Readers Aboard! What Happens When Middle Schoolers Try Reading on Their Own?

This research examines a reading instruction model that combined reader’s workshop and literature circles. The study aimed to determine whether a combined instructional model, here labeled as reader’s circle, would be effective and what student perceptions toward this model would be. Research was conducted within an eighth-grade Reading and Language Arts classroom for three weeks, throughout which the combined instructional model was implemented. This study analyzed pre- and post-intervention test results alongside post-intervention surveys, classroom observations, and individual interviews. Findings included themes of reading preferences, reading independently, and new “peer-spectives.” Some students displayed pre-existing preferences for or against reading, but the majority of students demonstrated competence during reader’s workshop. Additionally, most students valued the differences of opinion shared during literature circles.