Boys and Reading

Every once in awhile I read an article or see a headline lamenting the fact that boys are in crisis because they don’t read. I’ve seen all sorts of “reasons” for this – video games, sports, you name it. I remember hearing Donalyn Miller in a presentation once address this issue. She said something like, “Boys don’t read? Don’t tell my boys that.” I couldn’t agree more.

I have three boys in my house – Chris and our sons. Chris reads, but will always say that he is not a reader like I am. I disagree. He is a reader, one look at the table on his side of the bed tells me that.

Chris is an avid comic book reader, an occasional book reader. When he does read books, he reads compulsively. This winter he polished off as many books as I could throw at him, but then will go months before picking another one up. It works for him.

Luke and Liam are readers. When people talk to me about my boys’ habits as readers, they often make comments like, “Of course they are readers, you are their mom.” I think that devalues what we’ve done to ensure that has happened. They are surrounded by books – we even visit bookstores on vacation like we did this weekend:

Wild Rumpus Bookstore - Minneapolis, MN

They also are expected to read, and they do, daily, even on vacation. 

 

I talk to them about books all the time. I ask them about what they’re reading, what they like about the book, what the characters are doing, etc. My boys are blessed, yes, by parents who can afford to buy them books. But they have become readers because we have worked to make sure that happened.

Boys don’t read? In my family they sure do. Even in my classroom, they do. This year I have 79 fifth graders for reading. Out of that 79, 42 are boys. All of them read, many are avid readers. How do I know this? Boys rushing to meet me when I arrive at school to confer, asking about a book, or begging to be first in line in a new book. Conversations in the hall, in reading, on our way to lunch. Messages left on post-its stuck to my laptop. Or, when I’m lucky, I get an exchange like the one below.

A little background – these texts are from my student, Hayden. Most students don’t have my cell number. Hayden’s mom and I are friends, so he’s on her phone. Our class read aloud was The False Prince. I had told Hayden he would love it. Starting it, I was confident he would find another copy and finish before I ever did, and he did just that. He moved on to the second book while I was still reading the first, and then the third. These texts came over the course of a week in which he read the second, started the third, got worried over a plot point, and then finished the series. I told my husband as I texted Hayden back while we drove up to Minneapolis this weekend, I wish I could confer with every student on my phone when we aren’t at school. I think the loss of privacy would absolutely be worth it.

Don’t those texts just say it all? An engaged boy reader. Please note, there was no grade for time spent texting about a book. J

So, yes, boys read. When I see those articles I am frustrated and I wonder – why are “some” boys not reading? Are we not giving value to their chosen format? Genre? Ways that they want to respond? How can we meet them where they are and help them to grow?

I think the best thing we can do to ensure our boys are reading – heck, that boys AND girls are reading – is to get to know each child, what makes them tick, what they love, and build those relationships. Boys don’t read? Don’t tell my boys that. 

Sidenote: while typing this entire post, my son, Liam, has lay in the bed next to me, reading. I've asked him to stop and go to bed several times only to be met with, "Let me finish the page I'm on." over and over and over. I could have just recorded our conversation in lieu of writing this post. Here lies the perfect response to "boys don't read." 

Slice of Life - Fake Reading

Slice of Life is sponsored on Tuesdays by Two Writing Teachers. For the month of March we are posting a slice each day on our blog. Join in!

We’ve hit the time of year where I am competing for my students’ attention. Baseball and softball seasons have begun. There are practices, games, tournaments. The sun is up longer, the days are warm. Their bicycles beg to be ridden around town with friends, shouting above the noise of the street. My students look at me and I know that visions of summer dance in their heads. They have June 3^rd circled, the countdown begun. I know this countdown too - twenty days, if you are curious – but also know we need to finish strong. That’s why when a student talked to me about “fake reading” the other day, I took it seriously.

We have two state award lists that we read from in fifth grade – the Bluestem and Rebecca Caudill. Our school librarian offers prizes to kids who read certain numbers of books. My final tally for this year is due this week. When I was grabbing the binder that I use to keep track, a student mentioned he “heard” that last year a fourth grade student said she read all of them, but had truly only read the backs. He and I had a great discussion about fake reading as a result. Leaving his table, I thought about it. Do some kids fake read? Absolutely. Unless I can confer with every single student (of which I have 80) every single day, there are days that kids report that they read, but probably didn’t. I’d predict that the number is pretty low, but decided to talk about it with my students and see what discussion resulted.

The next day in class I simply asked, What is fake reading? Each class came up with a list of what they considered fake reading. Then we talked about why someone would fake read instead of simply reading. I loved this. Not only did the typical reasons come up –

Too busy.

Don’t like the book.

Forgot to read last night.

But other reasons as well –

The book is too hard.
Picked a difficult book to impress friends.

I hate reading.

My higher students were floored. That happens? The conversation became one of education – how some students feel when they struggle in reading. My stronger readers were completely confused. Didn’t everyone realize that picking hard books will make it harder to grow as readers. They proceeded to teach each other, sharing their lesson about how to grow as readers and even book recommendations for when they are looking for a quick read. Many things I have said – repeatedly – were brought up from my students. And, I have to say; I think they listen more when it comes from their peers.

Finally, I shared this video from Penny Kittle

The kids were shocked that some high school students went their first THREE YEARS of high school and read two books or less total. Even some of my readers that struggle a bit sat up a little straighter. They had all passed that number in October.

When we were done, I asked why they thought I wanted them to be readers. After a few kids volunteered some answers, I told them –

I inhabit a world of books. When I was younger – their age – it was my books that kept me company when middle school drama grew to be too much. It was my books that I took with me to college to read when I was homesick. Those stories, those characters, those “friends”, never failed me. They brought me home. When you are a reader, you are never alone. You can travel the world, learn about others, and learn about yourself, all from the comfort of your bedroom.

I am firmly convinced that readers live more than others – we live our own lives AND live through the pages of books. We become empathetic as a result of the stories we inhale. And, when you meet other readers, quick friendships develop.

So yes, of course I want them to read because it will help them as students. It will make the game of school so much easier for them. But truly, I want them to read because I cannot imagine my life without books. And while my favorite books might not be for every reader, I am absolutely convinced that there is a perfect book out there waiting for each and every one of them. It is their key to this world I inhabit. And I encouraged them not to waste time fake reading, but to dive in because everyone is welcome here.

Twenty days are left with this group of students I have grown to adore. Twenty days left to convince them to set aside a bit of time in their packed spring schedules and continue to pick up a book. Looking at my own calendar, it is full to bursting. I’m running from one thing to the next each day. But, when I slow down, when I listen to my students, conversations stop me and fill me up. I’m so glad I did the other day. This was a conversation we needed to have. And we only have twenty days to make that impact that will last a lifetime. Will they become readers for life? I hope with my entire heart that they do. 

Learning About Engagement

I’ve been thinking a lot about engagement lately. I helped a special education student teacher plan a unit so that she could teach in my reading classes. Topic? Graphic novels. Using Terry Thompson’s fabulous book, Adventures in Graphica, we sketched out a two-week unit on the components of graphic novels. The cumulating assessment has the students creating their own comics and reflecting on why they made the choices they did for their comic.

When I co-teach, I add to the conversation during the mini-lesson, but I also move around the back of our group a lot, checking in on the students I can’t see as easily from the front of the carpet. What I’ve noticed throughout this unit is that they don’t need a lot of direction to stay on task – these kids are engaged.

Today we detailed what we were asking for in the final piece of the unit. They are to create a rough sketch for their rough draft – planning out panels, speech bubbles, think of perspective, etc. After working through that planning piece, they will move on to a final draft, adding detail and color as they go. I’ve done my own rough draft, and during our work time today, I finished my final draft.

Sitting at the round table in the front of my room during work time, I glanced up and looked around the room. We’d had our mini-lesson for reading and writing and I had listed the projects students could work on for workshop time. Looking at the clock, I realized that almost thirty minutes had passed. I stood, stretched, and glanced at the kids who I was sitting with. We had been quietly chatting as we worked and their comics were amazing.

Moving around the room to check in on other groups, there was a quiet hum of conversation coming from every corner. Kids were working on their comics at various stages – rough drafts (due tomorrow), final drafts for those already ahead (due Friday). There were some kids working on their book of Heart Poems which was due Friday, but I had extended the due date by a week due to some technology issues we’ve had. Regardless of what part of the room I visited, they were working hard.

After moving around the room, I returned to my group and my table to finish my comic. Reflecting on the class, I thought through the parts of the workshop that made it easier for the students to focus and work. They chose where they were sitting and whom they were sitting by. They chose how to use their time and which project to work on. And while they didn’t get to choose the assignment, they had a great deal of choice on how they completed it.

Choice obviously has a great deal to do with the focus I saw in our classroom, but I still think I can do more. This weekend I watched my oldest son, a fifth grader as well, spend well over two hours creating another video for his YouTube channel. He scripted the video, filmed it, edited it in iMovie, uploaded it, and created a trailer. (You can be entertained by it HERE.) The only part that I taught him in the beginning was a five-minute lesson on the little I knew about iMovie, the rest he taught himself.

The same day I stumbled across a beauty blog written by a former student. While not in my homeroom, I had her for one class and wouldn’t have thought writing was her passion. Reading her blog, I was stunned. It was well done and she had obviously put forth a lot of effort into the look and feel of the entire site.

Thinking of my son and former student, I couldn’t help but think of my current class. They show so much promise at times – like this week. But looking at Luke’s YouTube channel, or this girl’s blog, I feel like we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg at school. How can we change our classrooms to really allow our students to flourish? What can we create that will really make them think? Inspire? What can I do to facilitate that type of learning? I feel like I’m hovering around the answer, but not completely there. Looking at my class today I knew that what we were doing was awesome, but I think we’re ready for the next level. Now I just need to figure out what that is.

Slice of Life - What is Your Best Effort?

Slice of Life is sponsored on Tuesdays by Two Writing Teachers. For the month of March we are posting a slice each day on our blog. Join in!

As I wrote about earlier in the week, lessons in reading have focused on some questions:

• What is your best effort?
• How do you feel when you put forth your best effort?
• Have you completed assignments to your fullest potential this year? Ever?
• What is holding you back?

I asked my students to somehow represent a character from their current book on a piece of paper. Drawing/ sketching was fine. So was creating a web. The guidelines were very broad. Today they turned their assignment in.

I noticed a few things. One, there was not one assignment late from seventy-eight students. They rarely have their reading responses late, but typically, there might be a few.  Two, many kids turned it in during the week and then asked for it back to do more work. That is unheard of. And by far, the biggest question I had was, "Mrs. S., do you think this is done? Is it good enough?" 

With a smile I would reply, "I'm sorry, the only one who can answer that is you." 

We have all levels of learners in these classes. With every single one of them, I saw growth from what they typically turn in. We will have to continue having this discussion because, after all, they are eleven years old. I'm just excited to see where we are beginning and where we go from here.

You can view their work in the video below.

Slice of Life - What Matters

Slice of Life is sponsored on Tuesdays by Two Writing Teachers. For the month of March we are posting a slice each day on our blog. Join in!

I’ve been thinking a lot about the state of education. This weekend I read The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way by Amanda Ripley. I have several professional development books that I have read parts of and need to finish. I’m reading research on the importance of relationships in the classroom. I’m thinking through the level of engagement of my students in any given lesson. At any point of the day my voice might be teaching one lesson, but my brain is going a million miles a minute trying to decide what to do next.

I’ve also been reading Brené Brown’s Daring Greatly. I will write more about this book later because I am only halfway done. It is a book I want to savor, instead of racing through. I have learned so much from Brown. One important lesson that is screaming at me is the need to be easier on myself. There are days that I think I’m a pretty crappy teacher, if I’m being perfectly honest. That the reason my students score so well is that they are brilliant, but it has nothing to do with me. I’m not asking for sympathy, just stating what that nasty little inner voice tries to tell me.

Today I came to a few realizations. One, yes, of course there are teachers in the world more talented than I am, and that is ok. That being said, I know I do a few things well. One, I connect with my students. I’m a big believer in the concept that relationships with my students and creating a classroom community are the two things that must come first before any teaching can occur. Two, I think that by having those two things in place – relationships and a supportive classroom – students feel free to try things they normally might not. That they engage more than they would otherwise. That they feel free to take a risk because they know that I, or their classmates, will catch them if they fall. I happen to think this is pretty important. J

I came home tonight more than a little grumpy. I left the high of a conference and crashed back into reality. Deadlines, a full schedule, and an empty fridge all create a perfect storm of a grumpy mom. I sat down for just a minute to scroll through my blog subscriptions and saw that my student, Delaney, had posted several new blogs. One title caught my eye. It said, “Go Watch My Animoto Video On My Classroom.” (You can view it HERE.)

In Writing Workshop today we discussed topics for our “slices.” I shared my last few posts and my students saw the video I had embedded on Saturday. They asked if they could watch it and then discussed how cool it was. I didn’t have time to teach them how to make one, but mentioned it was super easy when you use the app on your phone.

Delaney asked if she could take pictures of our classroom after school. Of course I was fine with that. I was busy, so I really didn’t see what she was doing. Opening the post and starting the video, my eyes welled up at the words, “My classroom. I love it there.”

So maybe I can work on “teaching points” or creating better units, but when I see that somehow students get inspired to do work like this on their own, when they problem solve how to create the thing they want to create and then actually do the work, I think I’m doing something right. And on days like this, that is all I need.