Reading Motivation for Boys
Closing the gender literacy gap one male reader at a time!
What is reading motivation?
Reading motivation is important because the more a child is driven to read - the better reader he or she will become! Without the will to read, a child who has the skills to read can't become an effective reader.
The Literacy Gender Gap
Some likely reasons for the literacy gender gap are:
- Biology: Boys' brains develop differently than girls'. Boys mature more slowly and are more physically active than girls, so girls learn to read earlier than boys, comprehend texts better than boys, and have more confidence in their reading than boys.
- Text Choice: A lot of the typical texts that are represented in the classroom or regarded as "school appropriate" don't necessarily appeal to boys. Research has found that boys enjoy reading comic books or graphic novels, humorous stories, horror stories, adventure and action stories, stories with superheroes, magazines, etc. Meanwhile, girls seem to like stories that deal with relationships, emotions, etc.
- Lack of Mentors: The majority of the readers that boys are exposed to at a young age are women: the primary at home reader for children is typically the mother and the majority of teachers are women. This contributes to boys seeing reading as a feminine activity that is not "appropriate", socially, for them to enjoy.
Motivation Strategies for Boys
Family members, male teachers, administration, or other male community members can be invited to come in to the classroom and read aloud to the students or talk about their experiences with reading. Showing students that men also enjoy reading can show students that it is acceptable to be a boy who loves to read!
Reading Scavenger Hunt
This is a great option for motivating those physically active young boys to read, because the scavenger hunt encourages activity and reading in unusual situations. It also encourages social motivation (e.g. "read a book that a friend recommends") and can encourage boys modeling an enjoyment of reading for each other.
Emergent Reader Books for Boys
This is a resource for working with young boys in K-1 Grades who have not yet learned to read and are still working on reading with sight words and picture cues. It is important to instill an interest in reading at a young age, especially for boys, so that children can grow to love it as they get older. This package of books appeals to boys' interests.
Raz-Kids
Raz Kids in an interactive e-book program for kids of all reading levels. Although it is by subscription only, it is a subscription that is totally worth for the sake of all students. Students are assigned to a level by their teacher and chooses from books in the level which they can either read, have read to them through headphones, or record themselves reading. Then, they take a quiz on what they have read. This appeals to young boys because it is a different, digital format than the typical text and young children love technology. Additionally, the choice of text will allow the boys to choose titles that peak their interest and there is a variety of fiction and nonfiction books.
Durham Public Library
http://durhamcountylibrary.org/
Whether you live near or far from Durham County, there is a public library near you that you can utilize for the sake of your students. If your classroom or school library doesn't offer enough variety in genres and text types to motivate your young boys to read, take a basket to the community library and fill it full of comics, graphic novels, horror, comedy and action stories that your students can read at their leisure. Giving young boys choices in what they read will go a long way toward motivating them in to wanting to read more often!
Reading Interest Inventory
One surefire way to peak your students' interests in reading is to find out what appeals to them. Although research shows trends in boys' preferences for texts, there is only one way to know for sure - ask the student. By giving your students a reading interest inventory such as this one, you can learn about their motivation, attitude, and interests toward reading and tailor their learning to the results.
Storyline
Show your students that men can be - and ARE - readers! Storylineonline has recordings of famous celebrities reading some well loved children's books. This website shows students that not only are some men readers, but some of the coolest, most famous men in the world love to read. Male role models at their finest.
Everyone can love reading!
References
Applegate, A.J., & Applegate, M.D. (2010). A study of thoughtful literacy and motivation to
read. The Reading Teacher, 64 (4), 226-234.
http://dx.doi.org.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/10.1598/RT.64.4.1
Brozo, W.G., Sulkunen, S., Shiel, G., Garbe, C., Pandian, A., & Valtin, R. (2014). Reading, gender, and engagement. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57 (7), 584-593. Doi:10.1002/jaal.291
Cambria, J., & Guthrie, J. (2010). Motivating and engaging students in reading. New England Reading Association Journal, 46 (1), 16-29. http://literacyconnects.org/img/2013/03/Motivating-and-engaging-students-in-reading-Cambria-Guthrie.pdf
Gates, A.I.. (1961). Sex differences in reading ability. The Elementary School Journal, 61 (8), 431-434. http://www.jstor.org/stable/999823
Henry, K., Lagos, A., & Berndt, F. (2012). Bridging the literacy gap between boys and girls: An opportunity for the national year of reading 2012. Australian Library Journal, 61 (2), 143-150. http://alia.org.au/publishing/alj/
Marinak, B.A., & Gambrell, L.B. (2010). Reading motivation: Exploring the elementary gender gap. Literacy Research & Instruction, 49 (2), 129-141. doi:10.1080/19388070902803795
Senn, N. (2012). Effective approaches to motivate and engage reluctant boys in literacy. The Reading Teacher, 66 (3), 211-220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/TRTR.01107
Serafini, F. (2013). Supporting boys as readers. The Reading Teacher, 67 (1), 40-42. http://dx.doi.org.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/10.1002/TRTR.1187
Sokal, L. Katz, H., Adkins, M., Glaud, A., Jackson-Davis, K., & Kussin, B. (2005). Boys will be “boys”: Variability in boys’ experience of literacy. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 51 (3), 216-230. http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura_Sokal/publication/247162439_Boys_will_be_Boys_Variability_in_boys_experiences_of_literacy/links/550b47cd0cf28556409705bd.pdf