“Extensive reading of material of many kinds, both in and out of school, results in substantial growth in vocabulary and comprehension abilities and in the information base of students, provided the difficulty of the reading material is appropriate to current reading level.”  (Squires, J. R. (2004).  “Extensive Reading.”  In Cawelti, G. ed. Handbook of Research on Improving Student Achievement, 3^rd ed. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service, P. 126.

      Public librarians and middle grades school library media specialists and reading teachers throughout the state were provided with a list of high interest/low readability books.  After they recommended some titles to be removed or added, 130 books are listed on the revised Middle Grades Reading Network High Interest/Low Readability Books.

      The books are written at a third, fourth, or fifth grade reading level.  Reading teachers using reading test results and other information know the reading level of their students.  They can work with their school librarians to know where the books are located so that students can be matched with books that interest them.

     School situations are different so reading teachers and school library media specialists in each school need to figure out the best way to engage middle grades students reading below their grade placements with high interest books that they can enjoy.  Some suggestions follow:

 

Inventory the school library collection to determine which of the books on the list are already available. Purchase books from the list that are not in the school library’s collection. Add titles to Accelerated Reader or Reading Counts programs. Help reading teachers know where the books are located. Provide lists of all the books to teachers so that they are familiar with subject, titles, and authors. Help students learn about the books that are available to them and how to locate them in the school library. Allow reading teachers to check out sets of the books for use in classrooms.  At the same time, encourage use of similar books located in the school library.