Preparing Reading Professionals (Second Edition) —
Abstract of

Engaging the Disengaged: Using Learning Clubs to Motivate Struggling Adolescent Readers and Writers

Heather K. Casey

This article describes a seventh-grade teacher's use of learning clubs to motivate struggling students to engage in literacy events and foster literacy development. The data suggests the evolution of these learning clubs in this teacher's classroom is organic, emerging in response to the unique literacy needs of the students in this urban setting. This teacher motivates the struggling students in this heterogeneous class towards success by balancing a strong awareness of content, context, discourse, and pedagogy. The findings suggest learning clubs offer a useful framework for supporting adolescents who struggle with literacy and offers potential for work with all students across the content areas.

Casey, H.K. (2010). Engaging the Disengaged: Using Learning Clubs to Motivate Struggling Adolescent Readers and Writers. In R.M. Bean, N. Heisey, & C.M. Roller (Eds.), Preparing Reading Professionals (Second Edition) (pp. 265-275). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.