Choosing to Read: Connecting Middle Schoolers to Books

“They aren’t going to read A Tale of Two Cities no matter how many times we assign it. Put Dickens away for a bit and try some books that will turn your students into real readers.”

What do we ultimately want from our students as readers? More than just becoming readers, we want them to want to read.

Drawing on her personal experiences as a professor of reading education and a children’s literature specialist, Joan Schroeder Kindig shares the secrets of how to turn your reading program into one that allows for student choice, entices children with books that are relevant to their lives, and turns kids into real readers. This conversational text has everything you need to jump-start kids reading by harnessing their social life and providing meaningful texts, including:

• dynamite book lists, organized by topic, that will spark all readers interests
• 15 easy steps on how to become a children’s literature expert along with guiding principles for identifying books kids will read
• quick and easy assessments, including the running record and five-finger rule, to identify each student’s independent, instructional, and frustration reading levels.

PLUS! Essays on student choice and relevance from eight of the hottest young adult authors.

Reading is a choice. Motivate your students to read by connecting them to books they can relate to.

Laura Robb is the author of several classic books on literacy, including Teaching Reading in Middle School (second edition, 2010) and Teaching Nonfiction Writing: A Practical Guide. She brings more than four decades of teaching experience to her authorship and her professional development workshops, which she conducts throughout the country. She is a sought-after speaker, beloved by teachers for her commitment to children and adolescents and her ability to show what best practices look like in day-to-day teaching. In addition to her speaking and consulting, she teaches part time in grades K–8. Recently, the Nassau Reading Council presented Robb with its 2009 Friend of Literacy Award. A survey conducted by Instructormagazine named Robb as one of the nation’s top twenty educators. Laura Robb lives in Winchester, Virginia. Visit LRobb.com for teaching tips and to find out more about her in-service offerings.

» Listen to an interview with Laura Robb on Education Talk Radio—12/06/2011 (42:17)

Joan Schroeder Kindig is Associate Professor of reading and both children’s and adolescent literature at James Madison University. She is co-author of the Reading Advantage series, a supplemental reading series for struggling, older readers and has served on numerous ALA committees including the Caldecott and Newbery committees and is currently serving on Teachers’ Choice for IRA. Joan is on the editorial board of Capitol Choices, a book selection committee that creates a list of noteworthy books for children from preschool through high school. In addition, she compiles an annual “best of the year” list designed for teachers and parents, Best Bets for the Classroom, which is available on the Virginia State Reading Association, Follett and Mackin websites.