Boys read. A controversial statement, I know. But I am convinced they do. They read gaming cards, video game cheat guides and text messages. They read instructions (hopefully) on how to make assemble it yourself furniture and manuals on lego robotics. A girlfriend with teenage sons says if you want guys to read, put it on a cereal box and make sure there is milk.
Admittedly, sometimes when boys actually do read books its for speed or volume rather than for literary enjoyment, but don't we as educators promote speed sometimes with our Read-A-Thons? Read the most number of books of any class in the school, and your class can win a pizza party. Of course, reading volume goes hand in hand with speed, and as long as you don't sweat the comprehension, you too can chow down on cheese and pepperoni.
All of the boys in my life read --whether they are students in the primary and junior grades or grown men who never finished high school or men who completed university degrees. They read emails and texts and magazines. They read web pages and newspapers. And yes, they even read books - or at least pieces of books. A friend recently read a chapter from Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers" because he was interested in how a baby's birthday impacts future success in the NHL. He happily read another excerpt from a book to learn how to preserve his beautiful detailed tattoos.
So how can we support boy's literacy within a classroom environment so they read beyond a school environment and beyond the school years?
A wide variety of texts is crucial -- and teaching boys that these materials qualify as reading goes hand in hand with it. Newspapers, magazines, manuals, sports cards, joke books, graphic novels and comic books all belong in a literacy rich environment. Fiction series such as Artemis Fowl, Geronimo Stilton, or mythology based series by author and teacher Rick Riordan offer familiar characters with new adventures. Factual texts need to be included as well, particularly in areas of interest such as cars, sports, world records and even bodily functions.
Technology also needs to be woven into a boys' literacy rich environment. Audio books are a fantastic resource, offering fluid reading and vocabulary building. One favourite of mine for ages 9-12 is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.
"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.
The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor. If it sliced you, you might not even know you had been cut, not immediately."
Opening lines to The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The website offers complimentary audio readings of several chapters, online computer games geared towards vocabulary building, a text version of the first chapter that can be used as a classroom reading and as a 'teaser' to promote interest. There are also reader guides and teacher guides. In short, this is one of the most rounded and appealing book promotions I have come across. In the publication "Me Read, No Way," educator Eileen Armstrong recommends daring boys to read and filling black bags with scary books and mysteries. The Graveyard Book is the perfect addition along with Canadian author Eric Wilson's mysteries.
Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
Eric Wilson
Canadian mystery author
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