Engaging reluctant readers since 2012!
Teachers who work with struggling or reluctant readers need to teach how to abandon books. This is something I feel strongly about as a former teacher. However, I also draw from my own personal experience as a struggling reader. Growing up as a struggling reader, I thought that if I started a book, it meant…
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If I can impact one reader at a time to build their reading fluency to a point where they seek out other literature, then I have done my job. Why did L.B. Tillit start writing Hi-Lo books? This is a great question! I have a very good reason for why I began writing Hi-Lo books.…
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Is it possible to find Hi-Lo Books that inspire discussion? Yes, it is possible if the Hi-Lo books focus on plots and characters that reluctant readers buy into. However, finding books that struggling readers “buy into” may seem to some teachers a waste of time. Isn’t it more important to tackle the classics or required…
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It is often a challenge to find Hi-Lo books that offer appropriate and meaningful text for the High School grade level. What does it mean for a book to have “appropriate and meaningful text”? As a teacher, I encountered texts that drew plot lines around cliché themes for teens. Themes that seemed age appropriate, but…
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In my last blog, I shared that I was introduced to adolescent literature in college as part of a class. Up until that point in my life I struggled with reading because I learned to read and write in German first. But once I was in college, something began to change. The transformation began in…
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It was a complete accident that I learned the one thing about reading that impacted me the most as a writer. Hi-Lo books intentionally build reading fluency! Although, at the time, I didn’t have a clue it was happening to me. I grew up learning to read and write in German, although we spoke English…
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Reluctant readers are not stupid. In fact, they recognize “dumbed down” books. This is a highly offensive phrase used when discussing the structure of Hi-Lo books. It also shows a lack of understanding of the purpose and process of writing effective Hi-Lo books. Is it a surprise when reluctant readers don’t want to read those…
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Reading fluency plays a key role in reading comprehension. So how do we strengthen reading fluency? As a teacher of struggling readers, I learned that this did not mean that only those who could read fast were good readers. Speed was not the most important factor. In fact, I discovered a key habit that was…
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Hi-Lo Books offer a needed bridge in the reading process. In fact, Hi-Lo books help struggling readers! Hi-Lo books are not novels that should be dismissed as inferior literature. In fact, I believe that these very books offer the bridge needed for many readers to have a chance at accessing the literature available to them…
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Does it upset some struggling readers when their book is written on a lower reading level? I get it, if it does. But those thoughts only hold reluctant readers back. We must directly teach that reading levels are not a measure of self-worth or how smart someone is! Reading levels only inform readers were they…
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