1. Boys and extended writing

2. Why don’t boys like writing?
Loaded question, however… What do we know about the gender gap in writing? Evidence suggests that boys perform less well than girls in writing. Research evidence has identified a range of factors behind their underperformance (Daly, 2003; Estyn, 2008; DfES, 2007). These include:

3. Factors related to the quality of teaching such as teaching grammar separately from contextualised writing, inappropriate use of interventions, misuse of writing frames and a lack of connection between oral and writing work.

4. Classroom-level factors such as ineffective use of ICT, setting and streaming.

5. Behavioural and social-level factors

6. Factors related to the way lessons are conducted such as too much emphasis on story writing, not giving boys ownership of their writing, a discrepancy between boys’ reading preferences and writing topics, using ‘counting down’ time strategies and a dislike by boys of drafting and figurative language.

7. What can we do to address these issues?
School and classroom level approaches such as using active learning tasks; appropriate approaches to discipline; target setting, monitoring and mentoring; using older pupils as male role models; focusing on the learning nature of schools.

8. Effective teaching from teachers who have confidence in their abilities and have high expectations from boys.

9. A focus on key approaches inherent in the teaching of writing such as explicit teaching of language; topic selection in narrative writing; planning writing using mnemonics; effective use of drafting and writing frames.

10. Literacy-specific activities such as appropriate use of oral work; poetry; use of emotionally powerful texts.

11. Effective use of visual media and ICT facilities.

12. Just follow these two simple rules:
1) Be effective
2) Don’t be ineffective

13. Possible routes in… Audit what needs to be written in your department.
Read texts to and with pupils.

14. Don’t assume they come with particular knowledge of writing style
Don’t assume they come with particular knowledge of writing style. You might have to teach them explicitly.

15. Model your own writing. Tell them what works, what you did wrong, highlight errors.
Make it analytical…

16. tense were, where we’re, wear
First I got 3 test tubes and a clamp stand then I added the acid. We measured each amount until they wear equal.
Place test tube in a clamp stand.
Add 50 cm3 of acid to each tube
were, where
we’re, wear
tense

17. …by zombies
The acid is placed in the test tube
Sarah increased the temperature

18. Expand their vocabulary, even the ‘common’ words