John, a ninth grader, didn’t read – ever. When I gave students reading time in class, he would grab a book off one of my shelves and leave it open to the first page as he stared at the ceiling and around the room while everyone else was deep in the reading zone.
That is, until I handed him Tyrell by Coe Booth. His literature circle group had selected the book, so he made an effort to read a few pages.
Two days later, John appeared at my classroom door hours before his afternoon class. He shoved the book at me. “You can have this back,” he said.
My heart sank – another failure. “You didn’t like it?” I asked.
“No,” he told me. “That book was tight. It’s the only book I ever finished.”
When students tell me they don’t like to read, I know the truth. It’s really a matter of finding the right books for them….
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