The Influence of Informational Writing Tools On Students' Reading Self-Perceptions In A Social Studies Classroom

Abstract

This study examined, through the Reader Self-Perception Scale (RSPS), whether the use of poetry, persuasive, and expository writing as learning tools strengthened third grade students' selfperceptions as informational readers. Four classrooms of 94 students from one school participated in this 1 0 week study. One classroom acted as the treatment group and the remaining three classrooms were the control groups. The RSPS survey was administered as a pretest/posttest measurement to the study. Following the pretest, the treatment group used informational writing techniques as learning tools in social studies. The control groups used the traditional basal learning methods to study social studies. A RSPS survey posttest was administered at the end of a 10 week study. Results were then analyzed through the correlated Groups (Nonindependent Samples) Comparison and the Significance of the Difference tests. The results indicated that there was no statistical significance that informational writing techniques used in the third grade social studies classroom strengthened students' reading self-perceptions as informational readers. The study did, however, raise some observations for continued research in this area.