Literacy Council of Alaska

Guys Read

making reading fun for boys

Guys Read

The Guys Read program brings men into the classroom to attract boys to the fun and enjoyment of reading. The program was created by the Fairbanks North Star Borough Libraries in partnership with the Borough School District and the Literacy Council of Alaska with funding from Auto Service Toyota. The program brings volunteer readers into 18 different schools twice a week spanning five weeks in January and February. The 2009 Guys Read program served 540 4th grade boys and had 75 volunteers.

This year's Guys Read training begins at the end of December. Please call 907-456-6212 or email lca@literacycouncilofalaska.org for more information.

Check out the Guys Read Manual developed by the Fairbanks North Star Borough's Public Library.

Guys Literacy Facts

Did you know that, as a group, boys:

Are slower to develop than girls and often struggle with reading and writing skills early on?

Rank lower in their class and earn fewer honors than girls?

Get into fights twice as often and commit suicide four times more often than girls?

Score lower in all grades on standardized reading and writing tests than girls?

Are more likely than girls to be placed in remedial classes or held back a grade?

Often don’t feel comfortable exploring the emotions and feelings found in fiction?

The action oriented learning style of many boys can work against them when they are learning to read and to write. Many boys also do not consider reading a masculine activity, since the majority of adults involved in kids' reading programs are women.

Be a Part of the Solution

Something is not working for boys, but there is not much in the way of support for boys’ literacy.

Form a father-son or parent-son book club. Be a model for how to read a book and talk about it.

Let boys know that magazines, newspapers, websites, biographies, comic books, and graphic novels are all reading material.

Men, read with your boys. Talk about reading. Let boys see you reading. Acting as a positive, literate role model is the single most important thing you can do to help boys read.

Volunteer to be role-model in the Guys Read program.

Volunteer

Are you a guy? Do you enjoy reading?

The Literacy Council of Alaska’s Guys Read program is searching for men interested in spending a lunchtime reading to 4th grade boys twice/week for 5 weeks. The program will run from end of January through February. Training begins at the end of December.

To volunteer for the Guys Read program call 907-456-6212 or e-mail lca@literacycouncilofalaska.org.

PROGRAMS
Adult Literacy
Family Literacy
School Age
Cross Age
Book Recycling
Lending Libraries
Computer Literacy
Guys Read

Literacy Council of Alaska

517 Gaffney Road

Fairbanks, Alaska 99701

T: 907-456-6212

F: 907-456-4302

lca@literacycouncilofalaska.org

photo by Sam Harrel of Daily News-Miner