JIS English for Academic Purposes

Resources for Teachers and Schools Exploring Strategies to Close the Achievement Gap of English Language Learners

Where can you find books that will hold the interest of older readers who are still learning to read? What follows are lists of books which librarians & publishers have gathered 'for reluctant readers,' and sites with books specifically written with "hi-low" readers in mind. Keep in mind that a book for the "reluctant reader" audience may be aimed at a student who is reluctant to read standard topics, but has good reading skills. Also keep in mind that your readers' skills may not be as good as you think they are - take a listen to their reading before you hand them books and say "enjoy!" The only thing worse than having a book that's too hard to read is having an "easy" book that's too hard to read handed to you.

Teach students how to fix run-on sentences.

In this lesson, students analyze a writer's use of sensory details and descriptive language in a New York Times article reviewing the Apple iPhone. Then, students are asked to write original product reviews which incorporate some of the descriptive writing techniques identified and evaluated in class.