Inspiring Year 8 boys to become adventurous readers through engagement with diverse stories

In Semester 2, 2018, 14 Year 8 boys took part ina reading challenge as part of an action research project. This researcher participated in the action research project initiated by the International Boys’ School Coalition (IBSC) on the theme Boys and Stories: Pathways to Learning, curious to see if engaging in a diverse range of stories could encourage boys to become adventurous readers. The boys were expected to read books from genres and formats they were not familiar with, selecting from a list of themes, genres and formats. Throughout the challenge, the boys completed video and written journals, responded to surveys and participated in interviews. These data were transcribed, coded and categorised. The results suggest offering choice and a wide variety of reading materials, along with frontloading opportunities to familiarise readers with themes, formats and genres, help to develop adventurous readers.