Hi Grinity,
My boy is your boy - in the attention department. :-) And perhaps because of this I find myself really drawn to some of the kids that others have trouble with.
One of the things I plan to do is NOT have the whole class reading the same book (although some may by choice). I intend to choose a theme/genre/topic etc. and present a list of possible book choices as well as be open to student suggestions. Then our discussions in class will be a more natural type of sharing - discussing how different authors develop different ideas, how their writing styles etc. lend (or not) to the tone/voice etc. being discussed. These discussions will let me know who is reading and who is not, who needs to read something more challenging and who needs to stay put or choose something different next time.
I am full of ideas but I am sure that I will alternately fail and succeed, succeed and fail. What I won't do is stop trying.
As always you have great and thoughtful suggestions.
