A child’s attitude toward reading and motivation to read greatly reflects their reading abilities and skills. Reading ability affects all academic areas throughout a student’s school career (Lenihan, McCobb, Diurba, Linder, & Freemen, 2016). Students that struggle while reading are likely to become uninterested in school and dropout (Lenihan et al., 2016). Their attitudes become very negative when it comes to reading in school or at home and it is necessary to change this cycle in the primary grades. Students can struggle with reading due to attention disorders, emotional and behavior disorders, lack of motivation, limited access to books on their level, lack of independent reading skills, and/or little parent involvement and help with literacy skills at home.
Motivation is a very integral part of a student’s success in improving their reading skills (Lenihan et al., 2016). When a student is motivated to read they will become better readers due to all of the practice. When a student spends a great deal of time reading they will become better readers. Teachers face increasing pressure to solve these problems. Due to a lack of resources and time, it is a constant struggle in and out of the classroom. Students that are not motivated will spend little to no time reading at home.
The lack of literacy skills not only affect the schools, but also the global health and economy (Hall, Gee, & Mills, 2016). Literacy skills and the lack thereof have “wide-reaching implications” and cost the world approximately $1 trillion per year (Hall, Gee, & Mills, 2016). In order to solve this problem students need to learn literacy skills in the primary grades. In order for these literacy skills to improve we need to motivate students to spend more time reading.
Students that have emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) also struggle in school and in adulthood (Bassette & Taber-Doughty, 2013). These students will exhibit behavior problems when reading instruction takes place because it is easier to cause disruptions in the class than struggle while reading. EBD students are typically placed in special-education classrooms in order to provide small-group instruction time. These students have limited reading skills and display reading difficulties because of struggles with paying attention to the teacher and hyperactivity (Bassette & Taber-Doughty, 2013).
Emergent Literacy is also important when it comes to literacy skills and motivation (Dexter & Stacks, 2014). From birth on, a child begins developing literacy skills. As babies grow they develop literacy skills when a parent reads to them. As the child gets older they start being an active part of the story time. Parents talk to their child about what they read, they find letter sounds, and names. Many parents also read a variety of books daily to their child. However, not all families have literacy-rich environments. Low-income families typically don’t engage in literacy skills during story time (Dexter & Stacks, 2014). Many of these households do not engage in any literacy activities. The home is the primary learning environment before traditional schooling (Dexter & Stacks, 2014). Students that begin school with low literacy skills will have a difficult time trying to catch up to their peers.
Many struggling readers become embarrassed that they are not able to read like their classmates. Instead of solving their problems they withdraw and develop negative attitudes and feelings toward reading and school. Teachers need to help their students become better readers and increase their motivation. Reading programs that engage elementary aged readers need to be a part of every school (Lenihan et al., 2016). These reading programs need to engage the young reader by increasing motivation and confidence.
Definition of Terms
Emergent Literacy- a term that is used to explain a child’s knowledge of reading and writing skills before they learn how to read and write words
Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities- refer to a disability classification used in educational settings that allows educational institutions to provide special education and related services to students that have poor social or academic adjustment that cannot be better explained by biological abnormalities or a developmental disability
Literacy Skills- the skills needed for reading and writing. They include such things as awareness of the sounds of language, awareness of print, and the relationship between letters and sounds. Other literacy skills include vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension
Purpose for the Study
The purpose of this study is to show how animal-assisted therapy programs can help students become motivated to read and also improve their reading abilities due to an increased amount of time spent reading. The interest in the use of animals in the classroom is growing. Animals can be used for a variety of things. They can help with behavior issues or health issues.
Harris and Sholtis (2016) describe the following:
Love, affection, acceptance, and companionship to children, these are just some of the benefits of a service dog for children. Yet there is much that these remarkable animals can do. From opening doors for children with cerebral palsy to warning a child with diabetes of low blood sugar, the abilities of a properly trained service dog are wide and varied. (p. 263)
Because of this, researchers are finding many different ways to use therapy dogs in the classroom. Some researchers are finding the benefits of incorporating canine reading programs into schools. Hall, Gee, & Mills (2016) discovered through research that “reading to a dog may have a beneficial effect on a number of behavioral processes which contribute to a positive effect on the environment in which reading is practiced, leading to improved reading performance” (p.1) The use of therapy dogs in reading programs must be consistent and thorough. One of the most comprehensive dog-assisted reading programs is Reading Education Assistance Dogs, or R.E.A.D. (Jalongo, 2012). This program works with well-trained dogs and highly trained handlers. The handlers begin talking with teachers, reading specialists, and librarians in a building. The handlers learn information about the student they will be working with so they can help them pick out books that are quality and on the appropriate level. Several studies have shown positive results and improvements in test scores after the introduction of canine-assisted reading programs. Reading scores increased as well as attitude surveys that the students completed.
Rationale for the Study and Its Significance
Increasing engagement and motivation through reading
Engagement and motivation play a big part in a student’s success in reading and skill development. In their study, Mcgeown, Duncan, Griffiths, and Stothard (2014) found that “reading motivation and fiction book reading were significant predictors of adolescents’ reading comprehension and summarization skills and text reading speed.” They also found that girls and good readers were more motivated to read (Mcgeown et al., 2014). Mcgeown (2012) also discovered that students with more feminine traits were more motivated to read and more engaged while reading. Students with emotional and behavioral disabilities also have behavior problems during reading instruction (Bassette & Taber-Doughty, 2013). These students are easily embarrassed by their lack of reading skills and act out so they can draw attention away from the task at hand. Reading skills are developed through repeated practice. When students are not motivated to read they are less engaged and do not develop reading skills the same as their peers. These reading skills are necessary throughout school and these students will fall farther behind in all subjects. Poor reading skills will also affect these students after school when they are applying for jobs (Mcgeown et al., 2014). Students who have low reading scores display a low-level of interest in reading and are at a greater risk for dropping out of school (Lenihan et al., 2016).
Therapy Dogs
The popularity of using therapy animals is growing. Therapy animals can be fish, hamsters, cats, dogs, etc. The most popular choice for a therapy animal is a dog. Therapy dogs are different than service dogs. A seeing eye dog is a service dog. Therapy dogs are trained with their handlers. They become certified and make goals for children such as “improving fine motor skills, education, improving physical, mental and emotional status, reducing anxiety or loneliness, and increasing motivation” (Watts, 2009). Therapy dogs can help in schools, hospitals, or nursing homes. They can be used to help people that are young or old. Watts (2009) witnessed a therapy session involving a young boy who grew up in an abusive home and a therapy dog. This boy was learning “nurturing, empathy, acceptance, self-worth, and respect for others” (Watts, 2009).
Therapy dogs in schools today
Therapy dogs are now being used in the classrooms more than ever. Research has shown that dog reading programs have been successful in the classroom and these programs are growing in popularity due to the success (Bassette & Taber-Doughty, 2013). These reading programs have shown an increase in motivation and engagement. When companion animals, such as dogs, come in the classroom students have shown a reduce in stress (Jalongo, M. R., Astorino, T., & Bomboy, N., 2004).
What is an animal-assisted reading program?
Animal-assisted reading programs, or canine-assisted reading programs are spreading in popularity across the United States. Forty-two states use some form of this reading program (Lane & Zavada, 2013). These programs are used in schools, universities, public libraries, recreation centers, and hospitals. Research shows that these programs work because dogs don’t judge students while they read. Many struggling readers are embarrassed by their lack of reading abilities. These students gain confidence as they read to dogs, because they do not feel like the dogs are judging them. When these programs are implemented, students show an increase in fluency, motivation, encouragement, and they say it is fun (Lane & Zavada, 2013). A psychologist, Boris Levinson, brought a dog with him to therapy sessions with a child in the 1960’s. Levinson discovered that the child was more responsive to treatment when the dog was present (Lane & Zavada, 2013).
Types of animal-assisted reading programs.
There are several animal-assisted reading programs available. One program called R.E.A.D. brings therapy dogs to schools to read with students. Shaw (2013) conducted a study where the R.E.A.D. program came to a school for one full school year. Teachers, students, and parents determined that this program helped them gain higher reading scores (Shaw, 2013). R.E.A.D. is using this research to bring more therapy dogs into the classrooms (Shaw, 2013). The R.E.A.D. dogs are well trained to be in schools. Each dog has a handler that is also trained to assist the student as needed while reading. There is a significant amount of research that proves the benefits of therapy dogs (Shaw, 2013).
SHARE and All Ears are two other organizations that provide animal assistance reading programs. These programs have shown an increase in fluency and motivation (Lane & Zavada, 2013). After these programs were implemented, students read independently more often (Lane & Zavada, 2013).
Animal-Assisted therapy programs effect on reading in the classroom
There have been some studies to show that a dog reading program can help students with attention and motivation issues while reading (Bassette & Taber-Doughty, 2013, pp. 239-242). One study was done to determine if elementary-aged students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) behaved better during reading instruction with a dog reading program (Bassette & Taber-Doughty, 2013, pp. 239-242). This research included three participants that were different ages in elementary school and all three are diagnosed with emotional behavioral disorders and have individual education plans (IEP) (Bassette & Taber-Doughty, 2013). The researchers were observing the participant’s on-task behaviors while reading to the dogs while also using reading tests and questions to assess the student’s reading level and attitudes before and after the research was done (Bassette & Taber-Doughty, 2013). The students showed an increase in on-task behavior while reading with their dog buddy and the teachers also noticed a decrease in problems with behavior during this time (Bassette & Taber-Doughty, 2013).
Lenihan et al. (2016) designed a study to understand if a student’s desire and ability to read would be affected by the implementation of a dog reading program. This study was completed over a 5-week period and focused on feasibility and effectiveness. The researchers assessed the students at week 0 and week 5. They assessed the students with an attitude reading survey and curriculum based measurements. The participants were 18 children entering second grade. The students were randomly assigned to the groups. Nine students were assigned to read with dogs and nine were assigned to read with adults. Three participants dropped out during the program. One student dropped the program because they could not read with a dog. The results showed that the use of a dog reading program will increase attitudes towards reading and reading ability. The control group that read to adults showed a decrease in attitude towards reading. The curriculum based measurement showed an increase in the group that read to dogs (Lenihan et al., 2016).