Many teachers feel that students should not struggle with text; instead, they should read easier texts in order to learn from them and make adequate growth in reading. In turn, teachers might use easier or leveled texts as a solution or a graphic novel or multimodal version to differentiate text reading and to motivate and engage reluctant…

A secondary English teacher tells how he and his students confronted the question, How do we reclaim the joy of reading? After admitting that they didn't read very much for his assignments, the students were invited to help figure out where the joy of reading goes as students grow older. As the teacher and students discussed their experiences as…

Contemporary transformations in digital technologies have prompted a reassessment of what literacy means and what is determined a "text." Traditionally, text has been perceived as written messages and symbols in the forms of books, magazines, and newspapers. Today, text is recognized as much more than written words or images. As teachers consider…

This article describes a small-scale project designed to help engage reluctant adolescent readers in voluntary reading practice during sustained silent reading (SSR). Three teachers worked with a secondary school reading expert to identify and agree on elements of effective instructional conversations and then implemented these "book talks" with a…

An important research paradigm applied to the study of adolescent resistance to reading--listening to student voice--has yielded rich information regarding adolescent literacy practices, adolescent agency, and adolescent identity as components of resistance to reading. Instructional perspectives of teachers and researchers also serve to shed light…