Boys and Literacy

Boys and Literacy

Over the past decade, boys have been falling behind compared to their female according to Me Read? NoWay! A Practical Guide to Improving Boys’ Literacy Skills (2004) when it comes to reading achievement. The 2008 report State of Learning in Canada: Toward a Learning Future, published by the Canadian Council on Learning, states that in 2004–05,“more boys (13%) than girls (7.5%) exhibited delayed development” in the area of communication skills (p. 18). This is a concern that continues today.

First, we need to address the reasons why boys are reading less than previously. My concerns are that technology, namely video games, is creating a generation of boys that need the increase of adrenaline they feel when playing video games, which is taking away their desire to read as it doesn't create the same adrenaline rush as winning a game. Here is an excellent article from Psychology Today that discusses what happens to a boy when he is playing intense video games. It affects the physiological and psychological well-being of the child. How do we take this intense response and translate it into our classrooms? This article is worth your time. Having said that, the video below addresses 6 reasons boys are not succeeding as well in school as girls. Interestingly, video games are addressed but discuss in many different ideas about their value to boys. Of course, there are great video games we can use in our classrooms that will engage our students to learn.

There are many factors at work that seem to be impacting how boys view themselves as readers, and there are many strategies that we can implement in a classroom to help boys see themselves as readers. As educators, we can make a difference in their future success by implementing these 13 strategies discussed in Me Read, and How! (2008).

Taken from 'Me Read and How! Ontario teachers report on how to improve boys' literacy skills

Where do we start as teachers?

It is important to start by finding out what your students want to read. A simple reading survey throughout the year will give you a snapshot of what you can do to get started. I use a Google Form survey, that is quick and gives me a really strong idea of where each student is in my class. Feel free to copy it for your own use. I would probably add a few more questions to my survey for this year's class.

Once you have the information gathered from the survey, ensure you have the books that all of your students want to read in the classroom. This may also include magazines and newspapers. It is important for teachers to recognize that reading takes many forms. I have fond memories of my son scouring over the sports section every morning before school. He could tell you every statistic of every hockey player, yet, as an adult, he doesn't see himself as a reader. We need to recognize these alternate sources of reading for our students. I always have a local newspaper handy for students to use (not to mention, they are great for 'In the News' types of reading and writing activities).

Allow your students to have body breaks. I used this strategy this year and told the class that if they needed to increase their heart rate, they could grab one of my skipping ropes and skip in the hallway outside my classroom. This provides them with an increase in their heart-rate and adrenaline that would be similar to video games. Some schools I've been to provide bikes and break-away areas for kids to use, while they are still working. These are great activities all schools should offer their students.

The Gender Divide

Taking gender differences into account in the classroom Michael Smith and Jeffrey Wilhelm identify the following gender differences related to literacy that teachers may encounter in their work with individual learners: With respect to achievement: 

• Boys take longer to learn to read than girls do. 

• Boys read less than girls. 

• Girls tend to comprehend narrative texts and most expository texts significantly better than boys do. 

• Boys tend to be better at information retrieval and work-related literacy tasks than girls are. With respect to attitude: 

• Boys generally provide lower estimations of their reading abilities than girls do. 

• Boys value reading as an activity less than girls do. 

• Boys have much less interest in leisure reading than girls do, and are far more likely to read for utilitarian purposes than girls are. 

• Significantly more boys than girls declare themselves to be non-readers. 

• Boys . . . express less enthusiasm for reading than girls do. (Smith and Wilhelm, 2002, p. 10)

Additional Resources:

Reading Rockets-Boys and Books

Guys Read

Boys Literacy

Viewing Guide Feedback-Edugains

Forest of Reading