Author

Megan Wilson

Term

Fall 2020

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAT

Facilitator(s)

Trish Harvey

Content Expert

Jon Warnert

Abstract

The goal of this capstone project was to design and implement a digital reading workshop unit that is based on the Investigating Characterization: Author-Study Book Clubs (Calkins, Ehrenworth, & Wischow, 2018). This project sought to answer the question Can student-selected texts and the use of a reading workshop model improve student reading engagement and success? My early teaching experiences inspired me to consider whether or not traditional reading instruction methods were resulting in student reading engagement and success. The research studied in this capstone revealed that increasing student engagement in reading is highly reliant upon building student motivation, including student interest, allowing for student choice, and presenting literature of relevance to students. This increase in student engagement can then inspire an increase in student reading success. One model of teaching reading encompasses all of these qualities: the reading workshop. Therefore, this capstone project was designed to provide seventh grade ELA teachers with a digital reading workshop unit that will allow students to grow as independent readers and improve their academic engagement in reading, even through distance learning. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a growing demand for high-quality, online curriculum materials. As school districts nationwide have been forced to offer online learning, it is a certainty that the demand for easily adaptable, online curriculum options will continue.

Project Type

Curriculum

Keywords

Achievement, Curriculum, Reading, Teachers/Teaching

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Projects

Included in

Education Commons

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