Learning From Rising Sixth Grade Readers: How Nooks Shaped Students’ Reading Behaviors During a Summer Independent Reading Initiative

Researchers have documented a “summer reading setback” where an achievement gap between proficient and struggling readers expands during the summer. This research focuses on 20 rising sixth graders who participated in a summer independent reading initiative using Nook digital readers. Using a qualitative exploratory design and content analysis, students’ voices were recorded and analyzed to investigate how students’ reading perceptions and reported reading behaviors were shaped by participation in a summer independent reading initiative using digital readers. Important implications were generated and exemplified the following: (1) Social reading relationships were cultivated, (2) Access to texts shaped students’ reading, and (3) Nooks helped to foster reading behaviors. Most notably, 80% of the students reported a preference for digital readers. This study serves as a foundation to consider how and in what ways technology can shape students’ literacy experiences in a technologically saturated society.