Encourage Your Boys to Read

Glancing over my son’s grade one report card I noticed straight away that he was doing really well in math and needed some help with his reading. This isn’t uncommon, we’ve seen study after study, year after year all saying the same thing, boys fall behind their female class mates when it comes to reading and writing.


Boys tend to learn to read at an older age than girls, take longer to learn, and comprehend narrative texts less easily. Boys also value reading less, and see reading as a way to get information rather than as a recreational activity (Simpson, 1996; Smith & Wilhelm, 2002)

Fourth-grade girls significantly outperformed boys on the combined reading literacy scale in all Group of Eight (G8) countries participating in the Progress in International Reading Study in 2001. In the United States, boys scored an average of 18 points lower than girls.(Freeman, 2004)

So how can we help our boys to not only read well, but enjoy reading?

Practice Practice Practice

Boys like to do things they perform well at. It’s always more fun to play a game you have a chance at winning right? The better your son learns to read, the more fun it will be and the more he will want to read, so practice is key. Try to sneak it into everyday tasks so he doesn’t even notice the ‘learning’ bit. On grocery trips, have him read you the list, let older brothers read to younger siblings and never put him to bed without a bedtime story that he can help you read! 

Make it fun!

Play games with your son such as hangman, BINGO, a simple crossword puzzle race or I Spy with a twist, try “I spy with my little eye, something that starts with A”. Boys can be a little competitive and games are a great way to get him excited about words. 

Cater to his Interests

You know what really interests your boys, so run with that. My six year old is a bit of a LEGO nut, so having LEGO books and magazines on hand really encourage him to read on his own. My boys also love to race each other at ‘finding thing’s in books, so I Spy board games and picture books are really great for our family. My oldest can read the text on what we are supposed to find next. 

newmark learning

Don’t leave your son’s reading and writing development up to the schools. Classrooms are a busy place and there are so many opportunities at home to encourage reading skills. Keep a resource of educational materials on hand, such as an assortment of leveled readers. Both my six year old and my 4 year old bring a leveled reader home from school every night. Having our own set at home, means we still have a selection to choose from during March Break and Summer Holidays so we can keep the learning going all year long.

Newmark Learning is a wonderful resource for teachers, homeschoolers and parents a like. They have educational materials for pre K right up to 13+ in all kinds topics and categories. Visit www.newmarklearning.com for a complete list of available materials, to  learn how to be a member, or to locate their social media pages. 

Enter Below for a chance to win $450 prize from Newmark Learning!
($150 in product of winners choice Plus a one year subscription to Newmark Interactive)
US/CAN

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Comments

  1. Kimberlee Pitts says

    I hope my grandson enjoys reading as he grows up!

  2. Newmark is a great learning tool. However, it is just a tool that also needs parent involvement. The best way to help a child learn is to take interest yourself.

  3. I’d buy a set of the first readers books

  4. I would get the STAAR Reading and Mathematics Practice Set

  5. I would probably chose these
    Hey Diddle Diddle Interactive Whiteboard CD

    Common Core Comprehension Practice Grade 2

  6. I love that Newmark learning has so many books that it makes it easy to find a series that our kids will love. From real life stories to fairy tales, they really have it all. Great post Jen, and interesting study about the boys.

  7. Addison Kat says

    I would get the Common Core Mathematics Practice Grade 1, among many other things.

  8. Maegan Morin says

    I would love to get the Everyday Writing Intervention Activities Grade K Book for my son!

  9. Mary Happymommy says

    I would choose Common Core books for math & reading comprehension.

  10. Danielle L says

    books…lots and lots of books.

  11. I would buy a $150 worth of the learning books for preK

  12. carol roberts says

    Around the Clock Math Parent Involvement Kit

  13. Jennifer Marie says

    I would put the money towards Sight Word Readers Volume 1 Interactive Whiteboard CD Collection.

  14. danielle t says

    i would buy the white board resources for kindergarten.

  15. Sight Word Readers Volume 1 Interactive Whiteboard CD Collection

  16. I would choose a selection of books for my 3 year old granddaughter and 6 year old grandson.

  17. $150 could go a long long way! Books for my son’s age group are only $3.49 each.

  18. lori butler says

    the reading and writing is so important, there are tons of terrific options, I would choose somethign in that category

  19. I would get a ton of books for all the ages. They would be great as we love reading every day! My son is 4 and loves to read so I would like him to enjoy as long as possible.

  20. I would buy as many of the Pre-K books I can to get my daughter ready!

  21. i would get a lot of the Phonics books .

  22. Early reading parent involvement kit. WOW these are amazing and something we would really enjoy. You can never start to early and boys do tend to be a bit harder for me to teach.

  23. I only have grand children now so selection by myself would be difficult. I would like to win this for my daughter who homeschools her 4 little girls. She would know exactly which product to select to best fit her curriculum needs at the moment. The girls are very active readers but would probably love more books

  24. sandra davis says

    pre k stuff

  25. The “Around the Clock Math Parent Involvement Kit” would be good.

  26. charmaine tavares says

    I would get Rising Readers Math, Nursery Rhymes and Social studies kits

  27. Florence C says

    Lots to choose from. I woild get books for the grandkids.

  28. My granddaughters are in a cultural immersion school so although they speak English very well they will not be learning it in school for a couple more years. I think the English Early Literacy Single Copy Set would be a great way to get them started.

  29. Audra Weathers says

    Wow, this would be awesome. I would get some books for my daughter. She’d like Too Slow for Little Cat and The Muffin Man.

  30. EMMA L HORTON says

    BOOKS BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

  31. Nicole Vosburgh says

    If I win, I would probably choose something from the Homeschool reading section. However, there’s so many awesome things, it’ll be hard to choose!

  32. Kathy Davis says

    I would buy as many PreK books that I could.

  33. I would buy Spanish/Dual Language books and Math books.

  34. Monique Rizzo says

    I like the white board products.
    Thanks for the chance.
    mogrill12@gmail.com

  35. Stephanie Larison says

    I would get so many books for my daughter! I esp. love the Bingo book.

  36. Hillary Gibson says

    I would get the Rising Readers Science Titles Volume 2 Single Copy Set and the Patterns in Music Interactive Set. They would be great for my little cousin.

  37. Books and more books!

  38. An Early reading kit I think 🙂

  39. Danielle Helsby says

    Would like to get the Foundation Fun Nursery Rhymes and Songs Interactive Whiteboard and Activity Book Set

  40. I would choose Common Core books for math & reading comprehension.

  41. I would get the STAAR Mathematics Practice Set for my grandkids who are home schooled.

  42. Rising Readers Nursery Rhyme Tales Set 2

  43. Marc-Andre Taillefer says

    I’d buy a set of the first readers books

  44. i might choose the STAAR Reading G3

  45. autumn quinn says

    the Foundation Fun Nursery Rhymes and Songs Interactive Whiteboard and Activity Book Set plus some sight words.

  46. A set of the first reader books would come in handy.

    Thanks for hosting this great giveaway and posting to my FB Wall.

    Besos, Sarah
    Blogger at Journeys of The Zoo
    journeysofthezoo at hotmail dot com

  47. I would buy a lot of books at the K-1-2 level! Stock up our home library.
    – Dawn

  48. the Sight Word Steps Kit.

  49. I am a teacher who struggles with teaching phonics so I would get : “Everyday Phonics Intervention Activities Grade K-5 Set”

  50. I would chose pick a ton of the books in the 3-5 age category such as Row. Row. Row Your Boat, Animal Babies, A Visit To Town, etc.

  51. Science series

  52. Wow $150 goes a long way at Newmark! I would get Readers Theatre sets to help get students in our village interested in reading

  53. elaine douglas says

    my kids are a little older then the site so I would donate this Everyday Phonics Intervention Activities Grade K-5 Set to their school

  54. reading books

  55. Kerri McDonald Prevost says

    Oh my I can’t choose what I would order for my sons, I would have to have them help choose. That is probably better then it would be sure to interest them.

  56. caryn coates says

    I’d buy a set of the first readers books as well as many other books.

  57. I would buy the first readers books.

  58. I would buy lots of e-books and books.

  59. Kindergarten all books!

  60. Theresa Michalik says

    Start Reading and Math books

  61. PreK books and more PreK books

  62. Courtney Barker says

    I would get the common core mathematics grade 4 (along with other items)

  63. Grade 5 and 6 Mathematics and Comprehension Books.

  64. jeanne conner says

    we would get about 30 of the books

  65. Vikki Billings says

    I would buy a first reader set of books.

  66. carol lewis says

    Common Core books for math & reading comprehension because comprehension is so important.

  67. jennifer capin says

    There is so much to chose from. I would probably start with Jump Into Genre Single Copy Set Grade 2.

  68. I would buy Sight Word Readers Volume 1

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