There are many reasons that older students do not read. Let's look at my personal list.
5. They are not interested in reading stuff like Shakespeare, Nathaniel Hawthorne, or Beowulf, no matter how interesting I think they are.
4. They are worried about understanding what you assign them to read.
3. They are afraid of being asked to read aloud in front of their [[#|friends]].
2. They may have never finished a book since elementary school, not even one that was assigned.
1. They don't know that reading can be fun. (and that it can include graphic novels, [[#|audio books]], and YA fiction!)
Read this article about making everyday a read aloud day in your classroom. Also, check out this blog post. We get to be better readers by--wait for it--READING! Not by dissecting every chapter, doing endless vocabulary lists, and regurgitating answers to factual, silly questions.
Reading for Older Students
There are many reasons that older students do not read. Let's look at my personal list.
5. They are not interested in reading stuff like Shakespeare, Nathaniel Hawthorne, or Beowulf, no matter how interesting I think they are.
4. They are worried about understanding what you assign them to read.
3. They are afraid of being asked to read aloud in front of their [[#|friends]].
2. They may have never finished a book since elementary school, not even one that was assigned.
1. They don't know that reading can be fun. (and that it can include graphic novels, [[#|audio books]], and YA fiction!)
Read this article about making everyday a read aloud day in your classroom. Also, check out this blog post. We get to be better readers by--wait for it--READING! Not by dissecting every chapter, doing endless vocabulary lists, and regurgitating answers to factual, silly questions.
Check out these great blogs about reading--
The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/book_whisperer/
YA Lit, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
http://yalitgoodbadugly.wordpress.com/
YA Books Central Blog
http://yabookscentral.blogspot.com/
YALSA Blog from the American Library Association
http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/
The YA Ya Yas
http://theyayayas.wordpress.com/
Young Adult Literature reivew
http://youngadultlitreviewblog.blogspot.com/
A list of 50 YA Book Blogs
http://www.onlinecertificateprograms.org/blog/2010/50-young-adult-book-blogs/