Dec+6+Vocabulary+Reading

Please post your reflection here by clicking edit and pasting from your Word document. Type your name after your entry and click on the Save button. Girls and Boys

I agree with Amber and LaVerne. It is all about engagement. I am glad this article was assigned because we must not forget about engagement when it comes to teaching kids. A couple of years ago I became worried about not hitting my boys well enough in writing. I have noticed that sometimes boys struggle more than girls....then I read Ralph Fletcher's book on boy writers. It was full of insight. I began to ask my husband and other men about how they think and write. My husband writes and is a wonderful poet but he doesn't share with a large audience. Amber-if you are looking for some good books on poetry, try Regie Routman's Teaching kids to love poetry books. She has them for kinder, first, second and third/fourth. They are great because they are full of real kid writing. They show how messy kids are, so other kids can see a poem in draft form and then in polished form. The beauty of writing poetry is that it is short and boys like that. This year, one of my most descriptive writers is a boy. It is wonderful having a tough boy (because he is) who isn't afraid to use the word "glimmers" in a poem. A genre that I've found that always engages both boys and girls is folktales/fairy tales. I try to pick ones that have stronger male characters or a little action to get the attention of the boys. They seem to be engaged during read aloud time. Of course like many of you, the non-fiction genre is what boys are interested in as well as fantasy.

Ronda

Girls and Boys like to read different texts By Amber

Teaching students is all about engagement. This article spells out some general trends of what engages readers. I was not surprised to read that the children enjoyed different texts. A simple stroll through a first grade classroom during SSR time will show you that. I allow students to pick one too hard book as they pick their eight books for reading time. The boys pick the science books. Snakes and Sharks and their favorite topics. The girls tend to pick advanced fairy tales. I was surprised to read on page 113 that boys guard the gender boundary more closely than girls. I have never looked for peer pressure in the book selection process in my room. I do here a lot of little boys approaching their friends saying, “Look at this!” Writing preferences of girls and boys looked like the children’s interests were more closely aligned with each other. It was interesting to read that letters were their favorite things to write. Children like authentic writing; writing that serves a purpose for them. I think many adults keep this attitude. I know there a are a great number of gifted writers who do write just because, and the people who are brae enough to publish their free writes are gems, but may of us only write assigned papers, and letters (emails). I was not surprised to read that poetry was the least preferred writing form. In the last 18 months I have just begun to learn that poetry writing does not have to be painful. It is not something I would do for fun, but I don’t write much of anything just for fun.

Boys & Girls Okay, first off, I had to recheck to see where this article was written. The spelling of ‘favourite’ made me think that it was British, but it was Finland. How many ‘teddies’ does it take to realize that the tests from the comparing countries may not have been the same type of test. Societies across America have varying levels of the written word at home. Think of the Native villages and/or the Appalachians where many homes do not have a newspaper, magazines, and/or even books. And, you can quote any statistic and/or test scores to aid a ‘teddy’ study. And, how could they even say, “Good readers are better students than poor readers in every subject area” (page 112). The attitudes such as that can be some of the reasons students tend to disregard or dislike reading, for they are poor readers and nothing can change that. Helping those readers who may not have been hooked on to reading yet is what we need to do. For poetry, didn’t they say that the students loved those Disney books? Well, much of those stories are poetry. I bet they even read Dr. Seuss☺ La Verne

“Girls and Boys Like to Read and Write Different Text” by Tuula Merisuo-Storm Karen Kay Mobley's Reflection

Girls and boys are like night and day and it is not surprising how different they feel about reading and writing. I have always thought our schools are designed for females and not males. Attitudes toward reading and writing are very important in the development of readers and writers and this affects how they learn. Over the last couple of years I’ve struggled with reluctant readers. I have realized the majority like to read humor stories or comics which was stated in the article. I do think it has something to do with the way society reacts these genres also. Maybe it has something to do with what’s going on in the world and it’s easier to escape into these types of genres. As a teacher, I need to accept that students are reading and keep encouraging reading especially if the students are engaged. Oh, yeah they (both genders) LOVE to write comics, too. It has it’s own section every week in our class newsletter. I need to rethink and just be excited that they are engaged in reading and writing. One thing I found really interesting was I teach 4th graders and they are just turning 10. Many of my students do not turn 10 until the spring or summer. Was it my imagination or are students older in Finland?

Response to “Girls and Boys Like to Read and Write Different Texts” I agree with the others in this class that this article is basically about engaging students with reading choices. Of course boys and girls like to read different things, even with the pressures of peers, boys would probably choose a story with a more active plot, for instance, my son who is in Kindergarten would most likely choose a story about trucks, Thomas the Train or Scooby Doo, and my daughter who is 4 would like to pick a book about Princesses and cupcakes. However, they both like the Gingerbread Man (Baby, Girl) and will sit and listen to any story that is read to them. I think we have to be aware in the classroom of the things that go on regarding peers influence on reading choices, and encourage boys and girls to pick something out that they like, regardless of what the other kids in that class may say. We have to encourage kids to read things because they enjoy it and find options for them to choose from, if the current text will not engage them. It is all about being a good observer and differentiate your lesson to engage those kids who may need something different. By Nicki Haroldson

Response: Girls and Boys Like to Read and Write Different Texts, by Tuula Merisuo-Storm.

I’m not so sure I would agree with the statement, “ Good readers are better students than poor readers in every subject area.” In my opinion good readers tend to be more successful, but they may not be the best student. “Interest” is the key word to get reluctant readers reading. I would say everyone that is not particularly interested in a topic would pick up a book and continue reading it. I think there should be more emphasis given to the reluctant reader on the intrinsic reward of successfully reading a book starting in the third grade. Successfully relating a story that you have read is much more stimulating than reading it fluently or as quickly as you can without knowing some of its implications, nuances or meanings of the words that are in the book. Guided reading or Readers Theatre with meaningful analysis of what is read and a lot of praise and positive feedback may increase the numbers of boys (reluctant readers) to read more. I think if we dumb down our expectations and agree that comics are better than nothing we have just clouded over the problem. Unfortunately society tends to dictate how we perceive boys and girls. Today girls are at the top of the food chain. Even in action movies that boys like and need a strong male figure the woman ends up the heroine. Commercials express that men are incapable of doing things without the guidance of a woman. Unfortunately I agree with this article and I’m certainly not against women, I have four daughters that I want to be successful as anyone else. As a remedy to reluctant readers and writers I think there has to be more parent involvement. Dave

Response to "Girls and Boys Like to Read and Write Different Texts" by Tuula Merisuo-Storm Much of the article quantifies information we have been hearing for years about boys attitudes towards reading. It is obvious we're __starting__ to make inroads in dealing with this. The information about the aversion to reading aloud is interesting and yet another concern to factor in to our need to provide students, male and female, with opportunities for self efficacy. Much of the information here supports the efforts of our local Guys Read program. I think it is noteworth that in endorsing the Guys Read program one of our male principals stated that he felt it brought a selection of reading material to the fourth grade boys that they were not getting from our teachers and librarians. While many of us female educators try our hardest to provide the boys with captivating material it seems we are still falling short in some peoples eyes. Repeatedly this article enforces what I have read in other articles about needing to get to know our students interests as well as providing an adequate cross section of reading materials to connect with those interests. It also emphasizes the need to provide an “atmosphere” where our students feel comfortable both in reading aloud but also in having their writing read by others. We know that needs to extend to their entire education if we want them to thrive. I thought the instrument used to poll the students was interesting and with its repeated reference to the happy or unhappy ‘teddies’ was a change from many of the other scholarly articles we have read. But before I read this article I had been asking myself whether we have ever asked __our__ students what __they__ think about learning to read and to write? Not that we should tailor our curriculum solely to what they think they need but so that we might understand their perceptions and factor them into our curriculum planning and teaching. What __can__ we do as we rewrite this language arts/English curriculum to engage our students from kindergarten on so they become better readers, writers, students and citizens? Will there be RTI interventions to ‘engage’ the unengaged, solutions developed in PLCs to motivate the unmotivated or do we need to be looking elsewhere? It seems like this really should be our first priority. Katie Sanders

Maybe the statement "Good readers are better students than poor readers in every subject area" is closely related to a narrow range of variety in assessments given. Maybe. I do think that it is beneficial for a reader to read, no matter the level, and no matter the text. Just as readers progress from chapter books to novels and series, so do readers that progress from cartoons, to comics, to chapter books (with good illustrations of course). The important thing is to get and keep them engaged and push them at any level.

I do see the need for promoting writing amongst boys in and outside of school. Stereotypically, girls, often choose a diary to write in and it is acceptable. They can hold on to their work in progress, share it if they choose to, display it, the cover anyway,(under lock & key) and there is always an audience that wants to read it (sneaky brother). Where as a boy might get a secret invisible ink pen to write silly messages about his sister. Then after a day the pen dries up, or the sister gets a hold of either the invisible pen that sheds the message. Either way, the boy has less to be proud of for more than a day.

Maybe this is why texting, blogging, voicethreads, emails are such a hit. There is ownership, and there is no gender associated with digital media. The writing lasts and it can be shared. Yes it needs to be purposefully guided, but it is engaging. It also encourages reading and can lead to peer editing, analyzing, and critical thinking. -Shane