What Can Be Done in the Classroom?

By Jessica Frasso, Kara Clifton, and Katherine Lee

According to our culture, boys enjoy activity. They thrive in an environment where they can work with their hands, go on an adventure, and be the “hero.” Consider the many classics—cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians, the prince coming to save his princess. These are all active games that require full focus and complete engagement—mentally, physically, and emotionally. However, what does this look like in the classroom? How does the teacher completely engage (mentally, physically, and emotionally) this same, active boy in classroom lessons? More specifically, how can he engage with literacy in a positive manner?
After posing such questions, we conducted our own research to bring some answers to light. We began our research by interviewing parents, teachers, and elementary aged boys of various grades. Through these discussions we discovered a connection between the enjoyment of reading, the types of books that the boys read/ have read to them, and the activities that follow the reading. Below, we will discuss what this looks like in today’s classroom.
The teacher should carefully consider the type of literature he/she brings into the classroom. In order to fully engage one’s students, teachers must be aware of their interests. Through our research, we found many overlapping interests perceived by teachers of their students, parents of their sons, and boy’s favorite types of literature. Within the realm of informational books, sports, weaponry, mechanics, and history were of strong interest. As for general adventure stories, mysteries, space, and pirate escapades were those quickly chosen by young boys.
The teacher should also include activities to enhance the enjoyment of the reading. Boys like hand’s-on activities that relate to the chosen book. Activities that are competitive between the students are often enjoyed by boys. For example, the book Holes by Louis Sachar provides many hand’s-on opportunities. The boys could actually go outside and physically dig holes (just as the characters in the book do) to realize just how hard digging a hole really is. Something out of the ordinary and active will not only help the boys remember the book, but enjoy it as well. The goal of the teacher is to fully engage his/her students. Through active involvement, boys can understand the characters and plot more fully. It is through hand’s-on, post-reading experiences that boys put themselves in the place of the character—becoming a part of his/her time period, setting, and perhaps, people group. In addition, as boys generally like books that are informational, a teacher should allow them to do something they perceive as useful with the information. For instance, if the boy reads a book about pirates there are many activities that could help them enjoy the topic even more. Students could design a treasure hunt, make a boat, or write a story putting themselves as pirates.
When considering how to best engage boys in literature, research is necessary in order to determine the best approach possible. After inquiring on the subject with a variety of sources, we were able to infer a few concrete components that effect boys’ enjoyment of literature. The basic prevailing fact, in general, is boys need adventure or factual books accompanied with active response activities to create a positive outlook on literature.