Do you have a student that is your puzzle student this year? This child is very capable when it comes to reading, yet he or she rarely reads for pleasure. These puzzles students are often on or even above grade level in reading. Yet, they consider reading a chore rather than a passion. You've tried every incentive in your bag of tricks this year, but nothing seems to excite him or her.
I have often found that these bright students who are not reading for pleasure have not built up their stamina. Many times it is their lack of attention span that is interfering with their reading. They can read harder, more complex text which is often found in a chapter book. But, when they look at a book that is on their reading level, they get overwhelmed by the number of words on a page. It is like their brains turn off when they see a thick book or a page "too full" of words.
Graphic novels are the key to helping them build stamina, while reading books at their level. Graphic novels are organized in "small bite size pieces" much like the folder strategy below. Students can clearly see a beginning and end for each small section of reading.
If you click on the Scholastic Book Wizard sign below you will see that graphic novels have been adapted from many chapter books that you are already familiar with. These books come in a wide range of reading levels, so you can differentiate this activity to meet your students' needs.
I first used this "small bite" approach for assignments. If the page had too many words, they had trouble getting started on the assignment. Once I began to cover up part of the assignment with this folder, they able to focus on the words that they saw. You can read more about this in the post I wrote about it.
1 comment
I never thought about how great graphic novels would be for these students! Thank you for such a great tip!
~Fern
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