“This camp is so fun. It’s like going to the movies!”: Teachers’ practices and transformations in students’ affective dimensions toward literacy.

In this case study, we investigated transformations in 9 first- and 9 third-grade students’ beliefs about their literacy abilities and shifts in their attitudes and motivation toward literacy in a summer literacy camp for students at risk. There were 75 kindergarten through eighth-grade students in the camp and 52 graduate education major teachers. Students received considerable support because of the substantial number of teachers. Four sources of triangulated data show that 7 first- and 8 third-grade students displayed more affirmative beliefs about their literacy abilities as the camp progressed and exhibited more positive attitudes and motivation toward reading and writing. Implications are for literacy teachers of young children, literacy teacher educators, and school districts to consider students’ affective dimensions.