Readin’ Writin’ and Roughhousing……… Engaging the Minds of Boys in Literacy

1. Readin’ Writin’ and Roughhousing………Engaging the Minds of Boys in Literacy Presented by: Jill White

2. “Houston we have a problem.” • "Mainly, we found no state in which boys did not lag behind girls in reading at the elementary level, the middle level and the high school level. So it's pretty clear: Boys are not doing as well as girls in reading." Jack Jennings, President, Center on Education Policy.

3. The 100 Girl Project For every 100 girls diagnosed with a special education disability 217 boys are diagnosed with a special education disability. For every 100 girls diagnosed with emotional disturbance 324 boys are diagnosed with emotional disturbance For every 100 women ages 18 to 21 in correctional facilities there are 1430 men behind bars. For every 100 females ages 15 to 19 that commit suicide 549 males in the same range kill themselves.

4. Boy’s perceptions of reading • Significantly more boys identify themselves as non-readers than girls, especially in middle and high school. • Boys value reading less than girls • Boys have much less interest in reading for leisure than girls do. • Boys take longer to learn to read than girls do. • Boys may have rich literate lives outside of school, but what they reject is “school literacy.” • (Smith and Wilhelm 2002, pg 10)

5. What can teachers do?

6. Have the right stuff! • Books that : • Represent how boys see themselves • Have a lot of action and adventure • Strong visuals, graphic novels, comics • Represent “boy humor” • Are informative, non-fiction, how-to books • Smith and Wilhelm, 2002 (pg 150-157)

9. Boys need good male role models, in life and in literature.

10. Wildman Independent, unpredictable The Pilgrim A searcher and wanderer The Patriarch Masculine form of care and nobility Healer Capable of bringing wholeness to people and societies King Trustworthy and wise Prophet Sees and tells the truth Warrior Brave and honorable Trickster Irreverent, funny Magician Intuitive and clever Lover Acting in a loving way

11. Provide frequent opportunities • Fantasy football leagues….have students research their favorite athletes and nominate them for an All Star Team. • Adopt a veteran. Contact local VFW, USAA, local military base to have guest readers. • Boyz Zone, in the library to showcase books that may be of interest to boys. The boys should be part of the selection process. Do the same thing for the girls. • Consider starting your own TRIBE

12. Let Boys in on the Secret

13. Make it more visual

14. Strategies for teaching vocabulary

15. culinary Culinary skills or tools are related to cooking.

16. vivid Something that is vivid has very bright colors.

17. Provide Verbal Rehearsals • It takes creativity to……. • It takes creativity to……. • It takes creativity to……

18. It takes no creativity to….. • It takes no creativity to…… • It takes no creativity to…..

20. Boys want choices…… • Boys need choice in their reading and writing! • Boys would rather fail than look weak. • Boys perceive that writing is soft • They love humor • They naturally prefer to write about violence, don’t ban it, but guide it.

21. Why do boys love magazines?

22. Engaging Boys in Writing! “The only point of a pencil is to poke someone.” (12 year old boy)

23. Getting Boys to Write • Include their interests • Include technology • What ifs……allow boys to change the storyline instead of having them write make-believe, which they perceive as “girlie.” • Use artwork as a starting point • Be aware of Genres…if boys aren’t reading fiction then they probably won’t want to write about fiction. • Boys want an authentic audience.

24. Use the Arts as a starting point • Boys love to create drawings in conjunction with their writing. • Use Reader’s Theatre to allow moves to express themselves through movement, humor and cleverness. • Use music without lyrics to create word lists that describe the music. • Use music with lyrics and have them change the words, or design a record cover • Frank, 1995, pg 82

26. There’s an App for that! Using technology to engage boys in reading and writing

30. Boys Need Good Role Models • ..\Videos\RealPlayer Downloads\#p a u 2 cFke91pbfUo.flv

31. Thank you! There is a boy out there that needs YOU

32. What can CFEL do for you? • Coaching • Virtual • In person • Model Teaching Week • June 13-17, 2011 • Huntington, IN • Summer Institute • July 6-9, 2011 • Lake Tahoe • Customized Trainings • Current Topics • Common Core State Standards, Curriculum alignment, Classroom Management, Bullying