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Re: Trying to define "reluctant readers"
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From: leonardsma_at_aol.com
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:35:14 -0500
Many of the artists and writers I have interviewed for my various books-- Richard Egielski, Terry Pratchett, Jules Feiffer, among others--were reluc tant readers, or readers only of "non-approved" reading matter such as the comics. Their reading histories and surprising and instructive. Richard Egielski, for example, told me that after reading the Classic Comics vers ion of MOBY DICK, he sought out the film version on television. Then, afte r seeing the film a number of times, he decided to take a crack at Melvill e. There is no telling what will lead a particular child to "good" literat ure, and the goal should therefore be to leave open as many pathways as po ssible.
Leonard S. Marcus 54 Willow Street, #2A Brooklyn, NY 11201 USA
T 718 596-1897 E leonardsma_at_aol.com W www.leonardmarcus.com
Message-----
From: Claudia Pearson To: Meghan McCarthy ; Boagjohns_at_aol.com ; gmkruse@wisc.edu; ccbc-net@ccbc.education.wisc.edu Sent: Fri, Feb 4, 2011 2:00 pm Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
I am somewhat opposed to the whole idea of finding books a "reluctant read er" is willing to read. Reading is not supposed to be just about what a ki d already knows, but about expanding horizons. The goal is to open their minds to the idea of imagining different ways of being, to generate feeli ngs of empathy and understanding, isn't it?
Kari-Lynn Winters looked at some readers' seeming lack of interest in char acters and subjects they knew nothing about as part of her research. Very interesting stuff. I was especially interested in the readers' lack of in terest in characters that were not like them. Although it was not the focu s of her study, it would be interesting to extrapolate from her research to explore the reasons why boys often don't read about/relate to main cha racters who are female while girls have no problem reading about boys, and to the ways in which and reasons why readers will identify with/relate to anthropomorpic characters who are nothing like them.
Claudia Pearson coRA SCBWI SouthernBreeze pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net
See Award-winning illustrator, EB Lewis, at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators GA, AL, MS Spring Conference '11 in Atlanta - Re gistration is now open! www.southern-breeze.org
----- Original Message -----
From: Meghan McCarthy To: pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net;Boagjohns@aol.com;gmkruse@wisc.edu;ccbc-net@c cbc.education.wisc.edu Sent: 2/4/2011 12:35:59 PM Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
I'm actually talking about this on my blog right now. I had many attention problems growing up and had a hard time reading. In the 4th grade my teac her sent me to a doctor for testing. I did an interview with my mother on this very topic and I'm posting it in bits and pieces. You can read it he re:
I think it is important to realize that people like me can go on to succee d AND publish! Also, it's about picking the right reading material. The ch ild must find something he or she is interested in! I'd say I was and AM a reluctant reader. I will get very into reading something if it's the RI GHT something.
Meghan McCarthy
From: Claudia Pearson To: "Boagjohns_at_aol.com" ; gmkruse@wisc.edu; ccbc-net@cc bc.education.wisc.edu Sent: Thu, February 3, 2011 8:44:15 PM Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
So far as I can tell, there are basically two types of reluctant readers. The first is comprised of those who have visual learning issues, dyslexia or decoding deficits or attention disorders which prevent them from actua lly reading the words and sentences.
The second type of reluctant reader can read the words just fine, but has no interest in reading. This may be because the reader prefers other acti vities, but I suspect that a large number of these potential readers have never made the cognitive leap required to fill in the details fiction lea ves out or only suggests.
Kari-Lynn Winters studied the ways in which integrating the arts with read ing can help students make the necessary cognitive connections. Her resear ch results and the classroom activities she used are reported in her book, Beyond Words: Using the Arts to Enhance Early Reading Comprehension.
Claudia Pearson coRA SCBWI SouthernBreeze pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net
See Award-winning illustrator, EB Lewis, at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators GA, AL, MS Spring Conference '11 in Atlanta - Re gistration is now open! www.southern-breeze.org
----- Original Message -----
From: To: gmkruse_at_wisc.edu;ccbc-net@ccbc.education.wisc.edu Sent: 1/29/2011 7:34:30 AM Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
Hi, Ginny
You are so wise in your writings. I too find it difficult to "define" a reluctant reader. I think as librarians we need to try to discover the ar ea in which a reluctant reader is truly interested and try to find materia l to fit his/her needs in that area AS A STARTING POINT. As a reader over a long life span - I call myself a very reluctant reader when it comes to fantasy! When I worked as a school librarian, I would put books on a tab le with no notes about them and see who took what. It is amazing what "rel uctant readers" will select if given a chance to make their own choices.
H.M. Smith
In a message dated 1/28/2011 5:41:05 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, gmkruse_at_w isc.edu writes:
On 1/27/2011 6:52 PM, Sherry Rampey wrote: "...you wanted to know what the commonalities were among RR's, truth be told, they vary across the nation . They can range from innercity kids, who may like urban fiction; or subur ban kids who like the manga; or it could be the rural kids who like to kee p things realistic..."
Between grades one and twelve, my daughter Ann was a "special education" student. (That was the language used when Ann was young.) Ann learned to read in first grade. She became not only an "avid reader," but a "life-lo ng reader," as well. Most recently Ann read Ted Kennedy's autobiography, and currently she's reading the new biography about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. While Ann was a girl, I noticed that the books suggested by te achers and other librarians to special ed students were definitely "reluct ant reader" books, even series. These novels were, and they were action pa cked, featuring - for example - young teens wh o were juvenile delinquent s or drug users. There was an assumption that some or all of the kids - un derstood to be "challenged readers" or otherwise "reluctant" to read for pleasure - will want to read about kids in trouble or troubled kids.
One of my former school library positions was in Newton, Massachusetts. It was a fabulous job with a bevy of high-powered volunteers in an absolutel y terrific public school with a student population including black student s bussed there daily from Boston. There was abundant funding for me to dev elop specialized book and media collections, one of which was a "Black Stu dies Collection." A certain day in that wonderful school library is etche d in my memory. That afternoon one of the Black students from Boston asked me to recommend a book she could check out to read over the weekend. I ea gerly showed her two or three of the newest books in the Black Studies she lves. She looked me in the eye and quietly said, "Mrs. Kruse, I real l y prefer to read fantasies. Don't you have any fantasies to recommend to me ?"
Sherry, I can't be certain that rural kids "like to keep things realistic, " or that only suburban kids take to the manga, or or that urban students prefer urban fiction. Because of my two experiences (above), because I once went to a one-room rural school, and because as an adult I've lived in small towns, urban & suburban neighborhoods and the city of Madison, I'm a "reluctant librarian" when it comes to trying to define, nail down or even label who any of our young readers actually are.
Cordially, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse_at_wisc.edu Emeritus Director, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), School of Ed ucation, University of Wisconsin - Madison On 1/27/2011 6:52 PM, Sherry Ra mpey wro te: "...you wanted to know what the commonalities were among RR 's, truth be told, they vary across the nation. They can range from inner city kids, who may like urban fiction; or suburban kids who like the manga ; or it could be the rural kids who like to keep things realistic..."
Between grades one and twelve, my daughter Ann was a "special education" student. (That was the language used when Ann was young.) Ann learned to read in first grade. She became not only an "avid reader," but a "life-lo ng reader," as well. Most recently Ann read Ted Kennedy's autobiography, and currently she's reading the new biography about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. While Ann was a girl, I noticed that the books suggested by te achers and other librarians to special ed students were definitely "reluct ant reader" books, even series. These novels were, and they were action pa cked, featuring - for example - young teens who were juvenile delinquents or drug users. There was an assumption that kids who were "challenged re aders" or otherwise "reluctant" to read for pleasure will want to read abo ut kids in trouble or troubled kids.
One of my former school library positions was in Newton, Massachusetts. It was a dream job with a bevy of high-powered volunteers in an absolutely terrific public school and a student population including black students bussed to school daily from Boston. There was abundant funding for me to develop specialized book and media collections, one of which was a "Black Studies Collection." I remember a day when one of the students from Bost on asked me to recommend a book she could check out to read over the weeke nd. I eagerly showed her two or three of the newest books in the Black Stu dies shelves. She looked me in the eye and quietly said, "Mrs. Kruse, I re ally prefer to read fantasies. Do you have any fantasies to recommend to me?"
Sherry, I can't be certain that rural kids "like to keep things realistic, " that only suburban kids take to the manga, or that urban stude nts pref er urban fiction. Because of the experiences I†E2„ўve described, because I once went to a one-room school myself, and because as an adult I've lived in small towns, urban & suburban neighborhoods and the city of Madison, I'm a reluctant librarian when it comes to trying to define, nail down or even label who any of our young readers actually are .
Cordially, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse_at_wisc.edu Emeritus Director, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), School of Ed ucation, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:35:14 -0500
Many of the artists and writers I have interviewed for my various books-- Richard Egielski, Terry Pratchett, Jules Feiffer, among others--were reluc tant readers, or readers only of "non-approved" reading matter such as the comics. Their reading histories and surprising and instructive. Richard Egielski, for example, told me that after reading the Classic Comics vers ion of MOBY DICK, he sought out the film version on television. Then, afte r seeing the film a number of times, he decided to take a crack at Melvill e. There is no telling what will lead a particular child to "good" literat ure, and the goal should therefore be to leave open as many pathways as po ssible.
Leonard S. Marcus 54 Willow Street, #2A Brooklyn, NY 11201 USA
T 718 596-1897 E leonardsma_at_aol.com W www.leonardmarcus.com
Message-----
From: Claudia Pearson To: Meghan McCarthy ; Boagjohns_at_aol.com ; gmkruse@wisc.edu; ccbc-net@ccbc.education.wisc.edu Sent: Fri, Feb 4, 2011 2:00 pm Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
I am somewhat opposed to the whole idea of finding books a "reluctant read er" is willing to read. Reading is not supposed to be just about what a ki d already knows, but about expanding horizons. The goal is to open their minds to the idea of imagining different ways of being, to generate feeli ngs of empathy and understanding, isn't it?
Kari-Lynn Winters looked at some readers' seeming lack of interest in char acters and subjects they knew nothing about as part of her research. Very interesting stuff. I was especially interested in the readers' lack of in terest in characters that were not like them. Although it was not the focu s of her study, it would be interesting to extrapolate from her research to explore the reasons why boys often don't read about/relate to main cha racters who are female while girls have no problem reading about boys, and to the ways in which and reasons why readers will identify with/relate to anthropomorpic characters who are nothing like them.
Claudia Pearson coRA SCBWI SouthernBreeze pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net
See Award-winning illustrator, EB Lewis, at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators GA, AL, MS Spring Conference '11 in Atlanta - Re gistration is now open! www.southern-breeze.org
----- Original Message -----
From: Meghan McCarthy To: pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net;Boagjohns@aol.com;gmkruse@wisc.edu;ccbc-net@c cbc.education.wisc.edu Sent: 2/4/2011 12:35:59 PM Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
I'm actually talking about this on my blog right now. I had many attention problems growing up and had a hard time reading. In the 4th grade my teac her sent me to a doctor for testing. I did an interview with my mother on this very topic and I'm posting it in bits and pieces. You can read it he re:
I think it is important to realize that people like me can go on to succee d AND publish! Also, it's about picking the right reading material. The ch ild must find something he or she is interested in! I'd say I was and AM a reluctant reader. I will get very into reading something if it's the RI GHT something.
Meghan McCarthy
From: Claudia Pearson To: "Boagjohns_at_aol.com" ; gmkruse@wisc.edu; ccbc-net@cc bc.education.wisc.edu Sent: Thu, February 3, 2011 8:44:15 PM Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
So far as I can tell, there are basically two types of reluctant readers. The first is comprised of those who have visual learning issues, dyslexia or decoding deficits or attention disorders which prevent them from actua lly reading the words and sentences.
The second type of reluctant reader can read the words just fine, but has no interest in reading. This may be because the reader prefers other acti vities, but I suspect that a large number of these potential readers have never made the cognitive leap required to fill in the details fiction lea ves out or only suggests.
Kari-Lynn Winters studied the ways in which integrating the arts with read ing can help students make the necessary cognitive connections. Her resear ch results and the classroom activities she used are reported in her book, Beyond Words: Using the Arts to Enhance Early Reading Comprehension.
Claudia Pearson coRA SCBWI SouthernBreeze pearsoncrz_at_earthlink.net
See Award-winning illustrator, EB Lewis, at the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators GA, AL, MS Spring Conference '11 in Atlanta - Re gistration is now open! www.southern-breeze.org
----- Original Message -----
From: To: gmkruse_at_wisc.edu;ccbc-net@ccbc.education.wisc.edu Sent: 1/29/2011 7:34:30 AM Subject: Re:
Trying to define "reluctant readers"
Hi, Ginny
You are so wise in your writings. I too find it difficult to "define" a reluctant reader. I think as librarians we need to try to discover the ar ea in which a reluctant reader is truly interested and try to find materia l to fit his/her needs in that area AS A STARTING POINT. As a reader over a long life span - I call myself a very reluctant reader when it comes to fantasy! When I worked as a school librarian, I would put books on a tab le with no notes about them and see who took what. It is amazing what "rel uctant readers" will select if given a chance to make their own choices.
H.M. Smith
In a message dated 1/28/2011 5:41:05 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, gmkruse_at_w isc.edu writes:
On 1/27/2011 6:52 PM, Sherry Rampey wrote: "...you wanted to know what the commonalities were among RR's, truth be told, they vary across the nation . They can range from innercity kids, who may like urban fiction; or subur ban kids who like the manga; or it could be the rural kids who like to kee p things realistic..."
Between grades one and twelve, my daughter Ann was a "special education" student. (That was the language used when Ann was young.) Ann learned to read in first grade. She became not only an "avid reader," but a "life-lo ng reader," as well. Most recently Ann read Ted Kennedy's autobiography, and currently she's reading the new biography about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. While Ann was a girl, I noticed that the books suggested by te achers and other librarians to special ed students were definitely "reluct ant reader" books, even series. These novels were, and they were action pa cked, featuring - for example - young teens wh o were juvenile delinquent s or drug users. There was an assumption that some or all of the kids - un derstood to be "challenged readers" or otherwise "reluctant" to read for pleasure - will want to read about kids in trouble or troubled kids.
One of my former school library positions was in Newton, Massachusetts. It was a fabulous job with a bevy of high-powered volunteers in an absolutel y terrific public school with a student population including black student s bussed there daily from Boston. There was abundant funding for me to dev elop specialized book and media collections, one of which was a "Black Stu dies Collection." A certain day in that wonderful school library is etche d in my memory. That afternoon one of the Black students from Boston asked me to recommend a book she could check out to read over the weekend. I ea gerly showed her two or three of the newest books in the Black Studies she lves. She looked me in the eye and quietly said, "Mrs. Kruse, I real l y prefer to read fantasies. Don't you have any fantasies to recommend to me ?"
Sherry, I can't be certain that rural kids "like to keep things realistic, " or that only suburban kids take to the manga, or or that urban students prefer urban fiction. Because of my two experiences (above), because I once went to a one-room rural school, and because as an adult I've lived in small towns, urban & suburban neighborhoods and the city of Madison, I'm a "reluctant librarian" when it comes to trying to define, nail down or even label who any of our young readers actually are.
Cordially, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse_at_wisc.edu Emeritus Director, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), School of Ed ucation, University of Wisconsin - Madison On 1/27/2011 6:52 PM, Sherry Ra mpey wro te: "...you wanted to know what the commonalities were among RR 's, truth be told, they vary across the nation. They can range from inner city kids, who may like urban fiction; or suburban kids who like the manga ; or it could be the rural kids who like to keep things realistic..."
Between grades one and twelve, my daughter Ann was a "special education" student. (That was the language used when Ann was young.) Ann learned to read in first grade. She became not only an "avid reader," but a "life-lo ng reader," as well. Most recently Ann read Ted Kennedy's autobiography, and currently she's reading the new biography about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. While Ann was a girl, I noticed that the books suggested by te achers and other librarians to special ed students were definitely "reluct ant reader" books, even series. These novels were, and they were action pa cked, featuring - for example - young teens who were juvenile delinquents or drug users. There was an assumption that kids who were "challenged re aders" or otherwise "reluctant" to read for pleasure will want to read abo ut kids in trouble or troubled kids.
One of my former school library positions was in Newton, Massachusetts. It was a dream job with a bevy of high-powered volunteers in an absolutely terrific public school and a student population including black students bussed to school daily from Boston. There was abundant funding for me to develop specialized book and media collections, one of which was a "Black Studies Collection." I remember a day when one of the students from Bost on asked me to recommend a book she could check out to read over the weeke nd. I eagerly showed her two or three of the newest books in the Black Stu dies shelves. She looked me in the eye and quietly said, "Mrs. Kruse, I re ally prefer to read fantasies. Do you have any fantasies to recommend to me?"
Sherry, I can't be certain that rural kids "like to keep things realistic, " that only suburban kids take to the manga, or that urban stude nts pref er urban fiction. Because of the experiences I†E2„ўve described, because I once went to a one-room school myself, and because as an adult I've lived in small towns, urban & suburban neighborhoods and the city of Madison, I'm a reluctant librarian when it comes to trying to define, nail down or even label who any of our young readers actually are .
Cordially, Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse_at_wisc.edu Emeritus Director, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), School of Ed ucation, University of Wisconsin - Madison
---Received on Mon 07 Feb 2011 08:35:14 AM CST
