Considerations and Strategies for Choosing Texts for 3-5 Students Who Find Reading Difficult or are Reluctant To Read

1. Ready, Set, Match!
Texts for Struggling
Readers
Elizabeth Swaggerty & Faison Powers
East Carolina University

3. Know Your Students

7. Interest; Level
El Deafo: 3-9; 2-3
After Happily Ever After: 3-6; 2-3
Amulet: 3-7; 3
Lunch Lady: 3-5; 2-3
Amazing Days of Abby Hayes: 3-5; 3
Whatever After: 3-7; 2-3
Middle School: 5-9; 4
Bone: 5-8; 3
Ghostopolis: 5-9; 3
Bad Island: 5-9; 3
Island Series: 3-7; 2-3
Dear Dumb Diary: 3-5,;3
Geronimo Stilton: 3-5; 2-3
Double Play at Short: 3-5; 3
Judy Moody: 3-5; 3

10. Know Your Texts

23. Resources
BOOK TRAILERS:
https://booktrailers4kidsandya.wordpress.com/ (book trailers compiled by a school librarian in New
Zealand)
http://www.scholastic.com/teacher/videos/teacher-videos.htm
Scholastic (videos, books and series)
FIND BOOKS:
Scholastic Book Wizard: www.scholastic.com/bookwizard
Hi-lo (high interest, low readability) book lists (e.g., http://www.ala.org/alsc/compubs/booklists/Hi-
Lo_Booklist)
Jon Scieszka’s http://guysread.com/
James Pattereson’s http://www.readkiddoread.com/
DIGITAL BOOKS:
Tumblebooks: http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/about_tumblebooks.aspx
Scholastic Storia: http://www.scholastic.com/storia-school/
Unite for Literacy: http://www.uniteforliteracy.com/
WEBSITES FOR KIDS:
Kids Sports Illustrated: http://www.sikids.com/
Kids National Geographic: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
Swaggerty, E. (2015). Selecting texts for upper elementary students who avoid reading or find reading
difficult. In Deborah Wooten and Bernice Cullinan’s (Eds.) Children’s literature in the reading program:
An invitation to read, 4th edition. (p. 150-166). Newark, DE: International Literacy Association.

24. Faison Powers
POWERSF10@students.ecu.edu
Elizabeth Swaggerty
swaggertye@ecu.edu