Attendance. The first week of the study consisted of two meetings, each attended by only one student due
to absences. Andrew attended the first day, eager to participate, telling the researcher, “If someone takes time to
read aloud to you, that’s great.” The sole participant for the second session, Billy, asked to hear a history story. As
with Andrew, Billy seemed to appreciate the attention, laughing at characters’ antics, commenting at the session’s
end that the time had gone by fast.
All three boys attended the third session, a state which continued until the end. One week, Billy’s mother had
asked him to miss the session because of time constraints. In his recounting, Billy responded, “No, I can’t miss
group.” Two more instances of dedication came from Charlie. One day he insisted his mother return him to school
following a dental appointment; and another day, after an encounter with after-school bullies, he still beat the
researcher to the meeting.
The day of the second session with all three boys present, two interesting developments occurred, which
indicated to the researcher the enthusiasm the boys were developing for their sessions. Charlie came to the
researcher’s classroom before school to say hi, a first. Also, as Billy left his class, he called back, “I’ll be there this
afternoon!”
The boys were always early to the sessions, talking to each other and playing video games during the 15
minutes before the reading started. Most days they had to be reminded to leave the session because of their
involvement in discussions or writing. Billy would go to the window every few minutes to check for his parents’ van.
Both Andrew and Billy were scolded by their parents for being late coming outside after the sessions. Neither was
remorseful, leaving the next session only after the researcher reminded them time was up.
One final exhibit of loyalty to the group occurred during the next-to-last session, when Charlie, who had won
a reward of two hours’ video games, gave up the first hour of play to attend the reading session. He was fully
engaged during the session, and as he was running from the library to join the other reward winners, he stopped and
returned to share a final thought on the day’s reading.
Physical reaction. The group met in the library. Complementing kinetic Andrew and humorous Billy, Charlie
brought a thoughtful and articulate countenance to the group. The boys all knew each other, and the chemistry was
positive. They arranged themselves around the oblong table in the same way each time, with Andrew and Billy on
one long side, Charlie on one or the other end, as the sun dictated, and the researcher opposite Andrew and adjacent
to Charlie.
Once arranged, the boys reacted physically to the stories. Laughter was a common response. All three boys
had selected humor as a favorite subject choice, so during the first three-student session, the researcher read three
humorous chapters from a memoir.