Gary
Paulsen. He's the real deal.
At the Teach Jake to Read conference I recently
attended, teachers were talking enthusiastically about reading to their students.
"At first they grumble but then they get right into it," one person
said. "We gather on beanbags and it's a calming, bringing-together
time," another said. Some teachers used Kindles. Some used iPads.
Others preferred paper and, if a student missed a class, copied the missed
pages, so s/he could catch up.
Here are
some titles I'm adding to my pile for most reluctant readers of
all.
Hatchet is a tried and true favorite.
It's an exciting, believable story of one boy's survival against the elements
and it's fairly easy reading. The author lives in the wilds and, in the perfect
small details, it shows.
Here's a
new one I'm interested in. It's getting rave reviews and is the first of
a trilogy.
This one might be for a younger teen audience but
I've seen this series inspire readers who were really switched off. Skulduggery Pleasant is a skeleton detective.
2 comments:
I read The Hatchet with my 11 year old son (very reluctant reader) earlier this year and it was a great success. We both enjoyed it and did a lot of talking about the story and the circumstances. It also generated a lot of discussion about what might happen next. It has encouraged him to give other chapter books a go! Great for kids that have an interest in the outdoors, Scouts, camping and survival. Good examples of problem solving and learning from experience.
Thanks for the info! I like this book too. If you enjoy books with a young protagonist, and back to the earth/survival kinds of themes, it's a winner.
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