How to help reluctant readers
Reluctant readers are not necessarily the same as struggling readers. Although their reading abilities may range widely, these young people simply have trouble connecting with books independently.
The power of choice
Find a Book is designed to be useful for teachers, parents and, particularly, students. The idea is simple—let readers browse freely in their areas of interest, within their Lexile® range. Reluctant readers will feel more confident and interested if they know that the books they are browsing are ones that they can read. It takes one kind of uncertainty out of the process for them.
Help your reluctant readers to understand the developmental-level and Lexile-range sliders on Find a Book. They can see books intended for young people at any level they choose. Some skilled but reluctant readers respond well to books intended for older children, so they might move the developmental-level slider up. Other readers who are below grade level in their ability can find books at low readability levels that are still age appropriate, so they might move the Lexile-range sliders down.
Reluctant readers also can use some of our Lexile codes. Books coded HL (High-Low) and GN (Graphic Novel) are particularly engaging for readers who have trouble latching onto a story. You can search just for books with these codes from the book results page in Find a Book .