5 must read books for Inspiring Reluctant Middle School Readers
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Dec 12, 2023
Books for reluctant middle school readers
We all have these students in our ELA classrooms. The students who do not like to read. Kids who don’t want to be seen as readers. Students who have a really hard time finding books they want to read. As teachers, it is a continuous struggle to try and engage these young readers. We need to open them up to the joy of really getting into and enjoying a new book. In this post I share some of my favorite professional development books that are full of tips and strategies for engaging reluctant middle school readers.
Affiliate links are included in this post for your shopping convenience. If you choose to order any of these diverse picture books through these links, Amazon will provide me with a small kickback (at no additional cost to you) that I will put toward the costs of keeping this blog up and running.
Book Love By Penny Kittle
In “Book Love”, Penny Kittle discusses the harsh truth about reluctant readers. Once graduation is over, so few adults choose to read for pleasure, and many have no interest in reading anything at all. How incredibly sad!
Kittle believes teachers have the ability to to rectify this problem by providing students with just right books and time to both read and respond. Throughout the book Kittle provides tips and strategies to help increase reading capacity, volume, and complexity. She also shares some great tips on building classroom libraries that are engaging and interesting for the students we have in our classrooms today.
You can check this book out on Amazon here.
If you are looking for more information on building successful classroom libraries, you may want to explore our post on creating your own high interest classroom library.
Readicide by Kelly Gallagher
In “Readicide“, Gallagher presents a frightening argument: reading is dying in our schools. While factors such as poverty and electronic entertainment are certainly adding to the problem, Gallagher believes that the true problems lie in the schools themselves. This is a super engaging read with a lot of actionable steps that teachers can take away and use in their classrooms right away.
Snag a copy on Amazon by clicking here.
If inspiring young readers is one of your teacher goals, you may want to check out our post on 3 ways to cultivate a love of reading.
Disrupting Thinking by Kyleene Beers
“Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matters” is an all time favorite of mine. In it, Beers discusses strategies to turn students into readers who are thoughtful, skillful, attentive, and responsive.
Every chapter in the book ends with a “Turn and Talk”. I love this, as it helped me to ask and answer tough questions while thinking deeply about my own classroom practice. I would highly recommend this book as a whole school or department book study!
Grab this book on Amazon here.
The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller
You can never go wrong with professional development books by the great Donalyn Miller. In “The Book Whisperer“, Miller advocates for student selected reading materials and providing time for students to read for enjoyment. I found this book both inspiring and encouraging. It is filled with actionable steps that teachers can implement right away. As an added bonus, this book comes with a great book list to help build up your classroom library with titles that kids actually want to read.
Pick up a copy on Amazon by clicking here.
For a list of books that are sure to engage your learners, check out these middle school novel study favorites.
Reading in the wild by Donalyn Miller
In “Reading in the Wild“, Donalyn Miller gives tips and strategies for creating “Wild Readers”. According to Miller, these individuals “incorporate reading into their personal identity to the degree that it weaves into their lives along with everything else that interests them”.
Throughout the book, Miller provides a variety of easy to implement steps to help carve out reading time, build up classroom libraries, and help students see reading as something that is both important and enjoyable.
Visit Amazon by clicking here to grab a copy.
If you are looking for more ways to encourage reading in your classroom, check out these benefits of teaching novel studies.
Looking for a way to inspire the reluctant middle school readers in your classroom?
Grab a FREE copy of this middle school novel list by clicking here or on the image below. It is filled with high interest books to help you build up your classroom library!
Want to read more posts about engaging middle school readers?
Check out the blog posts below!
Planning a Novel Study: A Step by Step Guide
Building Novel Study Engagement
Building Reading Comprehension Strategies
3 Ways to Cultivate a Love of Reading
Building an Engaging Classroom Library
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