helping boys succeed in school today
Boy Friendly Schools
For a current source of articles & discussions about boys'
education, like the "Writing the Playbook" Facebook page:
Companion Resources:
Read Kelley's blog on EdWeek: "How to Create a Boy-Friendly School"
Read Kelley's article in ASCD's Educational Leadership: "Teaching to the Minds of Boys" (September 2006)
Read Kelley's blog on the Boys Initiative: "It's time we re-write our playbook for teaching boys"
Kelley was a special guest on Education Week's webchat: "Strategies for Addressing School Gender Gaps" - Read the transript here.
In these videos, check out Kelley's take on several important parenting topics at "Kids in the House."
For AVL 2019 conference attendees:
Download handout
Read Kelley's article in ASCD's Education Leadership: "Gender-Friendly Schools" (November 2010)
The Newsweek cover story (January 2006) featuring Kelley's school, Douglass Elementary in Boulder CO
The Today Show segment (January 23, 2006) featuring Kelley's school, Douglass Elementary in Boulder CO
A local news story by Channel 9 in Denver about the success of Kelley's school, Douglass Elementary, in creating a boy-friendly school (Feb 2007)
Helpful Websites I Recommend:
Movement:
Purchase teacher-created & ready-to-use Brain Break activities at a tiny price! http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brain-Breaks-for-the-Classroom
Get information & activity ideas from BluEarth which is an organization that helps teachers integrate movement in Australia. Click on the "Teacher Resource Center" tab for activity descriptions & videos. http://www.bluearth.org/home/home.cfm
JAM (Just A Minute) School program brings movement to the classroom. http://www.jamschoolprogram.com/
Whole Brain Teaching - classroom videos showing movement & call-and-response techniques at all grade levels: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChrisBiffle
Real World & High Interest Math Problem-Solving:
The activities on these sites are way too much fun!
http://passyworldofmathematics.com/
http://www.real-world-physics-problems.com/
Choice Boards:
Choice Boards are great for giving students a "menu" of learning activities from which they can choose. Letting kids have a say in their learning is important especially for boys.
http://daretodifferentiate.wikispaces.com/Choice+Boards
Comic Book creator tools:
These sites help students turn content knowledge into comic books & graphic novels.
Some get quite sophisticated and work well through high school.
www.toondoo.com
http://www.stripcreator.com/make.php
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/
http://www.comicmaster.org.uk
Video Game creators:
Students create all aspects of a video game. How about having them write a
game play manual to go with it? This can work well as an enrichment/independent
project for some and can engage them in authentic technical reading & writing.
http://gamestarmechanic.com/
http://www.worldwideworkshop.org/
Online Book Reviews:
Boys like to have an authentic audience for their work. This site lets them share with the world.
Have students read & write book reviews on the Scholastic Books site.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/swyar/
Guys Read:
This website was created by children's author Jon Sciezska & is a website "by guys & for guys."
At Guys Read, it is definitely cool to read. I love the stickers, bookmarks & book recommendations.
http://guysread.com
Getting Boys to Read:
This website is created by a school librarian, Mike McQueen, who is an expert at engaging boys
in reading. He posts lots of ideas, book recommendations & expert interviews that will be of interest
to parents & teachers alike.
“Movie trailers” for books:
Instead of creating a traditional book report, why not create a multi-media book trailer? Check out this
website for some helpful tips. Find great student examples by searching YouTube for "book trailers."
http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com
Music-in-the-classroom research and resources:
A nice summary of the research on effective ways to use music in the classroom, by Eric Jensen:
http://www.jensenlearning.com/news/the-perfect-music-for-brain-based-learning/brain-based-learning
Brain-friendly classroom music CDs that are based on the brain research:
http://www.kaganonline.com/catalog/music.php
From the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, here are teacher -created lesson plans that incorporate rock music
across into all areas of the curriculum (middle & high school):
http://rockhall.com/education/inside-the-classroom/summer-teacher-institute/STI-lesson-plans/
Lesson plans for teaching the curriculum through rap music:
Teaching suggestions, lyrics and music of all genres for all content areas (preK - elementary):
http://www.songsforteaching.com
For an enormous collection of music from around the world:
Hip Hop music in the classroom (all grades/content areas):
"Like" the Writing the Playbook Facebook page for current articles & issues related to boys and education.