READING DON'T FIX NO CHEVYS

Kristin Cielocha and Dan Hogan

Michael W. Smith•Professor at Temple University

•Taught high school for 11 years

•Consultant for NCTE

•Other notable book: Going with the flow: How to engage boys (and girls) in their literacy learning

Meet the Authors

Jeff Wilhelm•Professor at Boise State University

•Taught middle & high school for 15 years

•Other notable book: Action Strategies for Deepening Comprehension: Using Drama Strategies to Assist Improved Reading Performance.

AchievementBoys take longer to learn to read Boys read lessBoys tend to be better at information retrieval and work-related literatureGirls tend to comprehend narrative texts and most expository texts significantly better

Summary of Research on Gender and Literacy

AttitudeBoys:provide a lower estimations of their reading abilitiesvalue reading as an activity less less interest in leisure reading Declare themselves as “nonreaders”Spend less time reading & express less enthusiasm The older they get, the more designate themselves as “nonreaders” (about 50% by high school)

Summary of Research on Gender and Literacy

ChoiceBoys:& girls want & do read different thingsMore inclined to read informational text More inclined to read magazines, newspapers, graphic novels, & comic booksResist reading stories about girlsMore enthusiastic about reading electronic textEnjoy reading about hobbies, sports, & things they might doTend to collect series booksPoetry is less popularRead less fictionEnjoy escapism & humorSome groups very into science fiction or fantasy

Summary of Research on Gender and Literacy

ResponseBoys:Appearance of book & cover importantLess likely to talk about or overtly respond to their reading Prefer active responses to readings Tend to receive more open & direct criticism for weaknesses in their reading & writingRequire more teacher time in coed settings

Summary of Research on Gender and Literacy

• They worked with 49 boys• 1/3 were high achieving, 1/3 were average,

and 1/3 were low• 32 were European American, 10 were African

American, 5 were Puerto Rican, 2 were Asian American

• Students were different schools• Urban high school• Regional suburban high school• Rural middle school and high school• Private all boys middle school and high

school

Who They Worked With

1. They started with having the boys do the Ranking of Activities worksheet

2. Then they conducted interviews with the boys to discuss how the boys did the rankings.

3. They created fictional profiles of males and their literacy practices for the boys to read and comment on.

4. Each boy kept on-going reading logs of all the ways they interacted with literacy during the day.

How They Did Their Study

Activity Ranking Sheet

___ Listening to music___ Hanging out with friends___ Playing sports___ Playing video games___ Doing something mechanical, like fixing an engine___ Drawing, painting, or cartooning___ Reading a good book___ Watching a favorite sports team on TV or at the stadium___ Surfing the net___ Learning something new about a topic that interests me___ Working on a hobby (Please specify your hobby)___ Going to school___ Watching television or going to the movies___ Other ( Please specify _____________)

Please rank the following activities in the order that you like them. Put a 1 next to the activity you like most, moving down to a 14 for the activity you like least.

•The front and the back inside covers list the participants, the type of school they went to and grade, their race/ethnicity, and their school performance.•Then, after each chapter, they included a section called “Meet the Crew” where you get to know each participant more in depth.•To get to know the boys in this study more AND try out a strategy that works well with boys (and girls), we’ll do “The Hot Seat”

Structure of Their Book

Rethinking their goalsNew definition of literacy

CaringTeach kids? Or Teach subject?Teach responsively (make adjustments)Recognize them as individuals & make connections“We can’t teach them to care, even though doing so seems to be a prerequisite…”

Their Findings:Why Do We Teach?

The power of inquiry• Inquiry projects allow for “flow”

• “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter”

• Requires a feeling of competence and control of skills for a task.

• How inquiry challenges the traditional• Authors call for change from

teacher/information centered instruction to student-centered model

• How these findings challenge us• Move away from only teacher-selected

projects to allow more choice.• Include students in developing grading criteria

to promote more motivation and competence.

Their Findings:What Do We Teach?

The Selection of TextsLook at nontraditional textsIf too hard, will turn offNonliterary texts could bridge the gap to literary textsShorter textsHumor?Choice – more & wider variety

-know more about pop culture texts

Their Findings:What Do We Teach?

Frontloading•“The boys’ insistence on the importance of being competent and on being faced with an appropriate challenge bring home the need to do much of our teaching BEFORE we ask students to read texts.”•Use more pre-reading strategies to develop a sense of competence.

Making Reading Social •“Boys stressed how working with others provided intrinsic motivation. “•Tap into funds of knowledge that exist in students’ homes.

Their Findings:How Do We Teach?

• It seems obvious that we should care about our students and get to know them…

…But maybe we can be more attentive to things like music/ TV shows they are listening to, going to kids’ events even non-school related activities.

•It seems obvious that boys would enjoy shorter texts versus longer texts...

…But we could reevaluate what is “good reading material” to include internet, newspapers, magazines, graphic novels, etc.

•It seems obvious that boys would enjoy an action-filled text over a descriptive text…

…But we could consider using more-appealing texts in class.

•It seems obvious not to make broad generalizations about boys… …But we could get to know our students’ interests a little better.

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