Increasing Fifth-Grade Students’ Motivation to Read Through the Use of Thematic Units

Authors

• Irina Anatolyevna Belikova Erickson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

First Advisor

Sarah Zuckerman

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Committee Members

Jiangang Xia, Sarah Zuckerman, Shavonna Holman, Stephanie Wessels

Department

Educational Administration

Date of this Version

6-15-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Citation

A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy

Major: Educational Administration

Under the supervision of Professor Sarah Zuckerman

Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2026

Comments

Copyright 2026, Irina Anatolyevna Belikova Erickson. Used by permission

Abstract

Elementary students’ motivation to read decreases as they advance to upper elementary grades. Reading motivation impacts students’ reading achievement. Only 31% of American fourth-grade students demonstrated proficiency on NAEP, the nation’s report card, in 2024. A need for research-based instructional strategies exists, as teachers can directly affect students’ motivation to read with carefully selected interventions. This action research study examined thematic units as an instructional intervention. In their instructional implementation of thematic units, teachers relied on the constructs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness originated from the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2017). Satisfying the basic students’ needs for these three constructs results in increased motivation to complete various tasks, including reading. I utilized the Motivations for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) (Wigfield et al., 1996) to measure fifth-grade students’ motivation to read and the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS) to assess students’ reading achievement. Semi-structured teacher interviews provided teacher perspectives on implementation and impact of thematic units on students’ motivation to read and achievement. I conducted this study in a small-town high-poverty elementary school. Findings revealed that when the implementation of thematic units satisfies the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, students’ motivation to read increases, and so does their reading achievement.

Recommended Citation

Belikova Erickson, Irina Anatolyevna, "Increasing Fifth-Grade Students’ Motivation to Read Through the Use of Thematic Units" (2026). Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–. 508.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissunl/508