According to research done by Michael W. Smith and Jeffrey D. Wilhelm (2002), boys read less, comprehend less, and value reading less than girls. Although some teachers write this off with the “boys will be boys” mentality, this is an important issue that I often see in my classroom, and it needs to be addressed, especially by teachers of adolescent boys. This is the time to help boys rediscover (or find for the first time) the enjoyment found in reading, and by tuning into what interests boys, teachers can more easily reach the boys in their classrooms.
Check out the following websites for more information:
Me, Read? No Way! provides information about the reading difficulties and deficits faced by the boys in our classrooms as well as multiple strategies to help them.
Author Jon Scieszka’s website, called Guys Read, has appealing book choices for boys and information on starting a Guys Read Club, basically a book club for boys, at school.
If you are interested in reading more about the research on this topic, check out the book Reading Don't Fix No Chevys: Literacy in the Lives of Young Men by Michael W. Smith and Jeffrey D. Wilhelm.
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