School librarian Mindy Engler isn’t a big fan of the term “reluctant reader.”
“Really, teens are all reluctant readers to some degree,” she says. “Especially with everything you divide your time with, sitting down and reading a book takes a lot sometimes.”
Engler is the high school library media specialist at Canton City Schools and offers these successful strategies using technology and good old-fashioned classroom management. Using these approaches can help inspire reluctant readers… er, teens, to spend time with books.
1. Engage reluctant readers: provide access
Giving kids the chance to read in whatever format they want, whether it’s a print book, an ebook or an audiobook, is key to the success Canton City schools have had around reading, Engler says. .
“Students have access to a school library right here and two different apps for eBooks,” she says. One app is Sora, which was added during the pandemic and is used by kids to check out books during school breaks and on weekends.
“I love showing people our checkout statistics, where I can see the kids are checking out a book at 9:30 on a Friday night,” she says.
2. Sustained silent reading in the classroom
Various teachers within the district spend a certain amount of time reading in every class or every other class. “They allow students to choose what they want to read,” says Engler.
This practice helps remove one of the main obstacles to reading for students (and adults): the lack of free time. “With busy teenagers and having so many other things vying for your attention [it helps] to give kids some class time at school to read a book of their choice,” she says.
3. Book Club
Engler has organized a book club since 2018. Again, student choice is a key component of the approach.
“Students choose the books they want to read,” she says. “I have a big list that I show them, and we show book trailers, and then at the beginning of the year, they pick all the books that they find interesting.”
Then they narrow it down to one that they read over a nine-week period during which the emphasis is on reading for pleasure, not memorizing facts or searching for topics.
“Another part of getting kids to read is making it fun,” says Engler. “There is no proof of that. We just read the book and come to the library and have a discussion about the book.”
4. Teachers modeling reading
District teachers encourage reading for pleasure by posting what they are reading, not on social media, but literally on their doors outside their offices or classrooms.
“I have that outside of my office, things that I’m currently reading and listening to and what I’ve read,” says Engler. Students are also encouraged to share what they have read and Engler will post it on a large bulletin board. These efforts help foster an ongoing conversation about reading.
5. Prioritize student choice in reading
Engler is an advocate of students choosing what they read when they’re doing it for fun. “If it’s your choice, you’re going to invest in it,” she says. “We tell students if they read the first 50 pages and it’s not interesting, it’s okay to put that book down and pick another one they’d like to read. Verse novels, graphic novels, favorite rereads, all of that is part of the student choice.”
While Canton City Schools still has required readings, Engler also advocates adding some level of student choice to that process, if feasible. “I always say, ‘You can teach things that are in the standards, like setting and topic, with any kind of book.’ So if the kids maybe aren’t that interested in a book, maybe they have illuminated circles (opens in a new tab) and they can choose a couple of different books.”
