July+20,+2012

=Friday thoughts...=

I'm feeling pretty happy with the progress thus far. I have located several interesting and insightful articles that support my inquiry either through databases or online searches, but there is one reference that was found for me.

My cousin called me the other day. She is the mother of two lively boys with a growing concern for their reading achievement. She has purchased several self-help books over the years for parenting tips and really wants to be involved in helping her sons be proficient readers and maintain their self-control in a variety of situations. She often asks me questions about behaviors I see in classrooms or questions her son's behaviors. When I told her about my research topic, she told me about a book she had been reading about how boys learn differently and it made mention of several factors that affect reading achievement and she felt it supported the notion of the "gender gap". That night, she dropped it off and I have been reading it diligently!

The book is by Gurian, called Boys and Girls Learn Differently. Gurian strongly supports the idea that because of a variety of physiological-maturational differences, boys and girls differ greatly in language learning and other areas of life. I am able to take several key points from this reference. The brain is a complex organ that I need to focus on in my literature review.

As I'm reading Gurian, I'm thinking back to other reference books and textbooks that I've read in the last while and my task this weekend is to dive back in and see if I can make some connections there. Possible titles:

Book Whisperer - Donalyn Miller Free Voluntary Reading - Stephen Krashen