Minnesota
Public Radio:
Inspiring
boys to read
Midmorning with
Katherine Lanpher
HOUR 2: (10 a.m.)
Boys read differently than girls, says children's author
John Scieszka,
and the difference can mean lower scores on writing and reading tests.
Guest:
John Scieszka, author of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
and the Time Wrap Trio series. He's the founder of the Guys
Read Initiative.
Listen (you only need to listen to the first 1/3 or so of the program): http://news.mpr.org/play/audio.php?media=/midmorning/2003/04/24_midmorn2
Vocabulary:
| inspiring stimulating reliable Midmorning Katherine Lanpher John Scieszka award-winning smart-alecky to turn tired old tales on their heads truism to upturn notion movement complete with to get s.o.'s nose in a book studio primary school gender all-boy background quite the male household all-female elementary school to run into male role model scary commentary issue to be labeled troublemakers rambunctious nuttier grosser messier to aspire to s.t. for the most part libraries to get to be an issue with s.o. piece to note posters Michael Jordan with his nose in a book how he makes his money exactly the kind of thing well-intentioned effort literacy program to connect Sammy Sosa signal to be pulling s.o.'s leg to grow up and be to sniff out well-intentioned hypocrisy like sharks with blood in the water effective to underestimate the importance of to fail to do to go about it huge combined sort of sociological to overcome librarians unconscious powerful thing to override to the contrary to wonder to keep s.t. from... boy vs. girl advocate teacher's conferences anti-girl similar to to draw the comparison to Title IX math and science to recognize to do studies testing brain research to look at in the way literacy remedial programs to veer from x to y Master's fiction writing apartment painting |
fairly
steady progression the other beloved... waiting (on) tables dirty dishes principal naively to go into the buzzsaw of... the most pretentious kind around livewires at this end of the education spectrum what was out there to entertain myself to realize the value in s.t. to find one's audience to hang out with smart second-graders "The Really Ugly Duckling" I was just going to say... You poser! Gather closely to the fire now baby ducklings regular-looking a nice-looking bunch of all except that one swan in the whole pond to grow up to be as it turned out to feel kind of warm and fuzzy all over toasted marshmallow Thanks a lot! to get a kick out of on the level unexpected it's going in one direction to see their faces light up publishers nasty rejection letters form letter to pick you up to prove that tough shrinking violets they know stuff happens criticism to breed a sort of cynicism between sitcoms and smart-alecky fairy tales etc. = et cetera too knowing, too flip valid concern to promote to go over that line to x for the sense/sake of x to get tons of kids reading it's really tough to draw that line Captain Underpants the boy connection bigger appetite gross, stupid humor MAD magazine Rocky and Bullwinkle to develop an interest an way back when a good point to start from parody to get more out of s.t. the original author founder initiative to pull boys into to lead one to spark brainstorm feminine to admit silly neighborhood fascinating evergreen bush from the fall before when the snow melts Viking helmets swords sticks guns absolutely to broach a notion |
to come
by jousting dirt-clod wars don't give them any... there's no way you're... major purpose of to collect titles to be gratified across-the-board habits to range from to think of s.t. in broader terms literary fiction jokes comics graphic novels out there information books biographies to spawn interest in sci-fi fantasy world spectacular much-beloved The Little House on the Prairie series to be assigned without any thought that not to be as taken in by Laura Ingalls Wilder campaign required damning with faint praise Monsieur to tread carefully Watch it, Mister! original cabin a heck of a... halfway through motorcycles wolves 'Pa with a cause' the quintessential girl book it's like death on wheels I might add to lighten up they're going to find you with gingham stuffed in your mouth Lane Smith Duane from New Brighton to comment on remote-controlled airplanes telescopes motorcycles to encourage to join clubs shop talk to promote Chevrolet generations that's what it's all about tradition to maintain Mustang to be right over Carrie from Roseville to laugh so hard one cries to leave the studio to accept compliments to push s.o. To do s.t. developmental difference nervous system to process challenges gender-specific dicey gut feeling fully intending link Jean from St. Paul to slip in humor adults to 'get' (a joke) anyway history-psych major perfect audience to latch onto s.t. |
Listening
comprehension questions:
1. What is meant by 'smart-alecky'?
2. What differences are there in how girls and
boys learn to read? (Part of the answer comes later in the interview)
3. What was Scieszka's feeling about children who
were labeled as 'troublemakers' by other teachers?
4. What approach has Scieszka taken to get boys
more interested in reading?
5. What is meant by 'well-intentioned hypocrisy',
and give an example of this from the interview.
6. What program for girls does Scieszka mention
that is similar to the 'Guys Read' initiative?
7. How did Scieszka end up in elementary school
teaching? What kind of students does Scieszka think is 'the worst kind'?
8. What is your reaction to the story, "The
Really Ugly Duckling"? Is your reaction similar to or different from the
children's reactions, as Scieszka describes them?
9. How does Scieszka answer Lanpher's concern that
we may be breeding a cynical, smart-alecky attitude in children?
10. What is Scieszka referring to when he mentions
a 'very feminine world'? Do you think the situation is similar in Taiwan?
11. How would you finish this sentence begun by
Katherine Lanpher? 'Don't give them any...'
12. What problem does Scieszka see with recommending
to children books like Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Little House on the Prairie?
From the discussion, what kind of book do you think this is? (You can get help
from the Internet.)
13. What does 'death on wheels' mean? How about,
'they're going to find you with gingham stuffed in your mouth'?
14. What was the problem with the call from Duane
from New Brighton, and how did Lanpher and Scieszka react to and handle it?
15. Explain the reason why at one point Scieszka
calls himself 'Lane Smith', then why he later said that he was 'John Scieszka'
again?
16. Although Scieszka is trying to get boys to
read, how does he say he feels about assigning 'gender-specific' readings?
17. What does the caller Jean from St. Paul say
about some of the humor in Scieszka's books? What is Scieszka's response to
this?