Boys and Reading

Question: Why are boys so hard to motivate to read?

Answer/Quote: “Although much has been written in the popular press about the ‘boy crisis’ in reading…the subject is far more nuanced than this treatment suggests….. Getting boys to read is not simply a matter of locating texts with a male protagonist in an action-oriented setting or stocking libraries with graphic novels.” P. 587.

 The authors’ solution is to model reading by reading aloud and to model writing by reading what the authors have written aloud. They also suggest finding books that answer the boys’ questions.

Comment: The problem is clear. The authors’ solutions seem somewhat simplistic. And hard to implement. RayS.

Title: “Motivating Boys to Read: Inquiry, Modeling, and Choice Matter.” D Fisher and N Frey. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (April 2012), 587-596.