Small group exercise Have you now or have you ever been a reluctant reader? What is your reading...

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Small group exercise Have you now or

have you ever been a reluctant reader?

What is your reading autobiography?

Who Are Reluctant Readers?

Literate non-readers

Illiterate literates

Nonreaders Aliterates

Why They Aren’t Reading

By the time many students reach high school, they equate reading with ridicule, failure or exclusively school-related tasks.

Students are not excited by ideas. They prefer to experience life directly rather than through reading.

Many active adolescents are unable to sit still long enough to read for any prolonged period of time. .

Why They Aren’t ReadingTeenagers are too

self-absorbed and preoccupied with themselves, their problems, families, sexual roles, etc., to make connections between their world and books.

Books are inadequate entertainment compared to other competing media such as television, video games and the Internet.

Persistent stress from home and school to read constantly is counter-productive for some adolescents.

Adolescents may grow up in non-reading homes void of reading material with no reading role models. There is no one to pass down the value of reading..

Some adolescents may consider reading solitary and anti-social.

Reading is considered “uncool” and something adults do.

Can’t find the good books

Small group exercise #6

Ranking and missing reasons

Qualities of Books for Reluctant Readers

Cover - catchy, action-oriented, attractive, appealing, good "blurb"

Print style - sufficiently large

for enjoyable reading

Format - appropriate and appealing balance of text and white space

Artwork/illustrations - enticing, realistic, demonstrated diversity

Clear writing without long convoluted sentences of sophisticated vocabulary

Acceptable literary quality and effectiveness of presentation

Qualities of Books for Reluctant Readers: Fiction High interest

"hook" in first 10 pages

Qualities of Books for Reluctant Readers: Fiction Well-defined

characters and not too many of them

Qualities of Books for Reluctant Readers: Fiction Sufficient plot to

sustain interest

When you write, do you think about the potential book's appeal to non-

readers?

R.L. Stine: Almost all of my books are designed for reluctant readers. When I wrote and edited educational magazines, I learned how to write for different reading levels. I try to keep my scary books at a 4th-grade reading and vocabulary level. In addition-- short books, fast-paced, lots of surprises and twists, cliff-hanger chapter endings to force them to go on to the next chapter, and plot-driven books with little description to slow down the action.

Qualities of Books for Reluctant Readers: Fiction Plot lines

developed through dialog and action rather than descriptive text

Qualities of Books for Reluctant Readers: Fiction Familiar themes

with emotional appeal for teenagers

Power Up With PrintPower Up With Print

Young adults like fiction that: 1. Show YAs being independent from adults. 2. Reassure YAs they are "normal". 3. Present role models. 4. Demonstrate problem solving in action. 5. Allow to feel like winners/overcoming odds. 6. Display relationships of all sorts. 7. Capture intensity and uncertainty of their life. 8. Help develop of socially responsible behavior 9. Explore lives of other teenagers. .

Qualities of Books for Reluctant Readers: Fiction Believable

treatment (that does not preclude speculative fiction however)

Qualities of Books for Reluctant Readers: Fiction Single point of

view / not too many characters

Qualities of Books for Reluctant Readers: Fiction Touches of

humor when appropriate

Small group exercise Ranking and

missing reasons: what are the most important and what wasn’t discussed

25 things to do to reach reluctant readers

tomorrow

1. A library card:

2. Booklists: 3. Booktalking :

4. Build relationships:

tomorrow

5. Celebrate Teen Read Week: 6. Contests: 7. Displays:

8. Follow-up:

tomorrow

9. Freedom and choice:

10. Get input:11. Get out of

the library:12. Get over

yourself:

tomorrow

13. Get them in the building :

14. Go the shelves:

15. High visibility merchandising:

16. Honesty:

tomorrow

17. Keep current :18. Listen: 19. Non-judgmental

attitude:20. Reader's advisory:

tomorrow

21.Samples: 22.Wave goodbye

to just fiction 23.Weed the

collection: 24.Zowie! Get

graphic

Connecting Young Adults and LibrariesConnecting Young Adults and LibrariesPatrick JonesPatrick Jones

http://www.connectingya.chttp://www.connectingya.comom

Consulting, training, and coaching for providing powerful youth services including library card campaigns and web projects

patrick@connectingYA.com

Small group exercise Have you now or have you ever been a reluctant reader? What is your reading...

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