Teaching for Reading and Writing Success to the Male Brain By Kenneth Odle

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Teaching for Reading and Writing Success to the
Male BrainBy Kenneth Odle
M I N D T H E G A P
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Background

• Middle school is when we start to lose students,
  especially boys, as readers.
• There is often a presumption that reading is a
  more female activity boys arent supposed to
  like reading.
• There are biological reasons why girls,
  especially at a young age, can be better readers
  than boys.

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Biological Differences - Intro

• More pronounced at younger ages.
• Still affect middle school students (and high
  school students, as well).
• Some effects carry over into high school,
  depending on the student.
• Should be taken into account at all ages.

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Biological Differences 1

• Frontal Lobe
• Less developed in boys. (In elementary schools,
  the difference may be one to two years.)
• Makes boys more impulsive.
• Boys less able to sit still and read. (Boys tend
  to fidget.)
• May cause students to be misdiagnosed as learning
  disabled.

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Biological Differences 2

• P Cells and M Cells (optical and neural)
• Males rely more on type M ganglion cells, which
  detect movement.
• Females rely more on type P ganglion cells, which
  are sensitive to color.
• Boys tend to rely on pictures and moving objects.
  
• Girls excel in describing color and other fine
  sensory information.

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Biological Differences 3

• Verbal/Spatial Differences
• Boys brains have more regions dedicated to
  spatial-mechanical functioning.
• Girls brains emphasize verbal-emotive
  processing.
• On average, girls use more words than boys.
• Girls tend to think more verbally.
• Boys tend to think visually they see pictures
  or movies in their minds. (American Born Chinese
  is full of examples.)

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Biological Differences 4

• Cross Talk Between Hemispheres
• Girls brains have more communication between
  hemispheres better multitasking.
• Boys brains tend to compartmentalize thinking in
  one or the other hemisphere prefer logical A-Z
  focus.
• Boys can become more irritable when moved quickly
  between activities. This can carry over into
  later grades.

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Biological Differences 5

• Neural Rest States
• Boys brains spin down more readily between
  activities.
• Boys fidget to keep their minds active.
• May be mistakenas ADD or ADHD.

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Biological Differences 6

• Natural Aggression and Hormones
• Boys are more competitive.
• Aggression Nurturance the playful hitting and
  dissing that boys engage in can be supportive.
• Less reliance on bonding malleability (less
  desire to comply in order to please others).
• Related to lower oxytocin levels in the body.
  (Oxytocin is the bonding hormone.)

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Techniques 1

• Spatial-Visual Representations
• Storyboarding
• Cartoons
• Graphic Organizers
• Use of sticky notes or index cards to organize
  thinking about a text.

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Techniques 2

• Book Choice
• Boys often regard in-class reading and writing as
  irrelevant.
• Boys prefer books with action (sports/war).
• Boys prefer books with pictures (history/how-to).
  
• Many boys are drawn toward different types of
  books than girls. (N.b. But not always!)
• Alternate between canonical texts and personal
  choice books.
• Use multicultural texts.

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Techniques 3

• Books Boys Like
• Comics or Manga (Graphic Novels)
• Fantasy and Science Fiction
• Series Books (alas! see Nancie Atwells In the
  Middle)
• Choose Your Own Adventure Books
• Nonfiction (history, natural science, archeology)
• How-To (car repair/maintenance)
• Books with maps (think Lord of the Rings)

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Techniques 4

• Single-Gender Learning Environments
• Has been used with girls in math and science
  classes (girls now outperform boys in these
  areas).
• Alternate reading/discussion groups between
  all-boy/all-girl and mixed gender.

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Techniques 5

• Make Reading and Writing More Concrete
• Suggest a specific person as the audience for
  reading and writing (remember bonding
  malleability).
• Provide opportunities for sharing their writing
  (magazine, book talk,workshop, readers circle,
  writerscircle, presentation, web site, etc.).

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Techniques 6

• Incorporate More Technology
• Create an interactive website about a book.
• Power Point, Prezi, or other electronic
  presentations.
• Electronic editions of texts, such as Plucker or
  Kindle, (but be aware of money issues).
• A play a camera a movie (yea!)(aka Digital
  Storytelling).

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Techniques 7

• Seek Out Male Role Models
• More male teachers in the earlier grades.
• Ask dads (not just moms) to volunteer in the
  classroom.
• Seek out more male guest-speakers.
• Encourage dads to read to their kids.

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Political Implications 1

• There is a higher percentage of female than male
  teachers in elementary and middle schools.
  Recruitment and public acceptance is an issue.
• Schools are under-funded and there is often
  little money for recently published titles.
  (Teachers may have to dig into their own pockets
  to provide a rich reading environment.)

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Political Implications 2

• There is a reluctance, at many levels, to move
  outside the established canon.
• Standardized testing can be an issue.
• The established canon is not usually considered
  risky (i.e., not as subject to censorship
  issues or parent complaints).

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Problems

• Teachers tend to teach the way they were taught
  regardless of training.
• Teachers tend to teach toward those students who
  learn the way they do and most teachers in
  lower grades are women.
• Teachers cover books they like regardless of
  any relevance to their students.

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Impact on Classroom Instruction

• Techniques aimed at boys can also improve results
  for girls.
• Boys are more likely to view reading and writing
  as something that enhances their lives.
• Encourages teachers to become research-based
  teachers. We can conduct research in our own
  classrooms.

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The Ultimate Goal

• We dont want to pit boys against girls.
• What we want is to create in our classrooms an
  environment in which both boys and girls can
  succeed, recognizing that boyshave unique
  strengths, quirks, and weaknesses that every
  thoughtful practitioner or parent will want to be
  aware of (Fletcher 7).

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Value for Educators

• Fewer behavior problems.
• Increased on-task time.
• A more equitable classroom all students can
  contribute and their views are valued.
• Students appreciate literacy as something beyond
  just reading books.
• Most importantly, students achieve more.

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Resources 1

• Guys Read website
• By Jon Scieszka (author of The Stinky Cheese Man
  and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs)
• Suggests books important to boys.
• Interactive.
• www.guysread.org

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Resources 2

• Gurian Institute
• Trains teachers and parents in gender science.
• Promotes practical applications.
• Offers books, DVDs, training.
• For-profit site.
• www.gurianinstitute.com

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Resources 3

• Read-Write-Think
• A collaboration between the International Reading
  Association and the NCTE.
• Many lesson plans, searchable by grade level.
• Keyed to NCTE strands.
• Lots of lesson plans incorporate technology.
• Completely free.
• www.readwritethink.org

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Resources 4

• Watch D.O.G.S.
• Encourages men (fathers, grandfathers, uncles,
  step-fathers, father figures, etc.) to volunteer
  and mentor in schools.
• Primarily active in urban schools.
• Offers training and support.
• Volunteers serve at least one day each year.
• A program of the National Center for Fathering.
• A member of the PTA Coalition.
• www.fathers.com/watchdogs

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Resources 5

• Donors Choose
• Teachers can post projects that need funding.
• Donors can choose which projects to support.
• Donors can fund with as little as 1.00.
• Teacher and student feedback is expected.
• www.donorschoose.org

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Resources 6

• Students
• What kind of books do you like?
• What kind of books turn you off?
• Which books do you wish teachers would talk
  about?
• Use surveys, reading journals, focus groups.

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Resources 7

• Parents
• What are your kids currently reading?
• What kind of books did your kids like or not like
  reading in earlier grades?
• Do you discuss books/reading/literature with your
  children?
• Value their input.

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Resources 8

• Colleagues
• Which books are you teaching now?
• How do your students like these books?
• What strategies do you use, and how successful
  are they?
• What is going well for you this year?
• What are you going to do differently next year?
• Ask the school librarian.

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Works Cited

• Doiron, Ray. Boy Books, Girl Books Should We
  Re-organize Our School Library Collection?
  Teacher Librarian 30.3 (2003) 14-16.
• Fletcher, Ralph. Boy Writers Reclaiming Their
  Voices. Portland Stenhouse Markham Pembroke,
  2006.
• King, Kelley, and Michael Gurian. Teaching to
  the Minds of Boys. Educational Leadership 64.1
  (2006) 56-61.
• Sullivan, Michael. Connecting Boys with Books 2
  Closing the Reading Gap. Chicago American
  Library Association, 2009.
• Von Drasek, Lisa. Boy, Oh, Boy Books!
  Teaching PreK-8 33.2 (2002) 72-75.
• Wilde, Jack. Learning From Fantasy. Voices From
  the Middle 5.2 (1998) 40-42.

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Contact

• kenneth.odle_at_gmail.com
• http//homepages.wmich.edu/rec5548/boys/