Getting Boys to Read

1
Getting Boys to Read

• Aims
• Outline issues around boys reluctance to read
• Demonstrate a simple programme to get them
  engaging with books
• Provide a framework for book selection
• Demonstrate the use of clicker for reviewing
  books.
• Explore the possibility of integrating mentoring
  and/or counselling

2
Why?
3
many pupils, both boys and girls, read widely
for pleasure and in this way absorb a range of
models for their own writing YES HE CAN
SCHOOLS WHERE BOYS WRITE WELL A Summary of Ofsted
Report HMI 505, July 2003
4

•  
• Why good reading instruction is important
• Up to 15 of children with reading problems drop
  out of school only 2 finish college.
• Approximately 50 of teens and young adults with
  criminal records do not read well.
• About 50 of young people with substance abuse
  problems do not read well.
• About 90 to 95 of reading problems can be
  corrected with early intervention and appropriate
  instruction.

(From a presentation by Soleil Gregg at the July
31-August 4 America Reads Conference in
Nashville.)
5
The purposes for reading assessment include
comparing one child's progress to that of his
peers, screening students for special assistance,
measuring an individual's progress over a period
of time, diagnosing particular areas of strength
or weakness, using information for decisions
about instruction, and determining placement
within a reading program or special facility.
This is not assessment or catch up.
It can be informally diagnostic
It is primarily Motivational
6
The boys from the PRU
Aggressive Rude Abusive Violent
Sweet Scared Sad Worried
Used to failure
7
Reading and Reviewing Project at Paradise Park
PRU

• Pupils in Year 5 and 6 at NC level 2 or 3
• Boys all exhibit challenging behaviour and are
  hard to engage
•  
• Each boy has a 30-minute or 20- minute one-2-one
  slot.
•  
• Pupils select a book from 30 books recommended by
  the Education Library as boy friendly.
•  
• Format
•  
• They choose 5 books discuss put 2 back
  discuss- choose 1
• (to avoid snap choices)
•  
• Read it aloud to/with me
•  
• Review it using clicker
•  

8
What makes a good reader?
Good readers Read to construct meaning from
texts, not just identify words Predict, or
think ahead as they read Monitor comprehension
they notice if something they said doesn't make
sense Try to solve problem when something
doesn't make sense or sound grammatically correct
Constance Weaver's "key characteristics of good
readers"
9

• Miscue Analysis How its done!
• 1.  The teacher instructs the student that they
  will be reading a passage out loud without
  assistance from the teacher.
• 2.  A video or audio tape should be made for
  analysis after the session.
• 3.  After the reading, the teacher marks all
  miscues including omissions, insertions,
  mispronunciations, and student corrections.
• 4.  The teacher records the miscues by writing
  what the text said in one column and what the
  reader said in the other column.
• 5.  The miscues are then analyzed using the
  following criteria.
• Did the miscue go with the preceding context?
• Did the miscue go with the following context?
• Did the miscue preserve essential meaning?
• Was the miscue corrected?
• Was the miscue either meaning preserving or
  corrected?
• 6.  Percentages are calculated based on total
  number of miscues.

10
Goodman (1969) initially developed a Taxonomy
which detailed 28 different types of miscues.
There are several different kinds of miscues that
readers make. Some of the most common miscues
made are -Substitution A reader substitutes a
word for another word in the text while they are
reading. -Insertion A reader inserts a word
into text -Omission A reader leaves a word out
of the text, or skips over it -Partial A reader
partially tries to pronounce a word -Reversal A
reader reverses a word and reads them in a
reversed order -Correction A reader corrects
their own miscue -Unsuccessful Attempts at
Correction A reader tries to correct a miscue
that they made, and are not successful -Repetitio
n A reader repeats a portion of the text over
again -Sounding out A reader tries to sound out
the letters or syllables in a word that they
don't know while reading
(Weaver
122-126)
11
Key points to watch

• Confidence (not to be confused with speed and
  enthusiasm)
• Self correction
• Recognition of punctuation
• Word attack strategies
• Reading for meaning
• Keeping the teacher awake.

12

• List for Boys
•  
• Size and Format
• Television movie tie in
• Violence
• Funny
• Cover design
• Connection to interest Eg. Sports
• No long passages descriptions
• Action
• Boys and Reading 2001 By Christine Wilson
•  
•  
•  

13
Strategies for school   1.      Staff reading
2.      Male role models 3.      Guest
speaker 4.      Literacy opportunities -
newsletters, publications 5.     
Bibliographies 6.      USSR(Universal sustained
silent reading) 7.      Fiction Collection
Development 8.      Parent Seminars 9.     
Motivational sessions/ promotional sessions
14
List of Tips to get boys reading   Parents need
to see themselves as important role models as
readers. Talk about books. Share reading
experiences Visit libraries. Talk to teacher
librarians about suitable reading
material. Participate in literary events e.g.
Book gigs, book and movie tie ins,
theatre Purchase reading material. Purchase audio
books for car journeys. Visit museums, galleries
displaying book illustrations. Visit
bookshops. Create puzzles and games around
books. Place quotable quotes from good books in
visible positions around the house, like the
fridge door. Make time in the family routine for
reading. Be positive about reading. Motivate with
rewards, bonuses, bribes etc. Assist your son to
select a book to suit. Read to boys. Have boys
read to you. As much as is appropriate. Start
with a small snippet from a magazine or
newspaper. Or perhaps read together, turn
about. Book vouchers are great presents. Computer
game or World Wide Web sites may be stimulating.
Sit at the computer together. Join a book
club. Create a comfortable reading nock in your
home.
15
Measuring Success
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
Mentoring
Staff must be trained. Staff must be prepared
for disclosures. More time for each
slot. Students more at ease than in formal
counselling slot.
21
Getting Boys to Read

• Aims
• Outline issues around boys reluctance to read
• Demonstrate a simple programme to get them
  engaging with books
• Provide a framework for book selection
• Demonstrate the use of clicker for reviewing
  books.
• Explore the possibility of integrating mentoring
  and/or counselling