Starting in the Middle:

Motivating Male Readers With

Purpose

Alexander DavidsonU of D Jesuit HS & AcademyArchdiocese of Detroit 2nd

Annual In-Service for Teachers and Administration

About Me: Alexander Davidson University of Michigan, 2010

English, History, Secondary Education Madonna University, 2013

MAT, Literacy Education Reading Specialist certification

University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy Five years of teaching Back at my old high school English: freshmen and sophomores Study Skills: seventh grade

Twitter @_AlexanderJohnFacebook AlexanderDavidsonTeacherAuthorWebsite AlexanderDavidsonBooks.com

My Classroom

Freshman English I, Period 4

Freshman English I, Period 6

The Problem

The Solution

The Problem with Boys (Guys Read) “The U.S. Department of

Education reading tests for the last 30 years show boys scoring worse than girls in every age group, every year.”

“Eighth grade boys are 50 percent more likely to be held back,”

“two-thirds of Special Education Students in high school are boys,” and

“overall college enrollment is higher for girls than boys.”

Boys in the Classroom “Biologically, boys are slower to develop than girls

and often struggle with reading and writing skills.” (Guys Read)

“It is possible that achievement in a particular area for boys is important in order to foster positive attitudes in that area”( Logan & Johnston, 2009).

Therefore, “strategies for improving attitudes to reading in school will be likely to have a positive impact on reading frequency and ability after school” (Logan & Johnston 2009).

What They Get in School Many female teachers are assigning novels “meant to

induce sympathy for the feelings of characters with problems. But most boys are bored by these books, and they are less likely than girls to read books that they think are boring in order to please teachers or parents” Rhoads, 2010).

These novels don’t appeal to the “action-oriented, competitive learning style of many boys” and work against the effort at improving reading skills (Guys Read).

“In part, boys fall so far behind in reading because educators often don’t give them stories that would appeal to them—adventures and combat, heroes and villains”(Rhoads 2010).

Choice Seems Obvious! “Whether at home or school, providing boys with

the kinds of books that appeal to them is an essential strategy for motivating boys to read…Catering to boys’ reading preferences by providing access to a wide variety of texts promotes reading fluency and confidence in reading ability in addition to encouraging positive attitudes towards reading” (Canadian Council on Learning, 2010).

A Problem with That… What about unmotivated readers at middle or

high school levels whose teachers have a required curriculum to teach that includes pre-set book lists?

Have No Fear… While the novels may be set in stone,

how you teach them to your students is not.

Male Brain-based Learning When discussing the process of

teaching the Fibonacci sequence, boys are stimulated by the properties of the numbers while the girls look for its relationship to the real world (National Association for Single Sex Public Education, 2006).

When describing the different lesson plans for boys and girls, the lesson for the boys focused on the process of finding the number and figuring out its relation to pi.

The boys appeared to be more motivated to see how things work and solve puzzles, the action-based side of mathematics and science.

Solution: Starting In the Middle

This process-based, question and answer, puzzle-solving method can be transferred to productive reading instruction to ensure that these struggling male readers will be motivated to read and enjoy even your most canonical classic literature that your curriculum demands.

When working with a text, it is important to provide a reading purpose for the students to work towards.

By selecting a passage from the middle or end of a text, the reading process becomes more interactive than simply starting on page one.

Starting In the Middle (Cont’d)

This excerpt can help a teacher form questions for his or her students to help guide the reading, or even better the students will be able to create their own personal questions based on the selection to form their own individual purposes for reading.

After the excerpt is presented and the reading goals are defined, then reading can begin as normal with regular classroom discussions that focus on the reading purposes created by the teacher and/or students.

Of Mice and Men Murder Mystery Day One - Present the passage:

“She struggled violently under his hands. Her feet battered on the hay and she writhed to be free; and from under [his] hand came a muffled screaming…He moved his hand a little and her hoarse cry came out. Then [he] grew angry…And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her…and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for [he] had broken her neck.” (Steinbeck, 1993)

Of Mice and Men Murder Mystery Characters sitting around and talking has been

transformed into a thrilling character study Analyze character descriptions Analyze character interactions Analyze character motivations

Who are the suspects? Who will the victim be? Who is the murderer? What happened that could have led to murder?

Classroom is more productive because more students are participating because more students are actually reading and enjoying the novel.

Of Mice and Men Murder Mystery Take a look at your Of Mice and Men reading

guide example. Provides a way for students to document

their reading. Gives motivation to readers through already

created reading purposes.

What about the Common Core?

Who are the main suspects we meet in this chapter? How would you describe each of them? What is their relationship?

Are there any other characters who might be the murderer? Who? Why do you think that?

If you chose a character, what would be his possible motive (reasons) for murdering someone?

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

Common Core (Cont’d) Is it possible we have met the victim in this scene? Who could

it be? Why would someone want to kill her? Who might that

someone be based on this chapter? Do you see a possible motive for her murder in this scene?

Why?

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Common Core (Cont’d) Who is the murder victim and who is the murderer?

How and why was she killed? Why does George do what he does to Lennie? What

reasons could he have to do this? What previous scene might have given him some inspiration in these circumstances?

What are some important messages this novel presents?

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.10 By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9-10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Teachers Pay Teachers Feedback “I have taught Of Mice and Men many times

and my students do not always get into it. They LOVED the murder mystery! So thank you for sharing this, it was wonderful!”

“Very cool. I'm impressed!”

“Some of these were very challenging for my class of students with Special Needs. Very helpful for me to determine who needed more discussion and review! Thanks for a fun twist!”

What about Social Studies?AMERICAN HISTORY: Why start with colonization? Start with the Civil War! (action – exciting,

bloody) North versus South: 1861-1865 Battle of Gettysburg: 52,000 men killed, wounded,

or missing in action Total War: 620,000 men dead (most in American

history)

What about Social Studies? Then go back to the beginning.

Essential question: How did we get to this moment in our country’s history?

Constantly use the focus of the Civil War as a lens or purpose as to why students are learning the material• Economic/Social

Differences: Colonization, Inventions

• States Rights: American Revolution, Articles of Confederation, Constitutional Convention

• Expansion/Ideals: Manifest Destiny, Louisiana Purchase, Mexican War, Missouri Compromise

What about Science? Pick a moment that will drive instruction

Creation vs Evolution Debate (Bill Nye/ Ken Ham)

Live event: 500,000 viewers

YouTube: 2,738,127 (4:30pm, 4/8/14)

Set up learning goals and questions that will help drive learning along the way. (Help the students stay focused and motivated to keep going) What did others think before this? How did these ideas change over time? How did I become the human being I am today? Which expert in the debate will “win”? What do you think this?

What do you know to back up your prediction?

What about Theology? LIFE OF JESUS Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

Started by Persians, spread by Phoenician traders, picked up by Alexander the Great to Carthage, then picked up by Romans

Gruesome methods Then teach about his life through created learning

goals for students: Who is Jesus? What was he all about? How do we know this? Who crucified Jesus? Why would they want to do this to him?

A Different Approach Reading guides are great because it helps

the students focus and think deeply on areas the teacher has determined are important.

What if your readers got the chance to create their own reading purposes? Allows for a more authentic learning experience Allows for more intrinsic reading motivation

Let us show you how…

Pride and Prejudice First line:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen, 2010).

Based on the very first line, what do you think this book is going to be about?

Pride and Prejudice TAKE ONE:

Read excerpt from Chapter 34 Darcy proposes, but Elizabeth

says no What should we look for?

Who are these people? Why does she turn him down? What does he do to make her

hate him? TAKE TWO:

Read excerpt from Chapter 58 Darcy and Elizabeth profess

their love What should we look for?

What does Darcy do to help Elizabeth’s family?

Does Darcy change or does Elizabeth change?

What about Foreign Language? Set up a situation or problem

International business, increasing cultural diversity What do we need to do to solve it?

Communicate effectively Appreciate other cultures

What do we then need to learn? Vocabulary, conjugations, other grammar Culture, history, traditions

These become the focus of the lessons. Not totally, just keep touching back to the

purpose Let students know WHY they are learning this.

What about Mathematics? Set up situation or problem

Student Senate campaign posters What do we need to do?

Turn mock-up into real life poster Figure out supplies

What do we need to learn? Similar shapes, conversions, ratios Surface area (paper), volume (paint)

Uses the male brain’s motivation to see how things work and solve puzzles, the action-based side of mathematics

Again, let them know WHY they are learning this.

Starting In the Middle: Wrapping It Up Some solutions already exist, such as getting an early

start on gender appropriate reading instruction, expanding our definition of reading to different genres and formats, and allowing more choice in our students’ reading to match male interests.

However, in a world where curriculums and book lists seem to be set in stone, there is still hope.

By starting in the middle, this technique can be used to turn a multitude of texts into engaging works of literature by giving students, both male and female, a purpose and drive for reading through the creation of reading goals driven by the excerpt.

Simple adaptations to your classroom instruction can be made to ensure success for all students as long as you understand who your students are and how those boys and girls sitting in your desks learn best.

References Austen, J. (2010). Pride and prejudice. London: Harper Press. Canadian Council on Learning. (2009). Why boys don’t like to read:

Gender differences in reading achievement. Lessons in Learning. Guys Read. (n.d.). Guys and reading. Retrieved from

http://guysread.com/about/. Logan, L. & Johnson, R. (2009). Gender differences in reading

ability and attitudes: Examining where the differences lie. Journal of Research in Reading, 32 (2), 199-214.

National Association for Single Sex Public Education. (2006). Learning style differences. Retrieved from http://www.singlesexschools.org/research-learning.htm.

Rhoads, S. (2010). Considering sex differences for effective education. Gender differences. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Considering_Sex/.

Steinbeck, J. (1993). Of mice and men. New York: Penguin Books.