Connected: Literacy for Generation Z

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The Kindle for Christmas did the trick! Hopefully the novelty of searching for books electronically and then downloading them instantly won't wear off any time soon. It is interesting to me that he was most interested in checking out ebooks that were already checked out--not necessarily because he was interested in the title--but because he decided that it was probably worth reading if someone else was reading it too.

It is a fact that our boys have little or no interest in reading. It is confirm from reseach,that our boys struggles cognitvely when it comes to reading. It is therefore our duties as teachers and parents to find interesting way to get our boys excited when it comes to reading. One excited way apart from using the interesting gadgets can be to create a collage with a particular book that boys would be interested in. After the teacher reads the book, He/She would get pictures put them together in an interesting way to say exactly what the book is about. This would get boys interested when they realized the fun way you can get meaning from a text. Parents too can play their part, instead of them buying their boys book, they can take them allow to the book store and allow them to be involved in choose books that they would like to read. Also because of the technological age that we are apart of and our boys are so captivated. We can use it to our advantage, by incorporate technology in our reading lesson, for example, choose books that you can get the audio and words of the book and have them listen to someboby reading it while the words are displayed so they are able to read along too. Also when giving them assignments to read an entire book and do a summary give them in bits, do a few chapters at a time and write a summary until they would have finish reading the entire book. Teachers also can get boys involved in finding interesting books by refering boys to various site to read a ebooks. These are just a few ways we can get our boys interesting in reading and it our duty to get our boys literate so that they are able to make meaning contibution to society.

I must say, that it is not news to me that our boys are disinterested in reading and regard it as feminine. However, what i find disturbing about this situation is that despite the numerous researches done over the years and the insight that has been gleaned concerning the problem and even advancements that have been made in technology teachers still continue to make the same "mistake". Some teachers seem to bluntly ignore that fact that boys learn learn differently and have different interests. I believe it is high time that we as educators do something to address this problem by striving to meet the needs of our students in the classroom, in particular the needs of our male students. We need to go the extra mile to find out the interest of our students and target their interests to meet their needs; if they are intrigued by technology or comics find ways to integrate technology in the classroom instruction and use comic books to help foster or nurture their interest and love for reading or literacy in overall. We owe them this much, if we desire for them to take their rightful places in society and contribute positively to its development.

I recently did a research to find out some ways we can use digital media to motivate kids to read and came up on some helpful tips in an article done by Carisa Kluver. These tips could prove helpful with our boys since they just love technology.
Here are the 10 tips
1. Simple navigation. Select apps that are easy to use to ensure an enjoyable reading experience. Avoid apps that have complex navigation or numerous features and instructions that may frustrate young kids.
2. Co-Reading. Parent and child interaction is key, as was recently noted in a Joan Ganz Cooney Center Study on print books vs. e-books. It’s best to have parents by their kid’s side when reading on device. Ask your child questions about what is happening in the story and encourage them to be playful and explore during reading time.
3.Limit “bells and whistles.” Keep interactivity to a minimum. Look for book apps that maintain the integrity of the story and create a reading experience that most closely resembles reading stories in a traditional book format. Stay away from titles that embed superfluous puzzles and games if they distract from the story and hinder reading comprehension. When selecting a book app, ask yourself if the features in the app are there to enhance the literacy aspect of the title. Avoid interactive features that take your child out of the narrative and off of the page to interact.
4.Reading options. Look for apps that include different reading modes which lets your child choose how they’d like to read the story. In addition to reading with their parents, can your child have the option to have the story read to them by a narrator or choose to read it on their own? Key features to look for in book apps for emergent readers include picture/word association, word highlighting and the ability to touch an individual word and hear it pronounced.
5. Make it a ritual. Set aside a special time to read together (i.e. before naptime). Turn off the T.V. and phone and dedicate the time to reading only. Establishing a routine sends a message to your child that reading is important.
6. Build on interests. Look for topics that are interesting to your child when selecting book apps. For example, focus on activities or hobbies that are most appealing to your child in order to find stories that will appeal them. From sports and dancing to animals and science, there’s an app for that.
7. Remember to have fun! Encourage your child to be inquisitive while reading, taking advantage of the touchscreen technology and the added benefits of digital reading. Taking turns reading the story aloud and acting out the different characters can make reading that more fun, especially for a reluctant reader.

8. Model good reading habits. Have your child see you use your digital device to read as well. You’re your child’s best role model. Take time out of each day to show your child that you enjoy reading too. Tell them what you like to read.
9. Look for the classics. Check out beloved stories that have been teaching kids to read for decades. Is there a story you enjoyed reading as a child? Chances are there’s an app for that now. You’ll have a great time revisiting your childhood favorite stories while introducing the digital versions to your child.
10. Build your digital library together. Involve your child in selecting which book apps to load on their device. To guide you through this process, take a look at resources such as Digital Storytime, KinderTown, Moms With Apps, Common Sense Media, Children’s Technology Review, Parents’ Choice and Kirkus Reviews for their recommendations. These resources can help guide you to age-appropriate reading material. You can also visit your local library and see what tablets they have available preloaded with recommended age-appropriate book apps for your child.

I recently read an article called "Me read, No Way". It was a guide to assisting young men to develop an interest in reading. Basically the secret is to get the boys to talk. Some boys need to talk through their ideas before they are sure they understand what they
have read and before they can commit their ideas to paper effectively. Failing to provide for
this social component, for the opportunity to verbalize ideas before reading or writing
about them, can create a problem for some boys. This problem may be invisible to both the
student and the teacher, but it can significantly hamper a boy’s ability to become a
successful, fully engaged reader and writer.
Myra Barrs suggests the following classroom situations and instructional approaches as ideal
for encouraging talk as part of reading and writing activities:
• small shared-reading groups that include the teacher
• groups working together with multiple copies of the same text
• students reading in pairs, working with a partner from the class or a partner/buddy
from another grade
• groups reading along with taped stories
• students using the computer in pairs, perhaps for redrafting a piece of writing
It also highlighted the following study:
Boys involved in a study in Leeds, England, read George Orwell’s Animal
Farm and then shared their reading experiences with boys in another
school by e-mail. Researchers found that:
• the boys, despite poor reading levels and low motivation, were
enthusiastic about sharing their reading experiences by e-mail;
• sharing their reading experiences electronically enabled the boys to
expand the range and purposes of their reading;
• the boys’ teacher was able to use this experience to develop
additional strategies for teaching and assessing reading.
(Babbage, 2000)
It’s all about approach. Traditional teaching will not attract our boys, a positive, fun approach will.

Comments
I definitely agree that digital devices will help boys to become more interested in reading; most boys want to read about something risky and adventurous boys love to be on the discovering side they want to pull down and re-build, to suit their desires stories with topics about machines and large equipment and having digital devices that they can manipulate these stories will definitely arouse their interest in reading. It was stated in the blog that boys should be given more choices about what they read. I know that they love to read about boys their own age doing the things that they sometimes do also. I am presently teaching a grade four class with 33 boys and they love the stories that we read together but they also love to share their own life stories.
I am also aware that boys and girls are distinctly different; they think differently, their actions are unalike the actions of girls their own age and they do have varying interests. I agree with the comment that boys should be given more choices about what they want to read, but they will also need guidance in their selection.
Yes it is true that most boys love digital devices and therefore teacher s will have to use these devices to complement their lessons as this will assist in many ways to capture their interest and consequently this will certainly propel their concentration towards reading. If readers are learning in an environment in which they are comfortable and surrounded with digital gadgets they will become interested in reading. Digital devices will help to enhance interest in reading which will also encourage boys to become enthusiastic about reading, and with all these devices that are available to them that may be used to make reading more inviting to the eyes and the mind, if readers are encouraged to use some of these digital devices to enhance reading the only information they will require is the title of the books that they want to read.

Ok, my son has a kindle fire (he's 11) so obviously we are into the digital age. But no matter what gadgets you throw at them, it all comes down to an interesting story. If it doesn't catch there interest, it won't hold them. The Art of Basket Weaving doesn't look any better on a kindle than in print. My advice for boys reading: Dark Fate Falling (The Gateway Discoveries series) The Rangers Aprentice series, Artimus Foul series, Septimus Heap series. Pick something with action and make it a sereies so they will want to move on to the next book. It works