Abstract:
The purpose of the research was to determine what motivates gifted/advanced students to
read, and to get their opinions on incentive programs such as Accelerated Reader. During
the research, students were given the opportunity to have a voice in what they read. They
were able to select books on their own without regard to levels, and they were not given
any reading mandates; they were allowed to read as much or as little as they wanted.
Thirty-six students participated in the study.
This qualitative study included interviews, surveys and data collection through the use of
book logs and Accelerated Reader reports. Each participant kept a reading log of the
reading they completed during the third nine weeks along with the number of pages read.
They also took tests when and if they wanted. Findings suggested that students do enjoy
being able to choose their own books for independent reading, and they enjoy reading
when they are not required to read. However, the majority of the students did not read as
much as they had the previous two semesters, and many contributed this to the fact that
they had a hard time making time to read when they were not forced to do so.
The results of the study were communicated to the learning community through a
meeting with other teachers of the gifted/advanced and the administrators. This meeting
supported the idea that we should hold these students accountable for reading, but we
should not restrict these able readers to certain book levels nor should be make them
participate in Accelerated Reader.