ABSTRACT
Over the past four years, I have come to recognize independent reading-time when students can read texts of their own choice and at their own reading level-as an important and valuable component of my junior high reading curriculum. I view independent reading not only as a time for students to practice and improve their reading skills, but also as an opportunity for them to develop a lifelong love of reading, to see as I do the pleasure that can come from experiencing the world through books. However, in reality, it remained a constant struggle to engage my often reluctant students in their reading. On independent reading days, I was repeatedly faced with students who had left their books at home, others whose eyes drifted off the page and stared into space, still others who tore through the pages of book after book at lightning speed yet could not recall anything about the books, and finally students who viewed independent reading time as nothing more than nap time or social hour. As I was not willing to give up independent reading altogether, I decided to conduct my inquiry project around the question of how to engage these reluctant readers.
