Why is Independent Reading such a chore for so many?
Might it have something to do with it being independent?

Readers come in all shapes and sizes: some reach for the same copy of Diary of a Wimpy Kid again and again; some crack open a book if only to deflect attention; still others we'd maybe like to see put down the book every once in a while.  Every student comes to us with their own relationship to reading, which means one-to-one exchanges with the instructor will often be limited to that student's predisposition.  If the goal, however, is to spur engagement for all readers (not just those who already like to read), how might a more interactive and peer-driven model motivate students to care about reading?

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It's About Motivation

In classrooms around the world, students are moving away from self-directed reading as a leisure activity.  The research is clear—students report feeling less enthusiastic about reading and less motivated to prioritize reading by their communities.  Many express uncertainty with how to pick a book to begin with!  For middle school readers, this dip in engagement is particularly pronounced, at a time when young people are awash in new opportunities and experiences.  Compound this with an increasingly accessible suite of innovative gaming and online entertainment, and the champion of leisure reading will find a mighty tall hill to climb, indeed!
visual credit: Ethan M. Aldridge, "I Am That Is" (Redwall)
And in this we might find part of the problem.  For too many students, independent reading amounts to “just another assignment.”  Repetitive activities like reading logs or Accelerated Reader (AR) strip away some of the basic motivation to read at all—because we like to!—and replace it with an outsized emphasis on accountability and routine.  For students to develop a more personal relationship to reading, they need to identify what is valuable or relevant to them within the act of reading itself.  Opening this up as a forum between students becomes a natural bridge to sharing that experience—the good and the bad—and comparing titles that either captured their interest or bored them to tears.