illustrations judged to involve
60
twelve themes.
It was asswned that a student's selection of certain
preferred illustrations would be an expression of his/her identification with the major theme of the picture.
Jan-Tausch pointed out that:
It is evider1t that many investigations have been made
to discover the group interests of children according
to intelligence levels; age and grade groupings; sex;
socio-economic; and nationality differences. There
has been a scarcity of studies designed to determine
the basic interests of the individual child and how
they relate to the child's cholce of reading material
(p. 4).
Stevens (1980) also used a picture rating technique to determir1e
reading interests.
Fifth and sixth graders were shown a pictm->e repre-
senting a specific topic and were asked to rate their interest on a
scale of one to seven.
Topics of the pictures and verbal cues were
chosen from 156 possible topics mentioned in the available reading
materials.
Topics rated consistently high or low on both inventories
were chosen as topics of higher or lower interest reading passages.
She also used a verbal inventory questionnaire.
Asher, Hymel & Wigfield
(1978) discussed an advantage of the picture rating technique which is
that there is individual assessment independent of any particular
reading material.
These investigators used the cloze procedure , which
provided objective and replicable procedures for creating test items
on any given sample of material;
which correlated highly with
w~e
cloze also produced reliable scores
standa1~ized
reading achievement test
scores.
Questionnaire or Interest Inventory
McKay surveyed studies conducted Slnce 1900 and found that the
questionnaire was used two to one over rating lists and two and one
61
half to one over observation (Pu:rves & Beach, 1972).
The interest
inventory, or questionnaire, according to Witty & Kopel (1948),
" ... serves primarily to guide the teacher in a systematic attempt to
ascertain and to understand children's background of experience and
their present impelling interest" (p. 12).
Questions are used to ask
subjects to list or rank order preferred titles or types, and to give
reasons for preferences.
There are many interest inventories of the checklist type, which
may list reading habits , types of books, characteristics of books, or
actual titles to be checked.
Pu:rves & Beach (1972) noted that an advan-
tage of the checklist is that once the title is recalled, children are
able to rerrernber much about the book.
Checklists also provide specific
infoY'JIB.tion, not only about what particular books have or have not been
read, but also about interests as measured by rating scales.
For ex-
ample, a rating scale used by Norvell had ratings of "very intei>esting,"
"fairly interesting," and "uninteresting."
The formula for the interest
score of a particular book was the number of students reporting a selection "very interesting" divided by the total number of student reports.
Pu:rves & Beach also cited the fictitious titles checklist devised by
Thorndike.
They stated:
Fictitious titles and short annotations describing the
content of the book can be developed on the basis of
the types of reading under investigation--for example,
mystery might be represented by The Secret Passageway,
with an appropriate description. One problem 1s that
the types of categories represented may not be clearly
distinguished by either the investigator or the subject.
The subject may also misinterpret the type due to
connotations or identification of title with actual
titles. Much of the success of this technique depends
upon what the subjects infer about topics of interest
from the titles (p. 63).
62
If the teacher develops his/her own checklist of published titles,
a disadvantage might be that the titles are those assumed to be popular,
and the checklist might not sample all of the subjects' actual reading.
The questionnaire depends for its reliability on the subjects'
ability to comprehend their own motives for reading and on their subjective recall.
However, "subjects may recall only unique, unusual
books or books recently read, or they may project their present interests into the past, thus biasing their recall of previous reading"
(Purves & Beach, 19 7 2 , p. 6 2) .
Furthermore, students may respond in
ways that teachers or investigators expect them to respond and may not
accurately reflect their true choices.
Students may not be able to
analyze their own impressions of books and to express those impressions
adequately.
Witty & Kopel Cl938) stated that " ... many interests and
problems were not revealed in this cursory manner" (p. 11), and the
built-in weakness of the questionnaire is that what the child says may
not reflect his/her actions (Cook & White, 1977).
Kendall (1954) pointed out that a difficulty in answering survey
questions is that it is hard to choose among the alternatives presented.
Psychological conflict is created by the question or interview situation.
The role of mood has not received attention in the creation of
questionnaires; mood barometers, such as good spirits, irritability,
and happines, might be included.
Also, " ... the respondent' s interest
in or concern with a topic is a significant dimension of his attitude
on the issue, and ... must be taken into account where responses to survey questions are analyzed" (p. 102).
Examples of the short-answer type of questionnaire which covers
63
several areas of reading interest are given below.
It is important
to note that the student may conceal his/her real interests in order
to create a good impression on the teacher.
The student may also
exaggerate the number or quality of books that he/she has read.
Examples of questionnaires fotmd in Figures 1, 2, and 3 all attempt
to identify children's reading interests by asking them to indicate
their general interests along with their specific reading choices.
Figure 1 perhaps is too specific in the information it requests; e.g.,
Name five magazines, three movies.
or mention of
varr~ious
mystery, and home life.
All three inventories lack choice
reading interest categories, such as adventure,
Those questions which focus on the books or
themes the child has enjoyed hearing or reading about might be most
precise
in identifying reading interests.
In Figure 3 , the question
"Do you have a library card?" does not necessarily provide information
about what the child enjoys reading and whether the child actually
takes out books or reads at all.
It might be helpful to include an
open-ended question which asks the child to make up a title of a story
if he/she were going to write a book, or to recommend his/her favorite
kinds of stories to a friend.
If the child were not able to remember
specific titles requested in Figure 1, numbers four and five, he/she
might still provide relevant interest information.
Interview
The interview as a tool for measurement may augment the questionnaire or interest inventory; the interviewer can check for biases in
questionnaire data.
In-depth interviews can reveal personality traits
64
Figure
l
MY READING INTERESTS*
- - - - - - - - - - AGE - - -
1.
NAME
2.
Check the library or libraries below that you can use: Double
check those you do use.
GRADE
----------------
Community library
School library
_ _ _ _ _ __
Church library
- - - - - - - Any other library
3.
How many books have you borrowed from friends during the last
rronth?
Give titles of sorre
---------------------
4.
How many books have you loaned to friends during the last month?
Give titles of some
5.
Give the titles of some of the books in your home.
6.
From what sources, other than those mentioned above, do you obtain
books? Check below:
1. Buy them
3. Rent them
2 . Gifts
4 . Exchaiiges - - - - - -
--------
7.
8.
9.
What are your hobbies and collections?
---------------
What do you intend to be? --------~-~---------Where?
Are you going to college ?
Name ·the five magazines you like best.
---------
--------------
65
10 • Name the three movies you last saw.
11.
Name the tlu->ee radio or TV pn::>grams you like best.
12.
Name the state or country farthest away that you have visited.
13.
What sections of the newspaper do you like best? Check below.
4. News
l. Sports
2. Funnies
5. Editorlals
6. Other
3. Stories
--------
14.
you to read?
Whic..."'1 of the following have encouraged
,...
Parents
o.
Pals
l.
7. Club leader
2. Teacher
8. Relatives
vo
Librarian
9. Club work
4. Hobby
5. Friends
10. Other
';)
Strang, Ruth. Diagnostic Teaching of Reading.
McGraw Hill: New York, 1969, p. 115.
Check below.
66
Figure
2
Interest Inventory*
1. The things I like to do after school are
l.
2.
3.
2. The television programs I enjoy most are
l.
2.
3.
3. Hy hobbies are
l.
2.
3.
4. If I could take a trip, I would like to go to
l.
2.
3.
5.
The sports I like best are
l.
2.
3.
6.
The school subjects I like best are
l.
2.
3.
7. I like to hear these types of stories read to me
l.
2.
3.
8. I like to read these types of stories
l.
2.
3.
;': From: Burns and Roe. Teaching Reading in Today' s Elementary Schools.
Rand HcNally, 1976 .
67
Figure
3
Interest Inventory (Primary-grade level)*
Oral or Written Form
Name
------------------------ Grade
-----------Teacher ---------------
1.
What is the name of your favorite book which someone has read
aloud to you?
2.
What is the narre of your favorite book which you have read for
yourself?
3.
w'hat kind of books and stories do you like to hear read aloud
to you?
4.
Have you ever gone to the library and picked out a book to take
home and read?
5.
Do you have a library card?
6.
What are the narres of some of the books which you own at home
that you like to read?
7.
What are the names of your favorite television programs?
8. Do you like to read the corrucs in the newspaper?
9.
What do you really like to do after school?
68
10.
What do you like to do best on a Saturday?
11.
What kind of games do you like to play?
12.
Do you collect anything?
like to collect?
13.
Do you enjoy reading for fun?
14.
Where does your family like to go for a summer vacation?
15.
What do you like to do best with your mother? (father)
~';From:
If you do, what kind of things do you
Miller, Wilma, Reading Diagnosis Kit.
333 pp.
West Nyack, N.Y., 1978,
69
Interest Inventory (Intermediate-grade level)
vJritten Form
Name
l.
-----------------------------Grade
------- Teacher --------------
How much do you like to read?
very much ~--------------------­
quite a lot
~-----------------not very much
not at all
------------------
2.
What are the titles of several books which you really enjoy?
3.
What are the titles of some of the books in your home?
4.
Do you have a library card?
5.
How many books have you checked out from the public library during
the last month?
6.
What part of the newspaper do you like to read the best?
news section
editorials
letters to t~h-e--e~diTt~o-r--------------------society section
sports section
comic section
classified ads--------------------------7
-------------------------
7.
What magazines do you read regularly?
70
8.
What type of comic books do you enjoy readiilg?
9.
What are the names of your three favorite television programs?
10.
What 1s your favorite subject in school?
11.
What sports do you like to watch on television?
12.
What do you usually do after school?
13.
Of all the things which you do after school, what one thing do
you like to do the best?
14.
What do you often do on Saturday?
15.
Of all the things that you do on Saturday, what one thing do you
like to do the best?
16 •
What kind of hobbies do you have?
17.
Do you have any collections?
18.
What do you wa11t to be when you grow up?
19.
Where do you usually go on vacation with your family?
20.
Have you ever gone to camp in the summer?
you enjoy the most about camp?
If you do, what do you collect?
If you have, what did
71
and attitudes, plus info:nnation about home environment (Purves & Beach,
1972).
"An interview is a joint quest undertaken by two individuals
who are trying to solve a problem.
Ideally, it involves communication
between two people who have mutual understanding and respect for each
other" (Carter & McGinnis, 1970, p. 91).
Informal conversations, as
well as conferences/interviews with parents, pn:)Vide reading interest
information.
Among the advantages of the interview is the fact that the interviewee can feel that he/ she is important as a person and that what
he/ she has to say is of value to the interviewer.
The interview allows
a release of anxiety and builds the self concept of the child being
interviewed.
However, the interview has several disadvantages.
from the standpoint of time.
what he/she is looking for.
It is expensive
Frequently, the interviewer finds only
Studies show a low deg-.ree of both l"Bli-
ability and validity when the interview is used as the tool for
measuring reading interests (Carter & McGinnis , 19 70) .
Purves & Beach
(1972) indicated that " ... subjects may not provide accurate information" (p. 62), and students overestimated the amount of reading which
they did.
Preferences stated in interviews may yield different inter-
ests than those gained by observation because of students' stating
culturally approved interests.
Summary
The reading record, observation, picture rating, questionnaire or
interest inventory, and interview are various tools used to measure
72
children's reading interests.
A uniform instrument for measuring
interest is lacking and, therefore, there is a need to use multiple
approaches in identify~1g interests of other than merely a verbal
declaration of interests sought.
Howes (1963) stated ·that " ... too
many investigators have drawn conclusions based on questionable
methods" (p. 231).
Tl1e teacl1er needs to be careful in interpreting results of any
interest measurement technique.
When children select a book because
of an interest in hwror, it JIE.Y be difficult to know, for example,
whether or not a character who is not htnnorous, but is one with whom
they identify strongly, influenced their decision.
Categories of
interest overlap, and within a caterogy are subcategories ; e . g. ,
adventure may include space , fishing, and mystery.
Perhaps in addition to using the previously mentioned tools for
measuring reading interes·ts , the teacher might also have the children
keep a :record of books they have :read.
This list can be analyzed by
the teaoher for themes of high interest and titles which reappear.
To clarify categories of interest, the teacher might have the children
study various elements
lD
literature, focusing on standardizing
te1~
so tt.at children might be clear about their use in discussing their
:reading interests.
Chapter V
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HIGH INTEREST/
LOW READABILITY AND HIGH INTEREST MATERIALS
High Interest/Low Readability Materials
The following materials have been reviewed by the writer with attention to the following:
and illustrations.
theme, readability level, physical appearance,
They are available at the California State Univer-
sity, Northridge Instructional Materials Laboratory (ll1L) and the
University Reading Clinic, and The Conejo Valley Unified School District Multimedia Center.
Both the IML and the Multimedia Centers are
available for teachers' use.
1)
Pal Paperbacks, edited by Mary Verdick, Middletown, CT.: Xerox
Publlshlng Corporation, 1976.
The themes of the stories are action and adventure, science fiction
and the supernatural, sports, cars and cycles , and teen problems.
Readability levels are 1. 5 to 5 . 5.
size, giving them a mature look.
The books are standard paperback
There are about 20 lines of rnedit..rrn
sized print per page with double spacing between the lines , thereby
avoiding a crowded or overwhelming look for the reader.
fully colored and illustrated and are attractive.
The covers are
The short, heavily
illustrated selections are in black and white and appear to be rnotivating for poor readers, both boys and girls, who may hesitate to read
long selections.
There are literal and inferential comprehension
questions plus vocabulary in the Teacher's Manual.
73
74
2)
Checkered Flag Series, Banrrnan, Henry & Roger Whitehead, San
Francisco: Field Educational Publications, Inc., 1968.
The four books in the series, Wheels, Riddler, Bearcat, and Smashup,
focus on the theme of sports and are written to appeal to junior and
senior high school boys.
However, fourth through sixth grade boys and
girls might also enjoy these books.
It is not necessary to read all
four books since each title deals with a different type of racing car
and has a slightly different racing format.
2. 4 to 2. 6 .
pages.
The readability level 1s
The stories are interesting but long, averaging seven
The books lack exciting illustrations which might complement
the text and motivate the reluctant reader.
A filmstrip, record, and
cassette are available for use with each book.
At the end of each
book can be found comprehension questions covering all levels of a
taxonomy for each chapter.
3)
Wildlife Adventure Series , Briscoe, William & John Hockett, San
Franc1sco: F1eld Educat1onal Publications, Inc., 1966.
These books have an interest level appropriate for students m
grades three through eight, and a readability level of 2 . 6 to 4. 4.
The stories appear to be of high interest with the predominant theme
of adventure; however, like the previous series, the Wildlife Adventure
Series lacks appealing illustrations, and the stories are rather long.
The comprehension questions for each chapter are included at the end
of each book.
These books might be used with those students who are
unable to read the grade level science text, since they might be able
to learn the similar content material at a lower reading level.
75
4)
The Morgan Bay Mysteries , Rambeau, Jo1m & Nancy, San Francisco:
Field Educational Publications, Inc., 1965.
These mysteries are designed to appeal to children from fourth
through ninth grade who are reading at 2. 3 to 4. 5 reading levels.
There are many pictures in purple and white, and the selections are
short, suspenseful, and exciting.
5)
Deep-Sea Adventure Series, Berres, Frances, James Coleman, William
Br1scoe & Frank Hewett, San Francisco: Field Educational Publications, Inc., 1959.
This series has a readability level of 2.0 to 4.0 and focuses on
adventure underwater for children in grades four through eight.
The
stories have much print per page, and the blue and white illustrations
need to be more closely interspersed to motivate the child with reading
difficulties.
6)
Some of the illustrations appear dated.
Reader' s Digest Skill Builders, Barnrn3n, Henry & Robert Whitehead,
Consultants, New York: Reader's Digest Services, Inc., 1966.
There is a great variety of themes which would appear to be appeal-
ing to children of varying interests and ages.
These books would be
used most appropriately with children reading not more than a year
below reading grade level.
from 1. 0 to 6. 9.
Each book is coded for readability, rangmg
The stories are four to five pages in length, which
may be too long for children with reading problems.
Perhaps, if chil-
dren experienced success with shorter stories and then moved to progressively longer ones, the forrnat would be more appealing.
The
stories are colorfully illustrated, and there are comprehension questions representing all levels of a taxonomy at the end of each story.
76
The stories are based on articles in Reader's Digest.
tures appear dated, e.g., cars, hairstyles.
Some of the plc-
The large print in the
first grade book might be unappealing to older children.
7)
Sprint Books, New York:
Scholastic Book Services, 1975.
A wide variety of books which cover many themes are available, e.g. ,
Fear, Sam Where are You?, The Ghost of the Dutchman, The Liquid Trap,
The Homesteaders, and Flood.
The readability is 2 . 0 to 2 . 4 ; the books
might appeal to children in grades four through six.
The many black
and white illustrations or photographs are excellent; they realistically and in great detail portray the characters.
Dittos are available
in the Teacher' s Guide , and they cover decoding, vocabulary and comprehension.
These paperbacks appear to be of high interest to both boys
and girls.
8)
Animal Life Stories, Chicago: Encyclopaedia Brittanica Educational
Corporat1on, 1977.
The interest level for these twelve books is fourth grade and up,
with the reading level at about second to third.
These materials also
come with a filmstrip and cassette. The topic for all books is animals/
non-fiction.
The stories are well laid out; the picture covers the top
half of the page and the one to two short paragraphs of text are on the
bottom half.
9)
The illustrations are bright and colorful.
Reading Incentive Series, Radlauer, Ed
Bowrrar Publ1shmg Company, 1974.
& Ruth, Glendale, Ca:
The interest level appears to be aimed at fourth graders and up,
and the readability can be estimated to be about third grade.
All 19
77
books are about sports activities, and there is a variety of topics
within that range, such as Hot Air Balloons , Slot Car Racing, and
Custom Cars.
The theme might appeal JIDre to boys than girls, pre-
senting a problem if these books are used with a group of both boys
and girls.
However, the books are visually appealing, the pictures
and photographs excellent, and the amount of text lirnited.
High Interest Materials
High interest reading materials are included in
for 1981,
Children's Choices
which is the seventh annual bibliography of children's trade
books compiled under the direction of the Joint Corrnnittee of the
International Reading Association and the Children's Book Council.
These books were selected by children as most interesting.
The field
testing was done by a team comprised of a children's literature
specialist and classroom teachers. A voting system was used to record
the children's choices.
There is no indication of what kind of voting
system was used.
In the beginning reading category, the majority of the books
selected are about animals.
Books such as Bear Hunt by Anthony Browne
and Space Case by Edward Harshall were favorites.
High interest books
in the younger readers category included Anybody Horne? by Arleen
Fisher, Gregory, The Terrible Eater, by Mitchell Sharmat, and Molly
and the Slow Teeth by Pat Ross.
The JIDSt popular themes in this cate-
gory are animals and feelings, e.g. , fear of the dark, having a birthday.
The middle grades category focuses on books dealing with feelings,
fantasy, and hUJTK)r.
Popular books include Left-Handed Shortstop by
78
Patricia Reilly Gaff and Superfudge by Judy Blume.
The older readers
chose books with themes of both social and personal realism first, and
books about mystery/adventure/fantasy second.
Some choices of high
interest books were Accident by Hila Coleman, Kate Alone by Patricia
Lee Gauch, The Night Swimmers by Betsy Byars, and A Ring of Endless
Light by Madeleine L'Engle.
The children's choices were not examined by sex.
However, in
looking at these choices for both boys and girls, the writer notes a
correlation between the children's choices by theme for 1981 and those
choices of theme examined by researchers over the last fifty years.
The major difference between the two is that older children appear to
have selected far more books dealing with the theme of social and
personal realism, e.g., divorce, in the 1981 choices than is reflected
by the research conducted in the 1970's and 1980's.
Chapter VI
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Reading interests have been studied since the 1890's.
This thesis
examined the literature and research on reading interests over the
past fifty years.
Children's interests are important in motivating
and teaching them to read with success and confidence.
The main factors which affect interest are age and sex, intelligence, socioeconomic status, physical make-up of the material, and
reading ability.
Before the age of nine, reading interests of boys
and girls are similar.
Their identified interests have been primarily
in animals and fairy tales during the last fifty years.
of nine, sex differences appear.
After the age
Girls' interests then tend to be in
themes about home, school, and children; boys prefep themes of adventure, animals, science, and sports.
Intelligence affects interest, as well.
Bright students read more
than students of low intelligence and are interested in a greater variety of topics.
They also select material of higher quality and mature
earlier in their interests.
The socioeconomic factor does not appear significantly to affect
reading interests.
Although lower socioeconomic children tend to show
a lack of interests, experiences, and concepts, children of all socioeconomic levels generally have similar interests.
79
80
Physical make-up of reading material may influence choice of
reading material.
Young children like books with at least one fourth
of the page devoted to pictures, and they prefer strong, bright colors
to black and white illustrations.
Large books have greater appeal than
do small ones.
Reading interests are similar among students who are superior,
average, and poor readers.
Books in a class library should be chosen
by the teacher to appeal to the differing, individual interests of boys
and girls, and there should be a variety of reading levels.
There
appears to be a scarcity of truly interesting and varied materials
available for use, particularly with students having difficulty with
reading.
Interest also has a positive effect on teaching reading.
It
provides the key to motivating the child.
Children may read faster
when interested in what they are reading.
A primary goal of a reading
program is to change nonreaders and indifferent students into avid
readers.
Remedial readers and bilingual/ESL students especially need
to have positive, successful experiences with meaningful, relevant, and
interesting reading materials.
Cognitive and affective growth are
interrelated; being exposed to good, interesting books is important
for the child's total development.
Because reading competes with the
media for the child's attention, educators need to use high interest
ma.terials.
Reading interest tends to enable students to read beyond their
measured reading performance.
fluency are increased.
Their comprehension, vocabulary and
Improved decoding occurs with beginning readers
81
when they are :interested in what they are reading.
Interest has an effect on basals and self-selection, as well.
Basals have been criticized for frequently offering repetitious, limiting, and uninteresting stories, and unrealistic portraysls of the lives
of children.
Furthermore, basal readers since the 1920's have present-
ed fewer vocabulary words.
The idea that all children are interested
in the same read:ing material at the same time is being challenged,
leading teachers to use self-selection and individualized reading programs :in their classrooms.
To develop lasting interest in reading,
children are being encouraged to select their own reading material,
and to proceed at their own rate.
Girls appear to be more willing to
put aside basal content in learning to read than do boys.
The inter-
est categories :in basals do not seem to match the read:ing interests of
children when they self-select read:ing materials.
Among the tools used for measuring reading interests are the reading record, observation, picture rating, questionnaire or interest
inventory, and interview.
Each has advantages and disadvantages; the
most frequently used is the questionnaire or interest inventory.
There are various high interest/low readability materials available for use in the classroom.
Among those described in this study are
Pal Paperbacks , Checkered Flag Series, Wildlife Adventure Series, Morgan Bay Mysteries, Deep Sea Adventure Series, Reader's Digest Skill
Builders, Sprint Books, Animal Life Stories, and Reading Inventory
Series.
The high interest materials listed were taken from Children's
Choices for 1981.
Although there appears to be a similarity between
the children's choices by theme for 1981 and those choices examined
82
over the last fifty years, older children in 1981 selected far more
books dealing with social and personal realism than did children involved in research conducted in the 1970's and 1980's.
Conclusions
The view that children's interests are important in learning to
read has prevailed over the last fifty years.
Interest motivates them
to read and to experience affective and cognitive reading success.
Therefore, it is the teacher' s responsibility to be aware of reading
interest research and to be thoroughly familiar with a variety of
reading mterials.
The teacher needs to understand the effect of
factors of sex and age, intelligence, socioeconomic status, reading
ability, and physical make-up of mterials on the child's reading.
In addition, the teacher should remember that achievement test performance takes place under low interest conditions, and may not accurately
reflect the child's capabilities.
Children appear to read at higher
reading levels with better comprehension when they read materials of
high interest.
Wide and varied interests require a rich assortment of reading
mterials in many fields to supplement basal readers, which may not
provide the kind of interest necessary to effectively teach reading.
Self-selection and individualized reading programs are likewise essential.
A variety of tools needs to be used to measure reading interests.
No one measure is without disadvantages.
A mjor difficulty of the
research appears to be that each study uses a different type of
83
population sample and different methods of assessing children's interests , making comparison difficult.
There is a need for a unifonn
measurement technique to increase the compatability of the results.
Furtherrrore, group trends are not reliable indicators of individual
interests.
Remedial readers especially need easy books of high inter-
est which are not condescending.
In addition, it is necessary that teachers capitalize on the
influence of the media.
For example, they might use "Star Wars" or
Nancy Drew as a springboard for introducing children to high quality
science fiction and mystery.
Teachers need to inform children of dates
for after school specials on televison, and television movies adapted
from children's books.
Reading the books to students and encouraging
them to view the programs might lead to critical discussion of printed
and audiovisual versions.
The enthusiasm of the teacher is essential
in developing interest in reading.
Using interest as the critical factor in teaching reading to
beginning students may lead to earlier success.
The language Exper-
ience Approach exemplifies this by actively involving children in
learning to read in a meaningful way.
It is difficult to separate
children's interests from their background experiences.
The teacher,
by using the language Experience Approach, is able to build on the
children's experiences and interests to teach decoding and comprehension skills.
Once decoding skills are mastered, then potentially lower
interest materials may be introduced, e.g. , a math concept or health
unit.
An individualized reading program in the context of a basal or
other approach will allow for self selection and thus promote sustained
84
interest in reading.
Recommendations
Further research :in the area of children's reading interests might
include an analysis of the content factors which recur in high interest
materials.
Peer influence might also be examined.
For example, how
does the critic ism or endorseJrent of a book by more popular children
affect their peers?
Furthermore, the effect of higher interest mate-
rials on eliciting maximum performance from above average readers might
also be examined.
In addition, an investigation of factors that might
explain why older children today are selecting more books dealing with
the theme of social and personal realism than did children of the same
age in the 1970's should be pursued.
There is also a need for develop-
ment of a uniform technique for measuring reading interests.
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