Chapter 14 "When Kids Can't Read"

"If we can't use ourselves as guides for what makes a good book, then we're left with using what students tell us."

This chapter is mainly about using students as a guide to what we as teachers should have the students read. A good guideline to engage the students who hate reading is, think short, straightforward and chose a title with few characters. A few other tips on choosing a book that might appeal to many students is fiction books that have a lot of white space, some illustrations and thin books with short chapters. Many students seem to also enjoy books that have a plot with a lot of action that begins right away. I think listening to students and getting plenty of feedback when trying to engage non-readers in literature is to find out exactly what interests them. There are so many students that have different preferences and by understanding what appeals to the students we as teachers can better introduce literature to non-readers.