Reluctant Readers

1. ReluctantReaders Stacey Kyriazis Hayes Literacy Studies Cooperative Middle School 100 Academic Way Stratham, NH 03885

2. Reluctant Readers Students that find reading labor intensive, boring, and irrelevant • Have significantly less reading experience than their peers • Experience difficulty selecting reading material • Look up frequently from reading • Check the clock often • Struggle with visualization • Lack reading strategies/fluency • Read only when assigned • See reading as schoolwork • Avoid reading at independent reading time • Attempt to disrupt others during independent reading time • Resist support services designed to remediate reading deficits • Are often negatively affected by remedial teaching practices

3. Reading Impressions from Room 249 Movies were made to replace books Just reading words Boring...ZZZ THE PAGES SMELL Reading is Schoolwork I read when it's assigned No library card No books No experience MY PARENTS DON'T READ VISUALIZATION? PULL OUT SUMMER PROGRAM SYLVAIN LEARNING CENTER

4. EnvironmentJanet Allen (1995) “Although I’m not always convinced that administrators agree with my room arrangement, they have difficulty arguing with the fact that students seem to enjoy reading and writing here.” • Read aloud/Mooney (1988 p.4) Choose books that have “charm, magic, impact, and appeal.” • Independent reading, free choice/Meek (1982) “No exercise however well ordered, will have the same effect of a genuine reading task that encourages a reader to learn what he wants to know as a result of his own initiative.” (p.207) • Read,write, and journal with your students/modeling • Classroom library/a literate environment encourages reluctant readers to take advantage of a wide variety of printed material • Create a listening center for students who are not fluent readers/books on tape • Turn over bulletin boards/room design • Support individual goals not those of a scope/sequence chart • Allow students to write about things that are important to them • Plan activities from where students are not from where you are

5. Configuration teacher to students student to teacher small group paired reading students to whole class Activities Reader’s Theater/highlighted text Literature Circles Common text Reading w/ younger students Plays Poetry readings Sharing writing Ghost stories Read AloudJanet Allen (1995) “I learned that reading aloud was a risk-free way to turn many individuals into one group and share literature with students who believed they hated to read.”

6. Expanding Our View of Available Books Use Athena to search by title, author, or subject 1. Find books for each of the following genre/list title and author a. historical fiction f. nonfiction b. realistic fiction g. mystery/suspense c. biography/autobiography h. collection of poetry/short story d. fantasy i. children’s literature/picture book e. adventure/survival 2. Select book(s) for independent reading/list title and author: 3. When you were deciding on book(s) to read, what things affected your decision? (CIRCLE ALL THAT APPLY) a. cover e. familiar w/ author b.back of book f. peer/teacher recommendation c. title g. genre d. length of bookh. size of print/type

7. Reading Memories Reluctant readers have significantly less reading experience than their peers. In School Out of School K Curious George 1 Clifford the Big Red Dog 2 No Memory 3 The Witches/The BFG 3 Stewart Little 5 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimb Harris and Me 6 Half Magic/Phantom Tollbooth Interpretation: I think I’m the reader I am because I don’t like to read. Sometimes my family makes me read when I have nothing else to do. Every so often I’ll sit down and read on my own. I think I’m not a real good reader but I’m not a bad one either, I’m kind of in the middle.

8. Quick Write I skipped over words I couldn’t pronounce. I didn’t feel I had a big vocabulary. I could care less if I didn’t know how to properly pronounce someone’s name. I stumbled when I read aloud. I hated reading aloud. I was a slow reader. It took too much time, too much effort, and it wasn’t fun. T. Witmer I never considered myself to be a "good reader".

9. HELP YOUR CHILD BECOME A READER • Let your child see you reading a variety of printed material: newspapers, magazines, books, recipes, etc. Parents are the most important role models. • Read aloud to your child as often as possible. Remember that children of all ages love to hear books read aloud. • Get a library card for your child. Make visiting the library a weekly event. • Take advantage of school book orders/Scholastic Book Club. • Subscribe to a magazine (Sports Illustrated for kid’s, National Geographic World, Teen Newsweek,Young Miss, Boy’s Life). • Monitor television viewing. Set time limits and make good decisions about which programs are suitable for viewing. • Become involved with your child’s school. If you show interest, your child will know the home-school connection is important and will appreciate your support.

10. When Zachary Beaver Came To Townby K. Holt Skellig by D. Almond Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by J. Gantos Among the Hiddenby M. Haddix Dave at Night by G. Carson Levine Sasquatch by R. Ssmith Wreckers by I. Lawrance Stargirl by J.Spinelli Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicholson by L. Rennison Bud, Not Buddy by C.P. Curtis Holes by L. Sachur The Giver by L. Lowery Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling Series/Box Sets Redwall by Brian Jaques Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Lord of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling Top Ten Book Stores 1. Amazon.com 2. Barnes&Noble.com 3. Boarders.com 4. Fatbrain.com 5. 1Bookstreet.com 6. Booksnow.com 7. AudioBookClub.com 8. BoolCloseOuts.com 9. Alibris.com 10. Booksamillion.com Suggested ReadingJanet Allen (1995) “It occurred to me that students need more than a purpose for reading; they needed to know some of their options.”

11. Fletcher Walking Trees (1991) A man I know, the father of a close friend, has this philosophy about life: “When you take away all the worthless jobs and errands and chores we do during the day, there’s probably only about one minute each day when we do something even remotely important.” Think of it: one minute. In fact, if you get right down to it, there’s maybe only one minute in your whole life when you so something really important, something that really matters. The trick is to be ready for that minute when it comes. (p.90) Allen (1995) “When I first read that, it struck me that perhaps as a teacher I have been given more minutes than others. Today I know that by listening to, valuing and reflecting on our time together, I can always be ready for that “one minute” when I will be able to make a difference. And because I have been a teacher-researcher, I will have recorded the memories of many of those precious minutes--minutes that will become stories--stories that will remind me that it is never too late. (p.18)

12. References Allen, J.,1995. It’s Never Too Late: Leading Adolescents to Lifelong Literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Burke, J., 2001. Illuminating Texts: How to Teach Students to Read the World. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Burke, J., 2000. Reading Reminders: Tools, Tips and Techniques. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook. Hansen, J., 2001. When Writers Read. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Keene, E.O., and S. Zimmermann. 1997. Mosaic of Thought. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Knowles, T., and D.F. Brown. 2000. What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Krogness, M., 1995. Just Teach Me Mrs. K.: Talking, Reading, and Writing with Resistant Adolescent Learners. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Reif, L., 1992. Seeking Diversity: Language Arts with Adolescents. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Reif, L., 1999. Vision & Voice: Extending the Literacy Spectrum. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Serafini, F., 2001. The Reading Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Wilhelm, J., Baker, T., and Dube, J. 2001. Strategic Reading: Guiding Students to Lifelong Literacy 6-12. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.