Reading is a tough nut to crack. You can get it, or seem to get it, for a period of time before really missing the mark. In my experience you typically don't have that with some math skills- got dividing with remainders one day and then not the next. I will have kids that get it and then suddenly pop out the oddest of responses to questions.
"Getting it" is vital to book groups. When kids are responsible for coming prepared to a meeting the ante is raised. Moreover, the bar is set higher with a group of peers. No one wants to show up unprepared and stall out the group because they plowed through 60 pages without truly reading- word calling if you will.
I'm not sure what has done it, but my book groups are super. I've worked hard to get kids in high-interest books they have self-selected as ones they'd like to read. I put kids in groups that are not dominated by one voice, but definitely have someone who cares about reading. If need be, those are the kids leaned on to move conversation or push thinking further. The last thing is I've cut out lots of the writing kids pass in. It has steadily decreased over my first 2+ years. Instead, kids will stop and jot in journals daily with a smaller assignment once a week (2-3 over the course of a novel study). Kids have shown up well prepared, excited to talk, and willing to interact respectfully. You can't beat that.
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