1. How do I differentiate my classes according to gender? (movement, speaking, pace, sitting time, sage on the stage time, student choice, etc.)
2. What books/articles around gender that I would recommend?
3. Best activity that work for girls/boys advisories.
1. The library computers are divided for boys & girls using the gender symbol labels. Library Practice boys excel at my assignments that involve technology, movement, and hunting down lost books. Library Practice girls excel at creative assignments involving displays and promotion as well as helping others locate books on the OPAC and access AR. For both genders, I must give crystal clear directions about what to do and provide samples/examples of what I need done.
ReplyDelete2. I put some good YOKA Library Books about gender on that red cart near the LCD screen. We have subscriptions to Boys' Life and Girls' Life magazines, which are great periodicals. I read Mary Pipher's "Reviving Ophelia" years ago and remember it making an impact on me. recently, I read David Bach's "Smart Women Finish Rich," which was enlightening and empowering. All the Gurian books seem pretty good. There are lots of "just for boys" and "just for girls" type books in the YOKA Library - there is one series called "Flip It Over - Guide to Teens' Emotions" that is tailored to girls' emotions on one side and boys' on the other. I recommend this whole series for both student and staff reading.
3. I did an "Identity Box" project with my advisory years ago in which they decorated a small box on the outside to reflect what people already know about them, and then they decorate the inside of the box to reflect what their classmates may NOT know about them such as hidden talents, dreams, and fears. Students presented these projects and we became a much closer class after that! They really enjoyed making this project, presenting it, and hearing each other's stories.
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ReplyDeleteWhile I found most of the same differentiation tools work equally well for both genders, I do find that far more often, boys actually NEED to get up, NEED to be active, NEED more built in breaks. Girls on the other hand seem to overall do better with discussions related activities and small group work.
ReplyDeleteBoys seem to need to be working toward constant short term goals.
ReplyDelete"If you do this work for 10 minutes you will earn 1 point toward a reward."
"Okay, NOW do this for 10 minutes and you'll earn another point toward a reward." But saying if you're "good" today you'll get a reward is not possible.
Giving them a chance for success often within one period.
Positive notes home work well for boys. Positive reinforcement - positive comments
So many boys seem to think negatively of themselves for some reason. I don't allow that to continue.
For Boy classes I try to scaffold lessons by chunking the time into 10 minute increments. I try to change the pace and have students physically move around. For Girl classes, I try to include discussion and debates. However with both genders, structure and hands-on real life applications are highly effective.
ReplyDeleteBooks I would recommend are called The Male Brain and The Female Brain. Both look into the neuroscience of gender and brain function.
An activity that works for my advisory is Taboo. They really enjoy games and it encourages their use of language to decipher clues.
1. For my all boys music class, I give them a 7th inning stretch half way through the period where they go around the room, clockwise, and back to their seats.
ReplyDeleteFor my all girls class, they have breakfast time to take care of any needs they have, including talking with their friends.
For the rest of my classes...they're mixed.... However, the more they study with me, the more time they all get to peer teach.
2. Give me some info please...
3. Silent Ball for all! Boys like to watch Superhuman and computer time.
I've found that I'm able to let the girls loose a bit more when executing discovery based experiments, because they tend to work together more efficiently towards a common goal. Conversely, the boys tend to require a bit more modeling and stepwise instruction, because more than one group member will want to dominate the activity, creating a much more chaotic scenario if not properly managed.
ReplyDeleteWhen giving examples I try to keep their overall interest in mind. I will give the same example to both genders. However, have one to address my girls and one for my boys. For my boys I did alot more of the sports and painting/art. The focus for the boys was how to manage impulsive behaviors, anger, and how to avoid risky situations. For my girls I focus on building up their self-esteem and having healthy relationships lessons. When chaos like Friday happens I channel their energy on dancing.
ReplyDelete1) For the boys,I make sure to break up my lesson into chunks, tackling one small piece at a time. I have noticed that too much time on a given task gets them restless.
ReplyDelete2)I like reading the "How to teach Boys and girls" from last year's class
3) My girl advisories enjoy quick group challenges.
My long comment got deleted - so here's a short version.
ReplyDelete- Boys love competition. Any points you can give them, the better. They like days to be worth points and will be very excited to get a "full 4." Girls like design, and the more opportunity they have to be crafty and colorful, the better.
- Odd Girl Out and Queen Bees & Wannabes - about relational aggression and how girls use friendships to bully.
- Boys can develop great leadership skills through games. Girls like to share about themselves in journals and conversations.
1) I differentiate based on what skills I feel they need. From experience, the girls more often come here with the ability to work together in groups, but they are often more shy to share in front of the class. The boys more often volunteer to share with the class, but need more structure and guidance when working as a group. As a result, I try to create more scenarios where the girls speak in front of the class. Also, I create more group work with the boys where they pick from a list of pre-defined roles. Also, when sharing answers, I focus more on round robin/other kagan activities to get the boys to focus on listening to others and working together.
ReplyDelete2) Not sure
3) New to this, but my advisory girls like to mentor/help others.
relating the examples to the gender being targeted, movement where needed, and allowing group work, so that those that need to talk and learn from each other get a chance to do that as well.
ReplyDeleteI've been implementing more competition for gentlemen. Whoever gets the answer first will win the prize. Boys seems to respond more when the activities involve moving around and drawing figures on their notebook. As for ladies, we do more of sharing with their peers. They pair share their ideas and answers.
ReplyDeleteAs for advisory girls, again, sharing their thoughts and opinions seems to work well. They get very excited to present their work.
1. The biggest differentiation I do in my classroom between genders has to do with pace, giving of instructions, and structure of the lab or activity that day. As we have talked about before, with boys the pace and instructions are chunked out into easily manageable tasks. While with the girls you can introduce them to the big picture or end point, and allow them toward that more independently.
ReplyDelete2. I have read "The Wonder of Girls" from our YOKA collection.
3. Boys: silent ball, explosion, sports day, sustained silent reading.
Girls: art day, check-in
1. I have taught mostly boys in my years at YOKA so I'm learning the differences between boys and girls. I usually present the same style with both...the major difference in most of the groups is that my young ladies can be quieter for the most part but that can lead to me assuming that they are working when some may not...my gentlemen seem to be more active and louder...
ReplyDelete2. For book titles I tell my students to visit the library and Ms. Duff has sections on gender.
3. Sports are a good thing that most boys enjoy...I have not had a girl advisory...
With boys, I have to incorporate more movement activities, but these same activities work well with girls as well. I also have to make sure that I move on quickly from task to task with boys because you can lose them in between transitions, whereas the girls will wait patiently if they are done.
ReplyDeleteI have also seen things like Jeopardy and Numbered heads work well with both genders, but the boys tend to get more into it. And with girls strategies like Rally Coach work better for them because they are very much willing to help each other.
The Strategies for Boys and Girls book that the school provides for us really helps understand why differentiation is necessary.
For a girls advisory, they loves sharing their check-ins and arts and crafts!
Ha! My long comment also got deleted.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ms. Boyan
BOYS: Movement and Competition Games
GIRLS: Social and talking Games
We play a tag game called Octopus that the boys LOVE - Girls like my silly handshake game where they get to partner up with different people every few minutes.
As far as differentiation, sometimes if I need the kids to take notes or copy off the board I'll do the "short version" for boys depending on how antsy they are - or if its the last period of the day.
I think most strategies work for both genders. Brain breaks are needed due to our block schedule, it might be more noticeable in boys but both genders need it. For girls I try to use videos that have to do with body image for boys I try to find funny ones they request as brain breaks. In my advisory and content classes I have done activities I call: "I do this, I do that" "Indian chief" "I like people who..." "Add a word" etc.
ReplyDeleteThe articles Roesner distributed two years ago were really good, I will find it and post the name.
Huang posted the names above: The Male brain and The Female brain
DeleteIn advisory our boys seem to do well when they are given many verbal cues and reminders about their behavior and expectations of the class. They do well with brain breaks and incentives to get them through the work.
ReplyDelete1. How do I differentiate my classes according to gender? (movement, speaking, pace, sitting time, sage on the stage time, student choice, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI have definitely learned that it is helpful to break up instruction/activities for both genders, however, the boy classes seem to benefit/appreciate this more. I also have more kinesthetic learners in my male classes, so it is important to have movement incorporated in lesson activities. I also typically always include timers on any writing or speaking activities projected on the white screen to let them know how to pace themselves.
2. What books/articles around gender that I would recommend?
I don't know enough about this!
3. Best activity that work for girls/boys advisories.
It's been a slow work in progress but doing daily check-in's with the boys is helping to promote some sense of equity of voice and also teaching us to struggle through the process of learning how to respect each other.
The boys seem to enjoy movement while the girls usually stay seated and talk among themselves. The girls, when put in groups, often accomplish more than the boys. The boys usually complain that a math problem has too many steps. I often need to tell a story about the math problem to get the boys started.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, it seems that girls can operate on a less rigid classroom structure without getting off task. On the other hand, boys classes need to have consistent and transparent structure and expectations. This is good practice for all students. Timed tasks, brain breaks and multiple strategies within the block are key for maintaining student engagement.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, the boys do require more structure, however, once boys are fully engaged their class participate can be more insightful.
DeleteBoys find it a lot harder to stay in their seat during an entire class period. Having breaks such as silent ball, or review games using a ball engages and gives them a break throughout the class. Girls lose interest in topics quickly; hence getting them to share out ideas with the table or with the class keeps them more involved in the lesson.
ReplyDeleteBecause I teach Special Day Program classes, all of my classes (except advisory) are mixed gender. I often find that disagreements between students arise from boy/girl pairings.
ReplyDelete1. How do I differentiate my classes according to gender? (movement, speaking, pace, sitting time, sage on the stage time, student choice, etc.) In my mixed gender classes I remind students that respect and compassion are crucial. I find that students this age are so confused about their image and opposite gender, that they often criticize others because it's easy. I usually pair boys and girls to allow students practice working with people who are different and challenging for them.
With my advisory class (6th grade boys) I have found that to minimize behavior complications I must play to their interests. They love building things, then destroying them. They love powerful and scary animals. They love technology and machines.
2. What books/articles around gender that I would recommend? For girls, I think Beverly Cleary books are always a must. Crucial to their development as young women.
3. Best activity that work for girls/boys advisories. The lego activity has been the most successful thing thus far in advisory! The kids loved it. They worked so well together and they communicated their ideas and opinions.
With boys, I tend to provide my lessons with a more structured nature. Simpler directions, more step-by-step and straightforward structure are more effective with them.
ReplyDeleteWith girls, not as structured lessons are needed but more checking up is needed since they can hide the fact they need more support.
The boy classes require information to be fed in smaller chunks. They also seem to have the need to wander around, so I try to give them outlets to burn off a little energy, like a match of silent ball which I picked up from Mr. Trapp. The girls seem to want to debate everything and argue, which is an interesting dynamic, as I've seen girls argue a point so hard that they actually began arguing the opposite viewpoint, which then led to some interesting student learning. The girls seem to process deeper than the boys, so I always give them topics to stimulate debate.
ReplyDeleteGender plays a different sort of a role in my classes because my three intervention classes, as well as my advisory class are all mixed gender classes. The one complication that this can bring is that the students can show some resistance when being mixed with the opposite gender. This can be overcome by keeping the groupings 2 and 2 until the students are used to each other.
ReplyDeleteGender comes into play in the classroom particularly when it comes to the activity at the beginning that draws the students attention. I may choose a visual or a topic that would engage girls that for the most part would not engage boys. I remember displaying an action photo of Justin Beber and asked the female students what they could they infer from the visual. They all lost their minds over the visual, and after that it was not hard to keep them engaged. The boys would gravitate more to technology and video games.
ReplyDeleteRegarding advisory, any activity with physical movement seems to grab the interest of boys.
My strategies work well for both genders. I have not seen the difference yet .
ReplyDelete