Final Project for stressed college kid!

[CollegePrincess2010]

Hi! I'm a student at the university of Arizona, and i need your help! I am looking for answers from teachers regarding what things they have seen in the classroom that could answer the questions I'm using for my final inquiry project in my children's literature class. here is the question

"Does the gender of a reader dictate the genre of books they choose to read and are these choices different between adults and children?"

any input!? it would be greatly appreciated! thank you!

p.s. this is for my final project due Wednesday.

[lynn bambusch]

It is an interesting theory, but is it just a stereotype? Do boys really like Science Fiction better than Fantasy? In my classroom I find that if it is a good book, and presented with enthusiasm, the genre and the gender doesn't really matter. If, however, they are picking their own books, to read to themselves.....they seem to choose by the picture on the cover.
Sorry, I sure would hate to have a big final project resting on this...wish I could be of help.

[Boxcar]

I read all types of books to my students. I usually try to choose books based on the children's interest and personalities. I'll think to myself "That group of five kids really enjoys counting. I think this would be a good book." or "Kateen is having a really hard time with sharing. Here is a book about sharing. It has a rabbit it in it. Kateen loves rabbits!" I use books as tools and try to think about the children rather than my own preferences.

Do my students pick certain genres when it is time to read? No, they don't. Here's a quick example. I recently read a Home Depot picture book to a little girl multiple times in one sitting. She could name all the tools on the pages and enjoyed listening to the story. She choose this book and kept requesting that I repeatedly read it to her. Next to me, a little boy was looking at a book about two girls who were sisters.

My students are not very gender stereotyped. This could be because I give them a wide range of experiences and model being open to all things.

[dsmms]

I teach sixth grade reading and find that all of the students gravitate toward fiction. Both genders like fantasy and realistic fiction. We have read some historical fiction and they seem to like that as well, tho not as much.

I do think that the choices vary between adults and children. Adults are more willing to gravitate toward nonfiction.

[bella mundi]

I find that boys seems to prefer non-fiction, and I find that even with adults. It's not a hard and fast rule, obviously, but it seems to be more common with males than females.