Hot+Topic+2+-+Motivating+Boys+to+Read

//Motivating Boys to Read//

//** A student needs the foundational skills to read, such as phonemic awareness and comprehension strategies. **////** However, lacking motivation will likely mean that the student WILL NOT read. (Gambrell, 1996, p. 15) **//

Boys. They walk our hallways. They fill our classrooms. They sit in our desks. And for many of us, they are our sons who live under our own roofs. Research is showing that boys and girls are not the same when it comes to reading, and many of the things we are doing in our classrooms are actually discouraging boys from reading. Can anything be done? Absolutely! Many professionals have recognized this crisis and have developed strategies that we can use to support and encourage boys to become successful and engaged readers.

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**What does the data show?**
(Ontario Ministry of Education, 2004)
 * In all Canadian provinces, the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) showed that in 2000 girls consistently scored higher than boys on the reading test.
 * In 2001, the PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) assessment was conducted using Grade 4 students in 34 countries, includingCanada(whereOntarioandQuebecparticipated). Girls outperformed boys in every country.
 * Grade 3 and 6 reading and writing test results from the EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) show that girls outperform boys in both reading and writing. However, math results do not show the same gaps.

Smith and Wilhelm (2002) warn about overgeneralizing, however they recognize that there are some characteristics of boys and girls that can be a helpful starting point.

Consider **achievement:**

 * Girls often learn to read faster than boys.
 * Many boys read less than girls do.
 * Girls are often more successful than boys at understanding narrative and expository texts.
 * Boys tend to be better than girls at information retrieval and work-related reading tasks.

Consider **attitude**:
 * ===== Generally boys value reading as less of an activity than girls do. =====
 * ===== Many boys prefer to read for functional reasons rather than leisure. =====
 * ===== Considerably more boys call themselves “nonreaders” than girls. =====
 * Boys often spend less time reading and are less excited about reading than girls.

(Smith and Wilhelm, 2002, p. 10)

Video Clip: Let's Get Boys Reading and Writing
Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm is an internationally known researcher, teacher, and author and is currently Professor of English Education at Boise State University in Ohio. He is the Senior Literacy Consultant for Project X, published by Oxford University Press Canada. Listen as he discusses what makes texts attractive to boys.

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**Some Strategies to Motivate Boys to Read**

 * **Expand our definition of reading:** Let boys know that fiction novels are not the only definition of reading. Blogs, websites, audio books, nonfiction, and much more certainly counts! (Sczieska, n.d.)


 * **Select a variety of appropriate resources for classroom use:** Consider abandoning the traditional novel for mischievous humor, action (over emotion), series (which is familiar and comfortable), science fiction or fantasy, newspapers, magazines, comics, instruction manuals, or even trading cards. (Maloney, 2002)


 * **Make a variety of “boy-friendly” texts available**: In your classroom, provide texts that are musical (e.g. songs, videos, TV shows), visual (websites, cartoons, graphic novels), sustain engagement (books in a series), provide multiple perspectives, contain exportable knowledge (e.g. information boys can use in conversation), are novel, are edgy/subversive, have powerful ideas, and are funny. (Smith and Wilhelm, pp. 150-157)


 * **Enlist male role models:** Boys need to see strong male role models who enjoy reading, such as teacher-librarians or fathers, to help them see that reading can be a masculine activity. (Booth, 2002, pp. 17-18)


 * **Try using literature circles:** Literature circles support boys by helping them think about what they read through a variety of response activities and allows an opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion about the text. By their very nature, literature circles allow students to choose their texts (Booth, p. 44)


 * **Encourage choice:** Giving boys an opportunity to choose what they read gives a sense of ownership. (Booth, p. 24)


 * **Subscribe to a magazine of interest:** As we broaden our definition of reading, magazines are a wonderful way to engage boys. Try Boys’ Quest magazine, written specifically to appeal to the male reader. Order at [].

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 * **Work with boys to find books of interest:** Teacher-librarians can support boys in suggesting reading materials of interest. Providing book lists geared for boys will help them find books that are more likely to interest them. Try the humorous website by John Sczieska, [|www.guysread.com], a literacy initiative which contains reading lists as well as other resources that can motivate boys to read and help make reading cool. Here are a few other places to find booklists:

Implications
“A good book for a boy is one he wants to read.” (Maloney, 2002)

Recent studies in the literacy field suggest that as teachers we must focus less on school-defined reading skills, educational attainment, and the ability to read great literature, and more on the everyday practices and use of literacy in the home, community and workplace. (Richmond & Miles, 2004, p. 61)

** Critical Challenge **

After exploring this issue of motivating boys to read, choose **ONE** (or more) of the following prompts to respond to:

(a) reflect on a best practice you have learned that you may integrate into your teaching, (b) find and describe a book that could be of interest to boys, **OR** (c) describe a text (not a book) that could pique the interest of a boy.

Please post your response in the "Discussion" tab on this page. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas!