New library program available to everyone. Check it out today!!!
6th Grade/Head Start Buddies and Guys Read Too!
Guys Read Too
GUYS READ TOO During my first 25 years of teaching I often told male students in my classroom how important the life-long skill of reading out loud is. I explained that it is something they may have to do for their job or for an organization in which they are involved. I also stressed that as a parent it is vital to read to your children. So even when it is hard for these teenagers to see themselves as future fathers, I really believe everyone must practice and be at ease reading out loud to others. There is this societal view that guys are not good readers and that they don’t have to read. So I wanted my elementary library students to see that view is false and that ‘Guys Read Too’. I have invited guys to be guest readers during library lessons to model positive reading habits to the children in the pre-kindergarten through sixth grade classes. This has been an exciting adventure! The first guest read his favorite book from when he was little, and his enthusiasm reached every child in the room. We have witnessed the pride of a student when he or she introduced their dad, grandfather or great-uncle to his or her classmates and smiles from students while listening to a visiting reader, a reader that the boys look up to from the junior high or high school. I have even seen a son get so involved in his dad’s story that he ended up moving into a position between his dad and the book. As different visiting male readers have read books or silly poems related to the current class curriculum, the students got many giggles and learned that reading out loud isn’t that hard to do and tough guys read, too.
