"The Joy of Reading" - An Intervention Program to Increase Reading Motivation for Pupils with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effect of an intensive reading intervention on reading motivation. The intervention program, ("Joy of Reading"), was implemented in six 2 nd grade special education classes for pupils with learning disabilities, compared to a control group (n=108 pupils in total). The intervention program was created based on learning principles that were proven effective among children with learning disabilities, included intensive exposure to daily structured reading activities, encouraging pupils' involvement in various reading and writing activities. The reading activities included traditional children's literature from all over the world, exposing the pupils to different cultures while being sensitive to their own cultural values. Additional components, such as systematic exposure to schema story discourse, linguistic enrichment and social values, were added through various activities. At the end of the school year, both groups were assessed (the intervention and control groups) using three measures: Book preference, Quality of reading and Quantity of reading. The results indicate a significant difference between the intervention group and the control group in all three measures, confirming the hypothesis that intensive, systematic and structured exposure to reading helps pupils with learning disabilities adopt reading habits as an enjoyable way to spend time. The results also show a relatively more active reading routine is established enabling the improvement of readers' ability to reconstruct stories, analyze what they read, recommend it to their peers, and explain their choice Keywords: Joy of reading, Quantity of reading, Quality of reading, Reading motivation