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Getting Boys to Read.
By Troy L Parrish, MA LCPC
How do you get your boy to read, to become a strong, fluent reader, a boy who reads because he wants to, not because he is being made to read? From the start, as we teach children to read, boys move more slowly through this process than girls. Scientist believe that boys move more slowly than girls because “boys are born with smaller language centers in their brains -- and larger spatial centers -- than girls and that boys develop language abilities at a slower rate, though eventually they catch up”.1 These same scientist believe that girls are better at absorbing narratives while boys are better at absorbing informational texts. The tendency of boys to want to connect what they are currently learning to what they already know as well as see the logic in what they are learning (why or how it works) can make learning to read English particularly frustrating for boys due to the great number of illogical elements in the English language.3 Despite this difference between boys and girls concerning reading, boys seem to enjoy reading just as much as girls do in the elementary years but begin to lose interest around the ages of 8 to 11 or 12.2 This explains why so many books aimed at boys who have become “reluctant readers” are written for the age range of 8 to 12 years old.
Teaching reading is an essential part of a child’s education, how to do it has its own set of difficulties. The primary debate concerning teaching children to read is between two approaches to the task. The Whole Language approach and the Phonetics approach are the two primary schools of thought concerning teaching children to read and are often seen as being at odds with one another, with significant numbers of highly respected proponents on both sides of the argument.4 Whole language teaches children to read by emphasizing “learning whole words and phrases by encountering them in meaningful contexts rather than by phonics exercises”.5 Phonics “teaches children to read and pronounce words by learning the phonetic value of letters, letter groups, and especially syllables”.6 Whole language stresses understanding of the passage and encourages students to figure out words from contextual cues as well as pictures where as phonics stress the learning of letters and their sounds, the decoding of words based on the sounds that letters represent. While this debate continues as to which method is the proper method of teaching children to read, there is some growing understanding and consensus that an eclectic approach to teaching reading makes the most sense, an approach that uses the strengths of both the whole language and phonetics approach. “In the largest, most comprehensive evidenced-based review ever conducted of research on how children learn reading, a Congressionally mandated independent panel has concluded that the most effective way to teach children to read is through instruction that includes a combination of methods”.7
This eclectic approach to teaching reading meshes well with what appears to be competing research, with some saying that whole language works best while other research suggests that a phonetics approach works best. It would make sense that a blending of these schools of thought would make for a far more effective program. It is also intuitive that no single approach to teaching reading is going to work well with each and every student with students varying in their abilities and strengths (as well as weaknesses).
Assuming the task of teaching your boy to read has been accomplished and he has developed the necessary reading skills, you are still asking how can I get my boy to read more or be more interested in reading? Armed with the knowledge we have gathered from the research about boys and reading we can begin to build some approaches to reading that will encourage boys to read and identify themselves as readers. Begin by asking yourself what you consider to be reading. Experts seem to agree that what schools, and parents, often consider reading is not what boys typically are interested in reading. Jeff Wilhelm, considered one of the leading authorities on boys and literacy states "Teachers and parents often conceived of reading narrowly, as 'literature' only, and failed to see that there's all kinds of reading that boys do, like magazines and even formulaic novels," he says. "I tell parents and teachers to take a chill, expand their idea of what reading is. Even expert adult readers go through phases of reading pulp fiction or romance novels. It's something boys outgrow, but it helps develop skills."8
So what strategies can you use to help you son read more? Here are a few suggestions:
1. It's crucial to begin at the beginning, with what your son loves. "Kids will read when you focus on what they love”.
2. Reading aloud by teachers, guest readers, and students is a valuable activity to which substantial amounts of time should be allotted.
3. Teachers can capture boys' interest by associating the material to be read with their existing knowledge.
4. When they read aloud to boys, teachers can help them to associate sounds with symbols by letting them follow along with the text.
5. Rotating reading materials of different genres allows boys to see the many types of reading materials available--not just novels and textbooks, but also newspapers and magazines, how-to guides, comics, and computer programs--and their multiple uses (Simpson, 1996).
6. Boys gain confidence in their reading ability when they read aloud. Frequent interruptions or corrections undermine this confidence, however.
7. Additional time for silent reading promotes the independent development of skills and the enjoyment of reading.
8. Teachers can help boys comprehend reading materials and promote analytical thinking by involving them in discussions. Students can review the content, purpose, and presentation of particular types of books, and how they differ.9
Book selection is also important, remembering that we need to start with what boys love. Below is a short list of suggestions when choosing books for boys:
1. Books that are “storied”, using a narrative approach that focuses more on plot
and action than on description.
2. provide “exportable knowledge” – that is, information boys can use in conversation, such as headlines, box scores, jokes, “cool parts” of books or movies.
3. sustain engagement, such as series books or collections that allow readers to “see what’s up” with characters they have come to care about.
4. show multiple perspectives, exploring topics from a variety of
points of view.
5. are novel or unexpected in a school setting, such as satire.
6. contain powerful or positive ideas that have political, moral, or
“life-expanding” appeal.
7. are funny, appealing to boys’ taste for humor.10
8. move quickly in terms of plot or story line.
Here are some other resources about reading that you may find interesting and useful in getting your son to read.
-The Stages of Development of Reading. This list may help you identify where your child is at in their development of reading skill and help you target your work with them in their continued growth. You can find the list here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_skills_acquisition
-The next link is to a site that provides a thorough list of resources concerning reading, including references to research on the topic of reading. If you really want to dig into the topic of reading, this would be a good place to start.
http://www.fcrr.org/science/scienceRecommendedReading.htm
-Suspect a reading disorder? Here are some links that provide checklists for age groups to help you clarify a little more if there is a reading problem.
http://specialed.about.com/od/literacy/a/read57.htm (for children age 5 to 7)
http://specialed.about.com/od/readingchecklists/a/rcl68.htm (for children age 6 to 8)
http://specialed.about.com/od/readingchecklists/a/rcl79.htm (for children age 7 to 9)
-There is also a great site on reading and reading disorders for homeschool families. You can find that site at:
http://www.homeschool.com/LetsGoLearn/Articles/default.asp
You can also check out the list of books that we have put together for boys. We are confident that you will find books listed here that are in line with Christian values that also engage boys interests. To visit this page Click Here. Also, if you are in the process of teaching your child to read, you may want to check out the book review for this month on Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. This book utilizes the eclectic approach to teaching reading with a strong emphasis on phonetics. To visit the review, Click Here.
REFERENCES:
1. Educators Differ on Why Boys Lag in Reading
Gap Stokes Debate Over Teaching Approaches, Curricula
By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 15, 2005;
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35057-2005Mar14.html
2. Scheme aims to get boys reading
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6658235.stm
3. Sir James Pitman, Alphabets and Reading (New York: Pitman Publishing Company, 1969).
4. Whole Language and Phonics: Can They Work Together? by Sharon Cromwell
Education World.
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr029.shtml
5. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
6. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
7. National Reading Panel Reports Combination of Teaching Phonics, Word Sounds, Giving Feedback on Oral Reading Most Effective Way to Teach Reading. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. April 13, 2000.
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/nrp.cfm
8. If Your Boy Won’t Read
Chill out and get down with what he loves, starting with the comics. by Betty Holcomb
Scholastic Parents http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=1543
9. Helping Underachieving Boys Read Well and Often. ERIC Digest
by Wendy Schwartz
http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/boys.html
10. Me Read? No Way! A practical guide to improving boys’ literacy skills.
Ontario Ministry of Education, 2004
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:sudiMs3jMwMJ:www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/brochure/meread/meread.pdf+encouraging+boys+to+read&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us
