The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of literature circles on elementary school children. It was hypothesized that a third grade class that read independently through the use of the literature circle structure will show greater gains in reading comprehension and reading motivation than when the same third grade class does not experience the literature circle structure. The sample included a predetermined class of 24 third-grade students, which consists of 9 females and 15 males.
The non-treatment conditions consisted of small group guided reading lessons. The treatment conditions consisted of the implementation of literature circles. Student reading comprehension was measured by a series of pretests and post-tests. To measure reading motivation and attitude, the researcher used the method of observation and interviews. By using a t-test to compare test scores, the researcher found that there was not a significant difference between the non-treatment conditions (small group guided reading) and the treatment conditions (literature circles). Although, the researcher's observations and student interviews show a significant positive change after the implementation of literature circles, the hypothesis was not supported.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of literature circles on elementary school children. It was hypothesized that a third grade class that read independently through the use of the literature circle structure will show greater gains in reading comprehension and reading motivation than when the same third grade class does not experience the literature circle structure. The sample included a predetermined class of 24 third-grade students, which consists of 9 females and 15 males.</p> <p>The non-treatment conditions consisted of small group guided reading lessons. The treatment conditions consisted of the implementation of literature circles. Student reading comprehension was measured by a series of pretests and post-tests. To measure reading motivation and attitude, the researcher used the method of observation and interviews. By using a t-test to compare test scores, the researcher found that there was not a significant difference between the non-treatment conditions (small group guided reading) and the treatment conditions (literature circles). Although, the researcher's observations and student interviews show a significant positive change after the implementation of literature circles, the hypothesis was not supported.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Anderson, Christina"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.S. in Teaching","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Robinson, Randall"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-06-23T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2005-06-23T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:52Z","subjects":["Education, Elementary--New Jersey; Literature--Study and teaching--New Jersey; Reading comprehension--New Jersey","Elementary Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/959","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Robinson, Randall"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Anderson, Christina"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-04-10T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S. in Teaching"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Education, Elementary--New Jersey; Literature--Study and teaching--New Jersey; Reading comprehension--New Jersey","Elementary Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/959"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of literature circles on elementary school children. It was hypothesized that a third grade class that read independently through the use of the literature circle structure will show greater gains in reading comprehension and reading motivation than when the same third grade class does not experience the literature circle structure. The sample included a predetermined class of 24 third-grade students, which consists of 9 females and 15 males.
The non-treatment conditions consisted of small group guided reading lessons. The treatment conditions consisted of the implementation of literature circles. Student reading comprehension was measured by a series of pretests and post-tests. To measure reading motivation and attitude, the researcher used the method of observation and interviews. By using a t-test to compare test scores, the researcher found that there was not a significant difference between the non-treatment conditions (small group guided reading) and the treatment conditions (literature circles). Although, the researcher's observations and student interviews show a significant positive change after the implementation of literature circles, the hypothesis was not supported.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Exploring the effect of literature circles on reading comprehension and motivation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Robinson, Randall"],"dc:creator":["Anderson, Christina"],"dc:date.available":["2016-04-10T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of literature circles on elementary school children. It was hypothesized that a third grade class that read independently through the use of the literature circle structure will show greater gains in reading comprehension and reading motivation than when the same third grade class does not experience the literature circle structure. The sample included a predetermined class of 24 third-grade students, which consists of 9 females and 15 males.
The non-treatment conditions consisted of small group guided reading lessons. The treatment conditions consisted of the implementation of literature circles. Student reading comprehension was measured by a series of pretests and post-tests. To measure reading motivation and attitude, the researcher used the method of observation and interviews. By using a t-test to compare test scores, the researcher found that there was not a significant difference between the non-treatment conditions (small group guided reading) and the treatment conditions (literature circles). Although, the researcher's observations and student interviews show a significant positive change after the implementation of literature circles, the hypothesis was not supported.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/959"],"dc:subject":["Education, Elementary--New Jersey; Literature--Study and teaching--New Jersey; Reading comprehension--New Jersey","Elementary Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["Exploring the effect of literature circles on reading comprehension and motivation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S. in Teaching"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:52Z"}