Highly effective elementary teachers faced challenges to professional development which differed from their urban or suburban peers. With the increasing need for student proficiency in reading, strategies to help grow their engagement and motivation were necessary to investigate and apply to instructional habits. The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of highly effective teachers on the benefits and limitations of reading engagement and motivation strategies in grades 2nd through 5th across four public school districts in the state of Tennessee. Highly effective elementary teachers from fifteen different schools representing three districts within the East Tennessee region of the United States completed a questionnaire about reading engagement and motivation strategies, the benefits and limitations of those strategies, their personal reading habits, and the impact on students. Highly effective elementary teachers reported using various strategies from the district or self-discovered, benefits such as student positive gains and a love for reading, limitations such as time and scripted curriculum, and being readers themselves. Given the need and legislation for reading proficiency in the state of Tennessee, reading engagement and motivation strategies were important to engage students we are asking to read more every year. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]