Journey of a Reader…Bits of resistance

I knew it wouldn’t all be smooth sailing turning Johnny into someone who enjoys reading. Two things are on my side at the moment, however; he’s willing to try and he’s already had one good read that he enjoyed this school year. I will continue to build on these two positives, but he’s made it clear, in actions and words, that he’s in charge of the journey. I think that’s important for us to remember: we can teach them, we can model, we can preach, and we can show them the way, but in the end, the choice is theirs. If they truly don’t want to be readers, do we have the power to change that? At this point, I’m still optimistically going to say YES.

In his school wide write this week, Johnny wrote about setting goals and learning new things. Providing further proof that he is not avoiding reading due to difficulty decoding or comprehending, Johnny’s school wide write was well written, grammatically correct, and properly organized.  When he wrote about some of the things he was willing to try this year, he mentioned that he was “even going to try to like reading”. At this point, I smiled, thinking, “He really does want to try”. Then I read the next sentence, neatly put in brackets: “(like that’s going to happen)”.

So far we know these facts:

• He can read above grade level
• His written output is strong
• He’s got a good sense of humor and a willingness to try
• He’s not going to say he loves reading just to please his teacher

This last fact I know for sure because now that he has finished The Lemonade War (and I was unable to find The Lemonade Crime this weekend) he was reluctant to try something new. He is definitely a student that wants to be sure the read is going to be worth the effort. He told me today that he needed something to read. We took a look at This Can’t be happening at Macdonald Hall by Gordon Korman. I felt confident saying that he would know whether or not he liked it within the first few pages. A few pages later, he gave the book back.I offered him Sideways Stories of Wayside School, by Louis Sachar. This book is below his reading level, but sometimes, we just want to keep the kids reading. Better that he read something entertaining while I find him a more suitable book than to have him not read at all. While we were talking about Louis Sachar, he mentioned that he LOVED the book Holes. A previous teacher had read it to him.  I don’t have a copy in my class but said I would get him one by tomorrow. (I didn’t mention that people who love reading often find enjoyment in re-reading an old favorite.) Though not entirely engaged, he was content to read about the kids at Wayside (an extremely funny book if you’ve never read it) for today.

So the journey continues. Even though I haven’t succeeded in making him LOVE reading yet, I think the fact that there are books he does LOVE, is going to make this easier. Often, not being able to find the right style of book can be very discouraging. I’ll take it as a good sign that I know of a few authors already who have peaked his interest.

Tags: Contributed by Jody, middle grade readers, reluctant readers