Gender Differences

1. Gender Differences Created By: Heather Larson

2. “Girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice.” “Boys are made of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails.”

3. There are many stereotypes within our society today, based on gender

4. Home Life: Chores Females • Dishes • Laundry • Cleaning • Cooking • Child Care • Shopping Males • Trash Removal • Lawn Care • Vehicle Maintenance • Home Repairs

5. Interests and Hobbies Females • Sewing • Crocheting • Scrapbooking • Crafting • Baking Males • Sports • Cars • Video Games • Fishing • Hunting

6. Careers Females • Nurse • Teacher • Librarian • Waitress • Seamstress Males • Mechanic • Barber • Preacher • Accountant • Police • Firefighter

7. Children enter school with stereotypes and misconceptions based on gender.

8. Some common misconceptions students make: • Girls have long hair; boys have short hair (Paley, 1984, p. 18) • Girls play babies; boys play superheroes (Paley, 1984, p. ??) • Girls wear dresses; boys wear pants • Girls color; boys construct • Girls wear bows; boys wear hats • Girls like pink; boys like blue

9. Example: “Teacher: When we come to the circle now, the boys sit on one side and the girls on the other. Then when we play circle games it’s always a whole bunch of boys who get turns and then a whole bunch of girls. Mary Ann: You could pick the whole bunch of girls first. Teacher: I think that it would be better if we were all mixed together as we used to be. Charlotte: This is better, because what if a girl’s hair is too short and someone thinks she is a boy but then they can see she’s sitting with the girls? Jeremy: Or if someone’s in disguise but then you know by where they’re sitting. Mary Ann: If they’re in disguise they could try to fool you. Jeremy: Then you’ll know it’s the other side from where they are sitting.” Paley, 1984, p. 18

10. This is reflected within a child’s play Girls: Playing house in a play-kitchen Boys: Playing racing with die-cast cars

11. Example of a Girl’s make-believe story “Once upon a time there was six beautiful princesses, but two was the most beautiful and the others were just a little bit beautiful. They danced all night long and in the morning their shoes were all worn out. Two was not worn out. Then two princes came and married the two princesses. But they didn’t live in the same castle. They lived in two different castles and one had gold in it.” –Charlotte, Kindergarten.

12. Example of a Boy’s make-believe story “Once there was Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader cut off his hand. Then IG88 froze Han Solo. Then Luke killed the storm troopers. Then Hammerhead shot Han Solo, but he was not dead, only bleeding a lot.” –Jonathan, Kindergarten.

13. The exception… “Once there was a little boy and his name was Pretty. They called him Pretty because he was so pretty. His name was really Hansel. There was this sister. He didn’t know he had a sister. The mother and father told him and then they had candy and went for a walk.” –Teddy, Kindergarten.

14. All children learn differently, but the differences between boys and girls is greater than the differences as a whole group.

15. Girls v.s Boys • Have better fine motor skills • Tend to underestimate their abilities • Result to “group harmony” and conflict resolution • Are more active • Tend to overestimate their abilities • More physically aggressive

16. Some learning differences: • Boys are more likely to be diagnosed with learning disabilities, including ADHD, and exhibit signs earlier. • Boys tend to lag behind girls in language, attention and fine motor skills, especially in lower grades.   • Girls are more likely to struggle with spatial learning, including math.   • Girls are more likely to exhibit signs of anxiety or depression due to schoolwork. Retrieved From: http://www.washingtonparent.com/articles/1201/gender.php

17. As Children Grow Older… • Learning differences begin decrease as children get into upper elementary and middle schools, but they are still clearly present. • “We are learning more and more about the learning differences between boys and girls. In middle school these differences are great, and they can have academic, social, physical, and emotional implications” (Chadwell, 2007, para. 11). • “Teachers must recognize the energy that boys bring to the classroom as a learning opportunity instead of behavior that needs to be controlled” (Chadwell, 2007, para. 5). • “Teachers must delight in the richness of girls, and accept their tendency to please the teacher, all while appropriately channeling their desire to please during discussions, lessons, or units” (Chadwell, 2007, para. 6).

18. How Can We Help Both Genders? • “Expose students to same-gender adults and peers who excel in domains commonly associated with the opposite gender” (Ormrod, 2011, p.124). • “To get boys to use more words in description, let them draw pictures of what they are going to write about. You will get much richer detail than by just asking them to write” (CEC, 2011). • “Provide frequent "brain breaks" when boys are learning challenging things” (CEC, 2011). • “Use word problems in math to help girls. The "language" of math isn't as easy for girls to decode. Girls' inductive processing makes it easier for them to solve problems using verbal skills” (CEC, 2011). • “Give girls extra encouragement when they do well in math and science -- even more than you think they need. Girls often feel outdone by more aggressive boys, and they need praise to gain confidence” (CEC, 2011).

19. Strategies to Reduce Gender Differences • Occasionally use small groups with members of the same sex • Offer physically active options • Reinforce the importance of all academic areas • Make sure to alter calling on boys and girls • Allow boys to pursue “boy interests” in reading and writing • Use curriculum materials that show both genders in a positive light

20. Photo Resources Harris, D. &. T. (Photographer). (2009). 3 cute little girls playing at the play kitchen!. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?q=girls playing house&num=10&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1280&bih=921&tbm=isch&tbnid=MOLVeVLXnQ8rQM:&imgrefurl=http://ourbabykate.blogspot.com/2009/11/happy-birthday-to-youhappy-birthday-to.html&docid=qWqkL31DDOJ95M&imgurl=http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9O62yVgQ-gs/SwQlFot4v8I/AAAAAAAAR18/mAOYwM42a7g/s1600/IMG_0085.JPG&w=1600&h=1067&ei=wvqrULvYKcHR2QWWnoGoCw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=407&sig=116564033820052334651&page=1&tbnh=150&tbnw=211&start=0&ndsp=33&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:119&tx=167&ty=98 Simmons, N. (Photographer). (2011). Retrieved from http://www.dealerelite.net/forum/topics/men-are-from-carswomen-are?commentId=5283893:Comment:110004&xg_source=activity (2009). Kids in the mud. (2009). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?q=boys playing in the mud&um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1280&bih=921&tbm=isch&tbnid=6BdwjyHZ6hVSVM:&imgrefurl=http://www.queen-of-the-jungle.com/2009/04/&docid=NPn3tA6-6s4mPM&imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/3427491865_e3c54de605.jpg&w=500&h=375&ei=gKWzUOm_CZPzrAGY3YGACw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=383&vpy=305&dur=350&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=130&ty=109&sig=117072299536288314023&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=221&start=0&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0,i:111 (2012). Girls rosebud angel costume. (2012). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?q=girls as angels halloween&um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&biw=1280&bih=921&tbm=isch&tbnid=2d_1CE9vso7QNM:&imgrefurl=http://www.partycity.com/category/halloween+costumes/girls+costumes+accessories/girls+angel+costumes.do&docid=Rz-9HVaFFIS5IM&imgurl=http://partycity6.scene7.com/is/image/PartyCity/_ml_p2p_pc_badge_taller1%3F%24_ml_p2p_pc_thumb_taller1%24%26%24product%3DPartyCity/P399854_full&w=175&h=236&ei=QKWzUIbUOZHurAHSzYH4CA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1001&vpy=620&dur=2232&hovh=188&hovw=140&tx=86&ty=167&sig=117072299536288314023&page=2&tbnh=142&tbnw=105&start=42&ndsp=52&ved=1t:429,r:75,s:0,i:312

21. Resources Chadwell, D. 2007. Engaging the differences between boys and girls. Middle Matters. 15 (4). Retrieved from: http://www.chadwellconsulting.com/Middle%20Matters%20Article.pdf Council for Exceptional Children, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=6270 Der Bedrosian, J. 2012. Boys vs. Girls: Do they learn differently? The Washington Parent. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonparent.com/articles/1201/gender.php Ormrod, J. 2011. Educational Psychology. Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Paley, V. G. 1984. Boys and Girls: Superheroes in the doll corner. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.