Expand the definition of 'reading' to include non-fiction, humor, graphic novels, magazines, action adventure, and, yes, even websites.
It's the pleasure of reading that counts; the focus will naturally broaden.
A boy won't read shark books forever.
-Jon Scieszka (Author, Editor)
It's the pleasure of reading that counts; the focus will naturally broaden.
A boy won't read shark books forever.
-Jon Scieszka (Author, Editor)
For the Summer of 2016 I was hired as a Presenter by Cromaine District Library to run their Boys Reading Club. Fondly referred to as "Boys Club," the program was sponsored by Abed Orthodontics Group and was intended to help prevent "the Summer Slide" and encourage boys to keep reading and writing all summer long.
When the program is a few years old they decided to hire an education student to help with classroom management and age-appropriate curriculum. The boys were divided into two groups, 3rd/4th Grades & 5th/6th Grades with each group meeting for an hour. We met at the Crossroads satellite branch on Monday mornings before the official time for that branch, so we had the whole library to ourselves!
The Librarians completely handed the program to me, I had free reign! Which was both thrilling and daunting! I planned out the whole summer about three times and ended up doing something completely different once I met the boys!
While I am a big fan of teaching kids the value of doing things for intrinsic rewards, many of the boys were struggling readers and I wanted to encourage them to read and write as much as I could get them to read and write. I designed an extrinsic program where they earned EXP points (as if they were participating in a Video Game.) The boys could earn EXP by doing additional activities at home. When they received 5 EXP points they got to choose a "treasure." (whistles, bouncy balls, pencils, LEGO packs, erasers, etc.) Earning EXP was completely optional and voluntary. The 3rd/4th grade group were way more into earning EXP than the 5th/6th grade group. (We ran out of stars!)
The members of Boys Club read over 10,525 minutes that summer!
The members of Boys Club read over 10,525 minutes that summer!
Week 1 - I wanted to learn about the boys and assess them without them realizing I was assessing them - so I got "sneaky."
We played an icebreaker using alliteration with the first letter of our names and an action to go along with the word - for example: I am Sarah Jean and I love Snowballs and I would mime throwing a snowball.
Next we went over the Expectations for Boys Club:
We talked about what the book might really be about (Screen-addiction and why it might be bad for us.)
I set up a few centers for the boys to rotate through:
Next we went over the Expectations for Boys Club:
- Bring a good attitude (which includes participating even when something isn’t your favorite).
- When someone is talking, everyone else is listening.
- Use voice levels that are appropriate to the situation.
We talked about what the book might really be about (Screen-addiction and why it might be bad for us.)
I set up a few centers for the boys to rotate through:
- Dice Roll Parts of Speech - The boys rolled a giant die (purchased at 5 Below) and wrote down the word that corresponded with the number they rolled - 6 meant they could choose their own! My original plan was to use what they created for storytelling or as User Names but there were too many duplicates!
- User Profile - A form for them to fill out that told us about them
- Summer Reading Sign-up - The boys got to sign up for the Summer Reading program - we used it to track their reading minutes rather than keeping a separate file of our own.
Dice Roll Parts of Speech
Week 2 -
- First Lines Balloon Pop - Popping balloons by sitting on them -inside the balloon was a strip of paper with the first line, title, and the author of a book. The boys had to read aloud the papers from their balloons. (Several boys checked out the book "recommended" by their balloon!)
- The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka - discussion on the parts of a story.
- Writing silly storybooks.
Week 3
The movie THE BFG based on the books of the same name by Roald Dahl was coming out that week,
so we had a Roald Dahl Day!
The movie THE BFG based on the books of the same name by Roald Dahl was coming out that week,
so we had a Roald Dahl Day!
- Read the first two chapters of Danny, the Champion of the World
- Had an Ooompa Loompa Chocolate Relay Race
- Invented our own candies
- Completed a Willy Wonka Word Search
- Followed a Recipe for Fizzy-Lifting Drinks from Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes
Week 4
- Passing Game - I believe that gross motor skills are just as important to developing strong readers as fine motor skills, so I encouraged crossing their midlines with a silly passing game:
- We passed a stuffed unicorn from right hand to right hand.
- We passed a light-up squishy squid from left hand to left hand.
- We passed both at the same time so they went in opposite directions.
- We passed the unicorn over our heads.
- We passed the squid between our knees.
- We passed both around the circle at the same time so they went in the same direction.
- We turned off the lights and played Hot Potato with the squid because the boys asked!
- Rory's Story Cubes - I've collected most of the sets of this game. So I have a large zippered pouch full of the cubes. I divided them between the boys and had them write their stories down as they rolled their dice. Then, instead of me or Marta reading them a book, the boys took turns reading their stories to the group.
Week 5
- Read Help! We Need a Title by Hervé Tullet with 3rd/4th and Zathura by Chris van Allsburg with the 5th/6th
- Actual Word Search - See Below
Week 6
- Silly String Freeze Tag
- Read Dan Greenburg's story "My Superpowers" from Guys Write for Guys Read (Guys Read is a reading initiative created by Jon Scieszka and other awesome authors)
- What Makes a Hero? Worksheet and discussion.
- Started writing about Our Real Heroes - to create our own Paperback books!
Week 7
We played the Crazy Evolution game I learned in my Drama & Play class.
Marta read the book Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
Today we used Technology! (And I learned that kids really need time learning to type, none of the boys knew where even the letters of their name were on the keyboard! It took them a lot longer to type out their stories than I expected! I had two boys finish typing their stories before our time ended, and they began assembling their books.
We played the Crazy Evolution game I learned in my Drama & Play class.
Marta read the book Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
Today we used Technology! (And I learned that kids really need time learning to type, none of the boys knew where even the letters of their name were on the keyboard! It took them a lot longer to type out their stories than I expected! I had two boys finish typing their stories before our time ended, and they began assembling their books.
My Real Hero by C***
My hero is my Dad!
I know him from being born.
My hero is special because he loves me.
The most important thing about my hero is that he is my dad.
My hero is heroic because he saved my life. He caught me before I fell off the play structure.
My dad is awesome because he survived being blown up in the war.
I am like my hero because we are both friendly.
My hero is my Dad!
I know him from being born.
My hero is special because he loves me.
The most important thing about my hero is that he is my dad.
My hero is heroic because he saved my life. He caught me before I fell off the play structure.
My dad is awesome because he survived being blown up in the war.
I am like my hero because we are both friendly.
Our Real Hero by Abed Orthodontics Boys Reading Club 2016
Our hero is a Librarian. Her name is Marta.
We know her from Boys Club.
Our Hero is special because she reads aloud to us every Monday morning.
The most important thing about our hero is nice and loves reading out loud.
Our hero is heroic because she gives us chocolate.
She is awesome because she lets us drink pop and eat ice cream in the library!
We are like our hero because we like stories!
Our hero is a Librarian. Her name is Marta.
We know her from Boys Club.
Our Hero is special because she reads aloud to us every Monday morning.
The most important thing about our hero is nice and loves reading out loud.
Our hero is heroic because she gives us chocolate.
She is awesome because she lets us drink pop and eat ice cream in the library!
We are like our hero because we like stories!
Week 8
Extreme Reading Hopscotch and Book Assembly!
Extreme Reading Hopscotch and Book Assembly!
EXTREME READING HOPSCOTCH
The title is a bit more EXTREME than the Actual game! We forgot to take photos, but were inspired by this image. Ours said: Hop like a Frog, Stomp like an Elephant, Run like a Cheetah, Twirl like a Tornado, Beat your chest like a Gorilla, and Roar like a Lion. The boys got the opportunity to do a practice run and then go through it while timed. The fastest boy won Hershey's Kisses!
The title is a bit more EXTREME than the Actual game! We forgot to take photos, but were inspired by this image. Ours said: Hop like a Frog, Stomp like an Elephant, Run like a Cheetah, Twirl like a Tornado, Beat your chest like a Gorilla, and Roar like a Lion. The boys got the opportunity to do a practice run and then go through it while timed. The fastest boy won Hershey's Kisses!
Week 9 PARTY!
The Boys got the chance to read their books to us. Our Teen Volunteer read the book we created for Marta and Dr. Abed. (Which was a surprise for Marta - she didn't know the books were about her and that one was for her!
The boys got to Roll the giant dice to decide the order we did activities:
The Boys got the chance to read their books to us. Our Teen Volunteer read the book we created for Marta and Dr. Abed. (Which was a surprise for Marta - she didn't know the books were about her and that one was for her!
The boys got to Roll the giant dice to decide the order we did activities:
- Magic Trick (a requested activity from last year's Boys Club - stab a pencil through a baggie of water!
- Silly String Fight
- Thank you Notes and Finish illustrating the books for Dr. Abed and Marta
- First Lines Balloon Pop
- Rock Paper Scissors
- Oompa Loompa Relay Race
