Reluctant readers- the euphemistic phrase is embedded into our shop talk these days. In our courses, remedial programs, and library selections, we’re all trying to figure out how we can help reluctant readers to read. There seem to be a few common strategies used across classes and even across schools. I haven’t done enough research to compare the actual effectiveness of these, but I’ll jot them down here for now.
1. Use unconventional texts in the classroom
Comic books and graphic novels are increasingly being used in high school classrooms as serious texts. “Superman Finds New Fans Among Reading Instructors” summarizes some of this shift and the debate around it. Personally, I am starting to integrate graphic novels into units and am finding that at the very least student interest is increased by this.
2. Use more nonfiction in the classroom
Jen Robinson reminds us that fiction is not all there is. As someone who loves literature and great stories, this point is one that I have to work to remember. I try to keep on hand a stack of Wired magazines in the classroom, as these seem to be unfailingly popular with most students.
3. Set aside time for independent reading
This is hard to do in an already-packed course, but it only makes sense: if we want students to read, then we should give them time to read. Our school has established a START (students and teachers all reading together) program that mandates 15 minutes of silent reading each day. I’m experimenting with setting aside entire periods for independent reading on a bi-weekly basis.
4. Support students in reading what they want
Within reason, students should be given the opportunity to read what they like. Librarian Philip Charles Crawford explains,
This often means putting into their hands books that many librarians, teachers, and children’s literature experts snub: YA problem novels, slim books about sports figures and celebrities, graphic novels, lurid biographies of serial killers, series fiction, comic strips, and how-to books. While many librarians may scoff at series like Gossip Girl, Nancy Drew, Cirque Du Freak, and Goosebumps, these books have the power to engage and excite teens who would otherwise read nothing.
The latter is probably the strategy that I struggle with most. It’s partly snobbery, I suppose — the rows of skinny serial fiction make me shudder. But I question filling our library shelves so heavily with these texts. After all, it’s a library, and thus is probably not the primary hangout of the reluctant reader crowd. I wonder what the library experience is becoming for those who do like to read, and hence are probably showing up once in a while to look for books. What are they finding to encourage them in their habit?
Like everything else, I suppose, it’s all about balance. But I’m sad when a student is actually looking for a copy of Homer’s The Odyssey, or Mordecai Richler’s Joshua Then and Now, and the high school library offers mostly slim reluctant reader fiction.
