Slides from the September 25 Booklist webinar dealing with content for struggling readers.

1. Reeling in
Those Struggling Readers

2. • Along with compelling fiction for struggling
readers, Orca also produces a growing body
of resource material to help students connect
with text and teachers and librarians connect
with students.
• Teachers’ guides, readers’ theater, a middle-
school language arts program tied to
curriculum and much more.

3. Orca Soundings are teen novels for reluctant
readers. These short, high-interest novels have
compelling characters and linear plots, and are
written by bestselling authors.
Many titles available in Spanish and all
available electronically.

4. This is the 10th year for Orca Soundings and
they continue to be popular with 85 titles and
1.3 million copies in readers hands.

5. • Orca Currents are short, high-interest
novels with contemporary themes for middle
school readers. These stories have
compelling characters and linear plots, all by
bestselling authors.
• Reading levels from 2.0 to 4.5

6. • Perfect for reluctant teen readers, Orca Sports
stories combine mystery and adventure with
sports themes, including a variety of team and
individual sports. Exciting plots and easy-to-read
language.
• Reading levels from 2.0 to 4.5

7. • Seven linked novels from well-known authors.
• Perfect to catch those struggling boy readers,
this series of linked novels provide a great
opportunity to have them read similar novels in
differing styles. Great for lit circles and more.
• www.SevenTheSeries.com

8. • Designed for adults struggling with literacy issues, the Rapid
Reads series is also very popular in high schools.
• Mature themes, compelling content and readable stories.
• Reading levels from 2.0 to 6.0.
• Discussion guides available at www.rapid-reads.com

9. Sidestreets
• SideStreets are edgy, fast-paced novels that
combine real-world themes and believable
characters to make for short, engaging books
—sure to engage the most reluctant reader.
• Reading levels from grade 2.0 to grade 6.0.

10. Resource Guides
• Comprehensive teachers’ guide available on
CD, as a bound book, or free as digital
downloads from orcabook.com.
• Teacher-created and designed to take the
guesswork out of reaching those struggling
readers.
• Includes information on how to use the books
in the classroom, facts about reading levels,
curriculum connections and themes.

11. ReachingReluctantReaders.com
• A dedicated website of resource material to help reach
reluctant readers.
• Nearly 50 percent of North Americans struggle with literacy to
some extent. At Reaching Reluctant Readers, you can find
books and build a reading program to encourage literacy in
your classroom or library.
• A balanced reading program, information on reading levels,
research-based theory behind literacy instruction, running lit
circles and class projects.
• A constantly changing and growing resource.

12. • Middle School Language Arts program.
• Teacher-created.
• Eight issues per year.
• Directly tied to language arts curriculum
including common core standards.
• Visit www.text2reader.com for more
information and a free trial.

14. • Orca digitizes all new titles and the complete
backlist is available electronically.
• We also offer site licenses and annual
subscriptions for collections and series of books at
both the school/library building level and the
district level.
• Individual ebooks available through all e-tailers.
• For information on digital subscriptions please
contact melanie@orcabook.com.

15. ORCA audio
• Book Buddy Go Reader – a new, single-
purpose MP3 player.
• Popular hi/low stories, with unabridged, word-
for-word audio.
• Hear and read is successful with striving
readers.
• Thirteen Orca Go Readers available now.

16. Now you know about the books…
But how do we reach those readers, reel them in and keep them
reading?
In the registration process we asked for questions and over the
years we have heard many more.
First a couple basic questions and then some selected
questions that were submitted. If I use your question I will be
sending you $100 in free books.

17. • Q. What is the best way to shelve titles that appeal to reluctant
readers?
• A. : Shelve like books together and make it easy for those
students who are already having trouble finding what they want
in the library. Make sure that the books don’t look like remedial
reading. Many students ask for the thinnest book in the library.
Why not shelve all the short, high-interest books on one shelf or
spinner? Call them “skinny reads” or “quick books.” Both
struggling readers and good readers will go to this shelf. If the
struggling readers see everyone wants the same books it will
take away some stigma.

18. • Q. How do you get hard-to-reach boys into the library?
• A. : Set up a shelf with a banner “Books for kids who hate to
read” – this will attract many non-readers. Also, book talking
the books can help, readers theater, posters and compelling
promotional material.
• Set up a display with “What everyone else is reading – or will
be soon!”

19. F AQ
• Q. Are graphic novels a good way to catch non-readers?
Christine Jaros (Frontier College)
• A. : Definitely! Many struggling readers, especially boys, are
used to reading comics and graphic novels and do not see
any stigma or difficulty attached to it – as long as the content
is compelling enough.

20. F AQ
• Q: How can we use these resources to operate literature
circles on themes so that every student doesn't have to read
the same book? (Clair D. Burnaby North Secondary)
• A: Great question. Since struggling readers like to self-select
books, setting up a lit circle by theme with a group of different
books on a similar theme but at varied reading levels is a great
idea. At Orca we provide themes for all books so one can
easily customize a list with different books but a unifying
theme. Many publishers will provide this option as well. Many
themes will work – alienation, relationships etc. See our site for
details on running lit circles.

21. F AQ
• Q : I work in a prison library where readers keep their low reading level
hidden, to avoid harassment and manipulation by other inmates. What can I
do to provide material that addresses those needs without exposing the
perceived weakness? (Brandy B. Pleasant Valley State Prison)
• A. : Another great question. Provide mature-looking books with appealing
covers that are written at a lower level. An Orca title that has been very
successful in custody is Barrio Kings – partly because of subject matter that
speaks to the population and also because of a very strong and compelling
cover.

22. • Thanks for all the questions that were submitted. There are many more good
questions that we have not had the time to answer here but we will put them
all together and post them on www.ReachingReluctantReaders.com after the
webinar.
• Feel free to send question to hilowquestions@orcabook.com if you have a
query we have not answered in the webinar.
• Brandy Buenafe from Pleasant Valley State Prison Library, Claire D at
Burnaby North Secondary School and Christine Jaros from Frontier
College have all won $100 in free books. See? Pays to ask questions!

23. Thanks for participating in today’s webinar!
And to give you some books to hook those readers,
we have 5 sets of Seven (the series) to give away.
Email andrew@orcabook.com
for a chance to win.