While I am hopeful that Chava Lerner will receive helpful answers to her query, I wish to share some thoughts on the question itself. I must admit that I wonder why we insist on teaching gemara to those who were never the intended audience of this text. In fact, the midrash says that of the 1000 who begin to learn mikra, only 10% moved on to talmud. I'm unsure why we would take the limited time we have available for limudei kodesh to force those who "struggle with abstractions" and who will not be able to make a leining, to learn gemara instead of finding other areas of Torah which may be more fruitful for them. If we truly believe in chanech l'naar al pi darko, it behooves us to help our students discover the parts of Torah which are truly suitable for them.
I hope it is not necessary to say this, but lest I be misunderstood, I believe the approach I'm advocating to be correct for both girls and boys.
