primary & post-primary literacy resourcecass.welbni.org/downloads/45/45_6_motivating...

Primary & Post-Primary Literacy Resource

Northern Ireland Education & Library Boards

Motivating Boys’ Learning in Literacy A Guidance Document for

Primary & Post-Primary Schools

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Writing Guidance for Key Stage 1

Every School a Good School, a strategy for the promotion of Literacy and Numeracy notes that while the percentage of pupils is not at the expected level in English at KS2 it has reduced from 27.2% in 2001 to 22% in 2006. There is still a differential of 9.3% between the performance of boys and girls and at KS3 the differential is greater to 13%. “This level of underachievement presents real challenges for boys.” “In post-primary schools …… there is particular concern over the standards of attainment in literacy in the non-selective sector and a gap in relation to the performance of boys compared to girls.”

The following are a range of practices and strategies to help boys enjoy learning to read and write. They are based on research and the most effective practice here in NI and other countries. The provision of a rich and stimulating learning environment which is recommended for high quality teaching and learning for all pupils, is central to success. Engaging the pupils in the selection of materials for classroom and library increases their sense of ownership and catches their interest.

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“WHAT CAN I READ?” Reading programmes in schools may be more relevant to girls interests than boys in terms of: • limited selection of genre; • perceptions of reading; • some material is not recognised as ‘school literacy’ and is discouraged; • reading activities used as time-fillers. A small survey of pupils reading on NI primary and post-primary schools found that …… A well structured classroom should include a range of these texts, and also may in an easy-to-read format to help develop fluency and increase enjoyment. Smith and Wilhelm, 2002 pp 150-157 suggest providing boys with text that: • use a narrative approach that focuses more on plot and action than on description; • are visual, such as movies and cartoons, providing a multimedia experience; • provide the opportunity to develop literacy skills through an exploration of lyrics and

discussions about musical tastes, the role of music in students’ lives, and so on; • provide “exportable knowledge” – that is, information boys can use in conversation, such as

headlines, football scores, jokes, “cool parts” of books or movies; • sustain engagement, such as series books or collections that allow readers to “see what’s up”

with characters they have come to care about; • show multiple perspectives, exploring topics from a variety of points of view; • are novel or unexpected in a school setting, such as satire; • are edgy or controversial – worth arguing and caring about; • contain powerful or positive ideas that have political, moral, or “life-expanding” appeal; • are funny, appealing to boys’ taste for humour.

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“WHEN CAN I READ?” Our approaches to closing the gender gap must focus on providing purposeful, planned, enjoyable reading and writing, talking and listening opportunities across the curriculum on a daily basis and ensure all pupils can achieve success. Since reading provides the models for pupils as writers we need to support all pupils in making these connectives in order to support them in developing their full range of literacy skills and the thinking skills which will enable them to become independent learners. The NI Curriculum document Language & Literacy pg 49 states that a Balanced Literacy Programme should include: • modelled; • shared; reading and writing • guided; fiction and non-fiction • independent; • reading aloud; • drama/improvisation/interpretation; • media literacy; • traditional and digital methods of presentation. Make reading …… • Read aloud with expression, so pupils can hear how fluent reading sounds. Use

- your voice and body to bring the story alive. - visual stimulation such as illustrated texts, where appropriate, to help pupils construct

meaning or - provide props and link the texts you’re reading to real-world objectives.

• Remember the web, using it to find texts that require pupils to think, analyse and discuss. • Involve boys by creating a “boys only” zone in the library and by encouraging boys to

recommend their favourite texts to others. • Plan personal reading time for all pupils, in regularly scheduled blocks of time every day eg.

USSR. (Braxton 2003 pg 43)

and writing …… FUN • Familiarise pupils with models of good writing, discussing and pointing out language features

and text organisation so that they become aware of the choices the writer has made. • Talk about how the purpose and audience affect the writer’s choices and influences the reader. • Ensure a balance of learning between content and secretarial skills. • Provide opportunities to make connectives across the curriculum in a range of topics for

reading and writing in a range of genre.

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Where do you do most reading?

Do you enjoy reading?

Books in a series Plays Poetry Science Fiction stories Newspapers

Myths Legends Fables Parables

Traditional stories

Stories with similar

themes? What?

Nature books/reports Adventure stories Mystery stories

Fantasy Stories by the same author

Magazines about your hobbies or

interests Comics/Cartoons Information

texts Web

pages

Detective stories Thesauruses

and Dictionaries

Instructions Letters Encyclopaedias

Fashion/beauty Historical novels Song lyrics Biographies Sports Current

affairs

‘Gossip’ General interest articles

Geographical books/magazines

Science books/magazines

Humorous books/jokes Other

Reading Survey

inside school

inside school

outside school

outside school

Colour in each brick as you read each type of text

shape poem rhyming poems limericks rap simile poem Haiku tongue twisters

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WHAT’S THE SECRET? Recent research indicates that for many boys, literature appears to involve a secret code!

(Pirrie 2002 pg 53) By explicitly teaching the process and strategies that good readers use we can let boys in on the secret! “Highly structured, scaffolded and explicit instructional strategies are powerful tools for motivating boys and encouraging them to respond.”

(Wilson 2003 pg 12) However, no matter what approaches we use as teachers learning is still something they have to do for themselves.

(AFL document NI Curriculum pg 2)

Teachers Pupils Share learning intentions Share and negotiate success criteria Give constructive feedback Employ effective questioning Introduce pupil self and peer

assessment and evaluation

Take responsibility for their own learning

Know what learning they are undertaking

Know how to use success criteria to help assess and evaluate work

Transfer the learning

As teachers we need to promote learning as active, meaningful and collaborative and supporting pupils in developing a shared language of learning, providing challenging tasks and enabling them to make choices.

(AFL document NI Curriculum pg 6) Think!! • Have I provided clear learning intentions and related success criteria? • Have I used modelled and shared sessions to demonstrate what is expected? • Have I given clear instruction (if necessary) outlining exactly what is required? • Have I given pupils a scaffold to help them focus on one step at a time. • Have I stated the exact time to be allocated to the work or when an assignment is due? Have I structured tasks so that there is opportunity for both individual and group work? Have I provided opportunities for boys to demonstrate leadership skills?

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Remember! Boys respond best when: • work is assigned in bite-sized, digestible pieces and is time-limited; • lessons are broken down into a variety of activities that include more “active” learning

opportunities, such as drama, investigation, research, or the use of information technology; • the work seems relevant to them – that is, when it has a purpose they can understand; • lessons are delivered in a brisk, well-paced format, with an obvious direction, so that they can

tell that progress is occurring; • the work includes an element of competition and/or involves short-term goals; • time is allowed for review and reflection following the lesson or assignment; • an analysis of the “concrete” aspects of a text precedes an analysis of an emotional response

to it; • they receive regular, positive feedback.

(Wilson 2003 pg 12)

Developing Comprehension Skills Research suggests that to improve comprehension pupils need taught to: • monitor one’s understanding of a text and make adjustments (eg. re-reading a passage) as

needed; • use relevant prior knowledge (eg. to make predictions); • generate questions about the text; • think aloud; • pay attention to and determine or “uncover” a text’s structure; • draw inferences from a text; • construct visual representations of plot lines, main and supporting ideas in a text, or

relationships between characters and events; • summarise a text. Different children bring different experiences to a text. Children’s prior knowledge prepares them for reading. They need to be aware that often there is no right answer. As teachers, we need to value different interpretations of text and encourage children to provide evidence to support their interpretations. Comprehension cannot be a passive or receptive activity. It requires readers to predict, confirm, think and reflect on their reading.

WE MUST TEACH COMPREHENSION NOT TEST IT

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Reciprocal Teaching What Reciprocal Reading is a strategy used to develop comprehension of information texts. Teacher and pupils take turns leading the discussion concerning a text. The strategy comprises four elements - predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarising sections of text. Why The elements need to be taught - modelled and shared as a whole class before groups can undertake guided and eventually independent use of the strategy with increasingly complex and challenging texts. The purpose of Reciprocal Reading is to help pupils to actively bring meaning to the written word. It exemplifies the use of thinking skills and personal capabilities of problem solving, managing information, working with others, self management and being creative. Assessment for learning underpins the process as pupils learn to monitor their own learning and thinking. How Firstly introduce the whole class of each of the skills in the process through modelled and shared reading. This will take a few weeks to embed. During group work bring the group the set of cards, multiple copies of an INFORMATION TEXT, dictionaries, atlases and paper for note taking. You may also introduce a laptop when children are familiar with the process and open dictionary.com and wikipedia.org. These sites provide great opportunity to use ICT and build into the sessions the awareness of website credibility and website advertising. For the first few sessions you are the leader, but the children are aware that the skills demonstrated will help them work as an independent group in the future. When the children begin to take over the running of the group themselves with you as observer it is useful to continue to assign roles. However once they are comfortable with the process they should all be participating using all four strategies. If anyone is observed not to be contributing you may bring back the assigning of roles to ensure participation.

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BRINGING LITERACY TO LIFE The arts, music, drama, art and design can be used to explore ideas, convey meaning and extend understanding. For boys it is a means of making meaning visible and increasing their understanding and enjoyment of what they read.

(White 2001 p3) states that there are many benefits to integrating the arts into language and literacy: reading comprehension – through role play, improvisation, hot seating, thought tracking; language development – through participation in music and poetry; writing – through using drama strategies for rehearsing, revising and evaluating ideas before

writing; thinking skills – by making value judgements, reading agreement, analysing viewpoints

through drama. “Those who cannot imagine cannot read’. (William 2004 pg 14) Visualisation strategies can provide motivation for boys for reading and writing as well as increased enthusiasm and enjoyment. Painting, drawing, photographs or constructing before writing can result in more detailed

descriptions and stories and help link writing to familiar experiences. ‘Reader’s Theatre’ scripts enable them to become active participants in a story exploring

characters and their relationships building empathy and to be creative in their thinking and discussion around the ‘problem’ in the text.

The statutory requirements for drama (NI Curriculum document KS2 pg 82) require that pupils:

- develop their understanding of the world …… inside play situations; - explore a range of cultural and human issues …… through the use of drama.

Drama is a powerful motivating tool for learning, developing children’s understanding of themselves and the world as well as their communication skills. For example by exploring the gaps in a text, or investigate the history of an artefact or write a new story the drama remains open-ended but can stimulate imagination as well as clarify understanding and validate opinions. This can enable pupils to engage more fully with the test and encourage them to read more.

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The following are some of the ways in which games and role play can enhance pupil’s understanding of stories, novels and other texts. Role playing: Pupils take on the roles of characters in a text. Dramatic play: Pupils use a situation from a text as a springboard for creating their own story

or drama. Guided imagery: Pupils are asked to imagine scenes, and subsequently write about or

visually depict them. Snapshot drama: Pupils are asked to depict a moment from the text as a “freeze frame”,

particularly as a way of describing characters’ expressions and gestures at that moment. Analogy drama: Pupils enact a story from their own lives that parallels a situation in a text. “To tell the truth” game: As in the television show of the same name, a few pupils, each of

whom is depicting the same character from a text, are grilled by a panel that ultimately determines which pupil has most convincingly “become” the character.

Correspondence: Pupils write letters, diary entries, and advertisements in the roles of various

story characters. Missing-scene scripts: Pupils write scripts for scenes that, while suggested in a text, were

not explicitly described. Newscast: Pupils produce a news broadcast based on characters and events in a text.

(Wilhelm 1997 pp 100-101)

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An interest in music can also be a powerful tool to engage pupils in literacy learning. Carefully chosen music without lyrics can be a starting point for:

- creating word images; - dialogue; - slogans; - poetry; - descriptions of feelings; - portrayal of characters; - song lyrics.

Music with lyrics can provide the opportunity to:

- change words in the text; - add a verse; - invent a new song title; - design a record cover; - make a short video clip; - write new lyrics; - write around the music theme.

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LET’S TALK! Talk is central to learning. It is used constantly to acquire, explore, develop and express knowledge and understanding. The relationship between talking and listening, reading and writing should be recognised and developed. Purposeful talking and listening underpins all language development. Boys in particular may need to talk through their ideas to clarify their understanding of what they have read, verbalising their ideas before committing their ideas to paper. High quality class teaching and active learning strategies provided in the guidance for the NI curriculum recommend the following strategies for encouraging talk as pre-requisite: • small shared-reading groups that include the teacher; • groups working together on the same text; • reading in pairs; • talk partners; • writing partners; • using ICT (email) to share their reading experience within school or with and other school; • using mind maps; • choose relevant strategies for tasks.

When Planning When Adapting When Evaluating How am I going to do

it? Is it similar to anything

I’ve done before? Is it one of those?

Do I understand it so far?

Do I need to ask a question?

Am I on the right track? Am I still on task? Is there a better way?

How did I do it? What method/strategy

worked? What did I learn? Did my plan work out? Can I learn from my

mistakes? Can I do better next

time?

NI Curriculum – Thinking Skills & Personal Capabilities KS1/2/3

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By working in this way supported by the teacher pupils (boys) increase the connections they can make, by sharing contributions and responses and clarifying understanding. The following are some suggestions of ways of working with others to enhance boys literacy development. Literature Circles Literature circles are small groups of pupils who are interested in reading the same book and who meet regularly to read and discuss the text. One version of the management of a literature circle is described below. Harvey Daniels identifies the following key ingredients in his version of a literature circle: pupils choose their own reading materials; small, temporary groups are formed, according to pupils’ choice of reading material; different groups read different books; groups meet on a regular, predictable schedule to discuss their reading; group members use written or drawn notes to guide their reading and subsequent discussion; topics for discussion come from the pupils themselves; group meetings involve open-ended, natural conversations; the teacher acts as a facilitator, not an instructor or group member; evaluations are conducted both by the teacher and by pupils who self-evaluate; a spirit of fun and playfulness is maintained; when groups are finished, they share with their classmates, and then form new groups based

on new reading choices. (Daniels 2002 pg 18) Daniel Booth 2002 identifies several factors that enhance boys literacy development. Boys need to be given choice in and ownership of their reading. Boys‘ interests, backgrounds and abilities should be reflected in the selection of texts available. Boys need to be encouraged to talk about what they have read. Boys who are reluctant readers need to experience reading success.

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Graphic Organisers Graphic organisers can be a useful method of demonstrating the relationships between things, and to help pupils organise their thoughts before making a written or oral response. Some samples of these are shown below

Texts: ………………………………

Similarities Differences

K W L

K = What I/We Know W = What I/We Want to Find Out L = What I/We Learned



Mind Map Sequence of Events Chain

The T-Chart The KWL Chart

Event Map or Web

Who was involved?

What might happen next?

When did this event take place?

Where did this event take place? Why did this

event happen?

How did it happen?

EVENT What

happened?

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MENTORING “……… we might be able to help motivate boys to read by first simply letting them know what other males, other guys have enjoyed reading.”

Jon Saeszka 2003 pg 17 While many of the male role models boys encounter in the media do not seem to value literacy there are many positive role models in popular culture as well as in school, family and the community. Through mentoring programmes we may be able to influence boys attitudes interests and achievements in literacy. Below are the outlines of two different types of mentoring programmes which have had proven beneficial effects on boys literacy learning. Mentoring – a school centred approach A growing number of schools are involving their 6” form pupils as mentors for pupils from year 8-12. 1. Target group of pupils selected by teachers. These are pupils who are particularly weak in a

specific area and who may with support achieve their expected grade. 2. Guidance developed for both mentors and teachers

parents informed timetable drawn up (meetings take place and/or twice weekly during form time) targets and strategies discussed, set with pupils, mentors, teachers in a series of interviews programme operational parents receive monthly reports pupils and mentors evaluate the programme Below is an evaluation form from a school in NI Feedback from pupils The majority of pupils felt that the opportunity to belong to the mentoring cohort was a positive learning experience. Pupils discussed how it enabled them to set small manageable targets and to focus on specific areas. They enjoyed working with the year 13/14 mentors and felt that this made it less formal than working with a teacher. They felt this developed their skills in independently evaluating their work.

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Feedback from mentors Majority of mentors enjoyed the experience and felt it was a useful one to develop communication, time management and administrative skills. Pupils were given a letter at the end of the scheme which can be put in their Record of Achievement.

3. Mentors selected. 4. Training given. This may be internal, external or a combination.

“Modelling isn’t one way of influencing people. It’s the only way.”

(Albert Einstein) This is a programme aimed at encouraging boys’ interest in reading by providing a range of appealing material and male mentors from the community who would develop a supportive informal relationship with them through talking and reading based on mutual interests over a period of 2 years. Sports clubs are often a good place to start! The mentors become positive role models showing that reading is a male activity and that its all right to enjoy reading! Other ideas based on the mentoring system include: setting up a book group of pupils/fathers/older brothers/mentors. These groups meet monthly

in activity based learning centred on literacy eg. - reading instruction to make/construct - play a game - to do some research - to set up an email communication with other schools on sports/hobbies groups

organise a boys’ book club where boys are paired with those in another school or cluster of

schools and share ideas and opinions in a range of ways.

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FIGURE-IT-OUT One important aspect of literacy is for pupils to be able to arrive at new insights and become more aware of how texts portray people and situations. This is know as critical literacy and involves pupils in exploring, discussing and questioning assumptions and viewpoints in spoken, written and visual texts. Even very young children can be engaged by challenging questions. This is not solely a strategy for boys and should be part of good quality classroom practice. Pupils should be enabled to “Evaluate the appropriateness of information/ resources thus showing increasing critical ability”. “Pose questions about the reliability of evidence and the consequences for reaching conclusions.”

[TSPC NI KS3] However the active nature of the approach may provide opportunities for boys to engage with and enjoy literacy. Critical literacy practices include: considering the purpose of a text and the author’s motives for writing it; understanding that text represent a particular viewpoint; examining the underlying meaning; adopting a point of view about a text; considering others’ interpretations; examining how authors use language to persuade; making decisions about personal thoughts, ideas, opinions and values in relation to a text.

[adapted from Department of Education, Tasmania]

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ASK! Questions to get pupils thinking about a text What is this text about? Who would most likely read/view this text? Why? What does the author of this text want us to know? Think? Believe? What do the words and images suggest? How do you feel about this text? How are children and adults represented in this text? How are males and females represented in this text? Has anything been left out of this text? If so, what? What are the features of the text? Describe its structure? What genre does this text belong to? Does anyone or any one group benefit from this text? If so, who? These questions are generic and may be applied to a range of contexts eg. gender. Compare the nouns, verbs and adjectives in two sports articles – one about a female and the

other about a male athlete. Consider a text written in the first person and decide the gender of the narrator. What can you

say about the narrator (give evidence). Read the extract aloud but change the first person to the third person. Discuss how this changes the story.

How does popular culture represent the experiences of being male or female. How does this compare with pupil’s own experiences.

Investigate the media portrayal of eg. sporting events. - Watch male and female sporting events. Work in groups to decide on vocabulary they

would use to describe the games and the attributes and skills required. - View the events and consider how it is made interesting and exciting – camera technique,

colour, sound, commentary.

“I want to know more about that”. Making reading and writing relevant to boys.

“Learning should be purposeful and problem centred because learners need the opportunity to observe, invent, practice and hone expert strategies in a context of real use”.

[Whihel 2004, Reading is Seeing pg 102-103]

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We therefore need to:

identify pupils interests and abilities; contextualise the learning in authentic, challenging tasks; model the skills and capabilities the pupils might need; scaffold the learning through planning, sharing expertise, questioning; discuss the learning intentions and success criteria; encourage pupils to work together; capitalise on the expertise of the pupils themselves; consolidate and review the learning; connect the learning and other contexts.

[TSPC NI document KS1/2/3]

Boys respond well to experiences that they have had or could have had in their own lives eg. visits or visitors linked to sport, transport, leisure activities, local issues ……… These should have the following characteristics: a clear focus on one or more key concepts; a variety of ‘real’ resources and authentic learning experience which involve the pupil with both

direct instruction and active discovery; a range of relevant texts at the pupils independent level. Real-world themes enable pupils to make connections between the need for good literacy skills and purposeful, authentic activities and perhaps come to the realisation how important reading and writing are to real life. Below are some ideas that teachers have used to make literacy real to pupils: exploring the history of the community

- gathering stories about the past - gathering relevant photographs and artefacts - gather information about community events - investigate street names - investigate family names

turn the classroom into a library – café along the lines of an internet café providing a wide range of reading material and snacks. This will give the pupils the experience of reading for enjoyment or using books for a specific task in a relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere;

explore an environmental issue. Work with local community projects over a period of time

collecting data and information and writing a report on their findings; create a display about eg. cars/motorbikes/bicycles etc ………… to include, pictures, history,

facts, surveys and which requires them to read, ask questions, select and reject information and report on their findings.

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IMPROVING READING USING LEXILE MEASURES Lexile measures enable teachers and parents to select books and other reading materials

targeted to a pupil’s individual reading ability.

Matching a reader’s Lexile measure to a text should ensure a comprehension rate of 75% ie. difficult enough to be challenging but not so difficult enough that the child experiences frustration.

It is now possible to determine a Lexile measure for each pupil from Progress in English (PIE) scores.

This enables you to select books that are targeted to pupils’ current skills levels and to more

effectively monitor progress. It also supports home learning, helping parents to choose ability – appropriate books. It enables pupils to get to grips with reading comprehension and the Lexile analysis can help

you construct teaching materials appropriately or adapt text for any age or subject. Detailed information can be found on the website

http://www.improvemyreading.co.uk

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