The Architecture of Successful Reading for Boys
I am reminded of the Biblical parable of the two builders, the wise and the foolish, the rock and the sand!
Have you noticed how long it seems to take for a building project to ‘get off the ground’?
It’s because good builders give close attention to the foundations. They are of critical importance to the success of the finished product, even though they are rarely seen once it takes off!
So it is with successful reading skills.
My Messenger article two weeks ago highlighted the Sydney Morning Herald report on the decline in students’ writing standards, as measured by NAPLAN, over the past 10 years.
This week the paper revealed that boys’ underperformance is especially evident with Year 9 writing, where only 81.6% of boys reach the minimal level, compared with 90.8% of girls. Girls also outperform boys in reading across Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, with the greatest disparity in Year 9, where 93.3% of girls reach the minimum standard compared with 87.3% of boys.
In his book ‘Boys and Girls Learn Differently’, the American social philosopher and academic Michael Gurian makes the point –“ based on cognitive research and our understanding of brain development – that boys learn differently from girls, and this difference impacts what happens in the classroom. There needs to be greater emphasis on phonics and phonemic awareness, and more structured and explicit teaching and assessment styles.”
The primary school years are the critical foundational years. They are a time when teaching and learning for boys must be tailored to their needs.
At Mosman Prep, we provide a learning journey that caters especially for boys. How they:
- react to situations
- interact in learning
- process information
As I mentioned two weeks ago, as specialists in educating boys, we focus on their literacy needs by addressing fundamental reading, spelling and language skills using targeted research-based programs and strategies.
Our approach includes:
- Explicit teaching of reading - We teach boys in Early Entry to Year 2 how to read through the InitiaLit program (Macquarie University developed) which has a synthetic approach to teaching phonics. This aligns with the new Kindergarten to Year 2 English curriculum released by NESA earlier this year.
- Regular data analysis - We use a range of assessments - formal, observational and formative - to determine a student’s reading level. We use this data to inform flexible groupings to target our instruction in guided reading sessions.
- Feedback - We provide individualised feedback to students to ensure progression in reading fluency, expression and comprehension. Students are able to communicate what a good reader looks like, sounds like, and feels like.
- Real World Context - Lions on the loose from Taronga Zoo? Neonatal nurses and doctors performing surgery on a baby gorilla? These are some examples of the current affair articles which different grades have engaged with this week in shared reading sessions. Boys need relevance and purpose for their learning. We ensure they’re reading a range of texts to develop informed, engaged citizens that have a growing knowledge of the world around them.
- Multi-modal texts - Students analyse media, multimedia and digital texts which are appropriate to their needs, interests and abilities. Model texts become increasingly sophisticated as students move from Kindergarten to Year 6 (e.g. we view, read and discuss novels, picture books, song lyrics, advertisements, news reports to expose students to a variety of text types and genres).
The early years are the most active period for establishing neural connections, but new connections can form throughout life and unused connections continue to be pruned… More importantly, the connections that form early provide either a strong or weak foundation for the connections that form later. - Harvard University
At a time in life when their brains are most malleable, when neurons are firing and wiring, when foundations for the future are being formed, targeted, evidenced-based teaching and learning is critical.
Our outstanding staff to student ratio, which sees class teachers supported by additional teaching assistants in each Junior Primary class, literacy specialists in our Senior Primary Classes, learning support teachers, gifted and talented teachers and a teacher librarian, allows powerful targeted teaching during the foundational years.
The architecture is ‘spot on’ here at Prep, and the foundations laid with great care.
Peter Grimes | Headmaster
References:
Why boys are falling behind at school - SMH 1/11/2022.
Link - SMH/education/why-boys-are-falling-behind-at-school-2022
Brain Architecture - Harvard University.
Link - Developing Child/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture
Tips for Parents
Link - Developing Child/science/key-concepts/brain-architecture
- Read to them regularly, with expression and in different voices.
- Model reading. Let your child see you read often. It can be cookbooks, magazines, the newspaper, novels or non-fiction.
- Talk about the books or articles you have been reading. This is a great thing to do at dinner time. Share the excitement or intrigue you have experienced.
- Schedule 30 minutes after dinner or every Thursday evening as “Family Reading Time”.
- Start your own “Family Book Club” if your children are between 10-18 years old. If your child is studying a novel in school, why not make that the book for the month?
- Buy books where their name appears. This is a fabulous technique for encouraging reluctant readers! It worked brilliantly with me as a child. I used to be the student who would read the first and last chapter of a book, along with the summary, and write a book report. This all changed when my mother bought me a novel with the main character’s name being Erin. Powerful, yet so simple!
- Find books that come with a CD either in bookstores or the library so your child can listen and follow along. This is also a fantastic way to encourage reluctant readers or to keep the motivation high for those children who are struggling with learning how to read.
- Always give books as at least one part of a birthday, Christmas, Easter, or holiday gift.
- Give books “just because” for teamwork tasks (aka chores) being well done or because you noticed them demonstrating a positive virtue like compassion.
- Take your child to the library regularly. It could be to participate in a library program or just to hang out and read. What about making every second Sunday your family’s library day and follow it up with a hot chocolate so you can all talk about the books you read?
- Read aloud books that have been made into movies and then watch the movie and do a comparison about which was better – the book or the movie.
Did you learn to love reading as a child? If so, what did the adults in your life do to encourage your passion for reading to grow?
There is good news for those who come home exhausted. Devoting just 15 minutes a day to support your son’s reading can have a significant impact on his achievement.