The purpose of this study was to find out what reading materials girls in grades six, seven, and eight were interested in reading. It is essential that educators work to connect students with materials they want to read to foster motivation and positive attitudes towards reading. To do so, educators must understand exactly what types of materials students are interested in reading.
Specific categories were established including: types of reading material, types of books, genres, themes, last three books read for fun, favorite books, and books students would like to read in the future. A survey was developed in order to answer these questions. The survey was administered to students from four different schools across grades six, seven, and eight. A total of 151 female students participated in the study.
The results of the study indicated that female students in grades six, seven, and eight are interested in reading a wide variety of topics. The results were listed by category in terms of frequency. The questions that required participants to respond with specific titles and authors were listed in order of frequency as well. Several specific titles and authors were repeated among students. The repeated titles were then categorized by types of book, genres, and themes. Participants seemed to be interested in a variety of materials such as magazines, books, fiction, novels, mystery, fantasy, and materials regarding friendship, love, and adventure. The titles provided indicate students are reading fiction, novels, realistic fiction, biography, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, horror, and materials regarding friendship, growing up, family, courage, and relationships. This study suggests that educators find reading materials that interest students in order to connect students with reading materials they want to read.