Reading Problems:
Winning Over a
Reluctant Reader
Today's
Snack: Engaging a student in reading is a lot like fishing: you just have
to use the right "bait." As we talk about ways to get kids into reading, let's
practice drawing them like a magnet to snack time. Bake some refrigerator-dough
cinnamon rolls, or pop popcorn, and see if the aroma is irresistible! Add some
chocolate milk, which most kids are anything but reluctant about!
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Parents and after-school personnel
are very familiar with reluctant readers. They're the kids who always seem to
have something better to do than read a book. Quite often, these are very smart
kids who, for one reason or another, never got in to reading.
They may have a brain difference which allows them to
plug in beautifully when they read something in their particular area of
interest . . . but they "go dark" when asked to read something that someone
ELSE asks them to read.
In the past, schools and parents
have actually turned students in to reluctant readers with misinformed,
inappropriate or even LAME book selections. You know: expecting a fourth-grade
boy to be happy about reading a book about fairies or fashion, or expecting a
sixth-grade girl to excel in reading a book with a vocabulary level that's more
like ninth-grade.
Schools have come a long way toward
fixing that, and you're much more likely to see adventure books in the
curriculum with an eye toward what upper grade-school boys like, rather than so
many girl-focused books, which female teachers tend to prefer. There's also
been an explosion in the diversity of reading material that is in the
curriculum today - the "spoonful of sugar" that "hides" the reading in
high-interest computer activities, games, magazines and other nontraditional
curricula.
But there's a lot more that can be
done, and you're just the one to do it!
Here's a search-engine compilation
of articles on helping a reluctant reader. You can customize your research
based on the age of the reader or readers you're aiming to win over to the
literary lifestyle:
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=helping+a+reluctant+reader&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=CTbtOJwOmTM_MD5DezASoiailBQAAAKoEBU_QdfxT&psj=1&fp=371e913587efeb1d
Here's a link from the publisher,
Scholastic, with some good suggestions on books and other reading materials that
may capture the interest of reluctant readers:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/search?Nr=OR%28Collection%3AConsumer+Products%2CAudience%3AParents%2CP_URL%3AParents%29&isParent=Y&query=reluctant+readers
By Susan Darst Williams • www.AfterSchoolTreats.com • Reading • © 2010
