Boy Writers

Hello!

     The new year has begun and I am excited to go back to work tomorrow to begin 2015 with my students!  Not only am I excited for all of the lessons and learning that will be happening, but also for getting the chance to try out unique and practical ideas that I received from reading the book Boy Writers by Ralph Fletcher. This is a book that all educators should read.  Even though it was geared towards boys, there are so many easy, realistic ideas that could be used in the classroom to engage all students.  Additionally, it makes teachers reflect on how we teach the boys in our classrooms and what we think about the way boys write.
     Now, during some posts in the past on this blog, I have mentioned how important it is to educate and provide leadership opportunities for girls.  (To read this post, please click HERE )  Writing this current post, I certainly do not mean to pit the genders against one another.  It is never right to bring one gender down in order for another to succeed.  If that becomes the way, no one flourishes.  Looking at differences in gender, however, and finding ways to help both improve through various methods will benefit the entire education system as a whole.

(http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Writers-Reclaiming-Their-Voices/dp/1571104259)

     Throughout his book, Fletcher mentions many statistics and research-based findings on the education and development of boys.  Currently, boys are scoring significantly lower than girls on writing tests.  On average, girls learn by sitting still, concentrating, multi-tasking and listening to words, whereas boys do not.  This is how many classrooms function which already put boys at a disadvantage.  Scientifically, there are many differences in each gender's brain as well. The females' corpus collosum (the part of the brain that connects the two hemispheres and allows them to communicate with one another) is 20% larger than it is in males.  Additionally, many young boys do not have the fine motor skills necessary to write and are years behind girls in this development of the brain.  Biologically, this puts boys at a disadvantage immediately.
     With all of these facts, what are teachers to do?  Being a female teacher and growing up with mostly girls in my household, how am I supposed to relate to boys in my class effectively?  Fletcher gave many suggestions that could be used in the classroom to benefit boys, however, I feel that many girls would also enjoy some of these ideas as well.  Even though I write "boys" in many of the ideas below like Fletcher did in his book, it is synonymous for "students".

• Tell high-interest stories (like squishing worms or catching snakes) to show boy writers that you can be on their wave-length and are eager to read their stories.
• Make sure that boys have a real and varied audience for their writing.  Sharing and celebrating should not be a rare occurrence but a regular event.
• Set "out of bounds" spaces where students can write that's not for the public.  For example, have students turn down pages in their notebooks that they do not want others to read.
• If boys want to write humorous pieces, ask them to review books by Jon Scieskza and Dav Pilkey to copy their style and get ideas.
• If fine motor skills are an issue, allow the use of a computer.
• In conferences, utilize specific rather than general questions.  For example, rather than saying "What effect are you trying to make?" or "What do you think..?" try "You need a dramatic scene here." or "Add sensory details here."  Using this direct approach brings much relief to many boy writers.
• Many do not like to revise their writing because they feel it is the best it can be already.  As a teacher, be flexible during revisions and learn to "give and take."  Show writers that we can meet them half way, even if we do not 100% agree with some of the content or jokes that students use in their writing.
• Always give a "glow and grow"- one thing that the writer did well and one suggestion for the future- to build confidence and strength in writing.
• Allow DRAWING in the Language Arts classroom!  "Sketch and stretch" while reading a story without pictures to aid comprehension, and allow students to draw their ideas first, before putting their story into words.

     Either way, whether you have boys or girls in your classroom, we need to give our students opportunities to write.  Fletcher mentions that twenty years ago, British students wrote 100 words per day while American students only wrote 100 words per week.  With technology today, I am not sure how accurate this is however the overarching theme is that students can only become better writers when they write, write, and write some more.

     I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how you not only engage boy writers, but girl writers as well. 

     Enjoy!