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Supporting boys’ interests: Developing action research with practitioners in a nursery class in Gateshead

Date of issue:	Oct. 2007
Theme:	Supporting boys' achievements

Contents

Background to the study
Session 1
Session 2
Conclusions
Implications for practice

Background to the study

The study was conducted in a mixed-gender nursery class of 21 children during a week in December 2004. It was initiated by a conversation between the staff of the nursery and the Gateshead primary consultant. This conversation identified an issue with boys’ reluctance to take part in any activity that involved them holding a pencil. A case study approach was employed incorporating the data collection methods of participant observation and structured observations. Analysis of the data was intertwined with the observation process. The analytical model based upon descriptive observation and narrative account was used to analyse the data.

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Session 1

This session took place on a Wednesday morning in December, between 9:00 am and 11:00 am.

First activity
On entering the nursery, Jack and George went straight to the block area where they proceeded to build. They talked about what they were building: ‘We are making a castle.’ They began to involve me in their dialogue.

I asked, ‘Who lives in the castle?’

‘Lots of people and lots of ghosts,’ was the answer.

As they negotiated together where the bricks would go it became obvious from observing them building that they intended to use every brick. No other children entered the area at this time, although two boys stood at the edge of the area and offered advice: ‘You haven’t used those bricks yet.’

When all the bricks had been incorporated into the castle building they left the area.

Second activity
The boys decided to go to the writing area next. Upon entering the area, Jack looked and said: ‘There are the stamps.’

He looked through all the stamps trying to find the ghost stamp. He grumbled to George that it wasn’t there. He left the area, approached the practitioner and asked for the ghost stamp.

The practitioner went to the writing area and looked through the stamps. ‘It must still be in the kitchen.’

She fetched the ghost stamp and gave it to Jack.

Jack turned to George and said: ‘Look, I’ve got it now.’

Jack stamped all over the paper with the ghost stamp. He then chose a crayon and drew a line.

‘That’s where the big ghost comes from, the daddy; they all jump in and fly away.’ George joined in with creating this story. He got a piece of paper, stamped ghosts then used a felt pen to draw dots and lines around a set of ghosts.

‘The ghosts are inside and outside.’

Jack then selected a pair of scissors and cut his sheet of paper into two. He folded both pieces then opened them. He gave me one piece of paper. I asked if he would like to write his name on the paper so I would remember who gave me the picture. He answered, ‘No, it’s all right. I’ll tell you when you come again.’

In this activity neither Jack nor George used any symbols or letter shapes but they were beginning to compose stories, making the link between what was spoken (that is, the story they were telling) and the picture they were creating using felt pens, crayons and stamps. They were recording their story in pictorial form.

Third activity
George and Jack now decided to go into Santa’s workshop. They ignored the form that was available for making lists and began to decide what to make. George turned to me and said: ‘I’m going to make a train.’

He picked up the string and a tube.

Jack said, ‘I’m making an alligator. I like alligators, not crocodiles.’

Jack coloured the tube green. While colouring, he talked to both George and me.

‘If the shark comes, the good alligator will eat both the shark and the crocodile.’ He turned to me and said, ‘We do boy stuff. We like boy stuff. It will take a long time to make a train and an alligator.’

George listened to this conversation, nodding in agreement. He stated that trains are silver. He measured the silver tape against the length of the tube, cut the tape to size and stuck it onto the tube. Jack finished colouring the tube. ‘Perfect,’ he said. He turned to me and said, ‘I saw [beginning to count to 7] seven alligators with the monkeys in the jungle. The crocodiles were with the alligators.’

He cut the end of the tube to make teeth and drew on the eyes. They took their models and put them in the take-home box.

Reflective discussion with practitioners
Through observing the boys working in Santa’s workshop and the writing area, it became apparent that they were experiencing emergent literacy as something that was meaningful to them as something that was enjoyable. Through manipulating materials, they were developing the secretarial skills, the fine motor and hand–eye coordination skills necessary for writing. Through telling stories they were developing their skills of oracy and composition. The provision in the nursery enabled this literacy-related behaviour to become visible.

When discussing this with the staff it was interesting to note that the areas and activities they regarded as supporting the development of emergent writing were:

• the lists in the workshop;
• the letters to Santa in the writing area;
• the message pad in the home corner;
• the writing patterns in the sand tray;
• the clipboards with the register;
• the paintbrushes and water;
• the interactive whiteboard;
• the chalk wall outside.

Jack and George did not choose to access the planned activities but through having the freedom and time to choose from a wide range of resources they were developing the skills they needed to become writers.

Questioning practice

After much discussion around their interests, it became apparent that the boys followed the same routine every morning. They always went to the block area first and built a model using every block. Maynard (2002, p. 57) quotes a teacher, Jacqui, talking about her perceptions of boys: ‘when it comes to constructional activities the boys are very much more involved in constructing cars and building’.

I asked if there were any writing materials available in this area, as I had not observed any. There were some writing materials available but they were in baskets inside a unit and not visible to the children.

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Session 2

This session took place on a Thursday morning in December between 9:00 am and 10:30 am.

First activity
Jack arrived at nursery first and wandered from area to area but did not engage in any activity. As soon as George arrived he went over to him. They did not speak to each other but by some unspoken agreement they made their way over to the block area. Another child, Anthony, was already playing in the area. He had begun to build with the bricks. Jack and George began to join in this activity and the three boys continued building. The only conversation that took place involved where to position the bricks. Their objective seemed to be to use every brick to make a structure.

As a participant observer I was able to develop a fieldwork relationship with the focus group (Ackroyd and Hughes, 1992). This enabled me to gain the trust of the group and to gain admission to activities that otherwise would have been out of bounds to me. I decided to address any questions or comments to Jack initially, as he was the one who initiated conversation with me. He was also the acknowledged leader of the group. I asked Jack what he was building. He replied, after a few moments’ thought, ‘We are building Captain Hook’s pirate ship.’ He looked at the other two boys for approval. They nodded in agreement. Once they had come to this agreement as to what they were building, they began to make some adaptations to their model. George said, ‘We need somewhere for Captain Hook and Peter Pan to climb up.’ Together they began to build a tall ladder. Jack said, ‘We need decorations. We need treasure.’ They looked around the nursery and decided to use the decorations from the display of shiny Christmas objects. Anthony then joined in and said, ‘We can use the coloured bricks.’ The boys became very enthusiastic. They kept asking me where to put the treasure and if it (the model) looked like Captain Hook’s ship. They began telling the story of Peter Pan as they worked. ‘This is where they fight… this is where they keep the treasure… we need a crocodile to eat Captain Hook.’

While building the model of the pirate ship, the boys were involved in oral storytelling. This involved the boys in negotiating, sequencing and explaining. Research carried out by Hudelson (1994) has found a relationship between a strong background of oral storytelling and the complexity and creativity in written narratives. Although the primary activity in this instance was building, the boys were taking part in an activity that was potentially supportive of literacy development. This opportunity for the boys to develop their oral storytelling skills may have been lost if an adult had not been present to support the learning.

While the process of filling the ship with treasure was taking place, Jack watched me take photographs of the ship. I showed all the boys the photographs I had taken. We discussed what was happening in each photograph. George decided to draw a picture of the model, and Jack said that he was going to make a map. I then asked what they were going to use to draw with. ‘Those pens over there,’ was the reply. They noticed that writing materials had been added to the area. George watched Jack start his map. ‘I’m going to make a map.’

While selecting the materials for drawing the maps, the boys discovered the sticky notes, masking tape and different types of paper and card.

George picked up the sticky notes and showed them to Jack. ‘Look at these.’ He then put them down again. At this point I intervened and suggested that they could use the sticky notes to write the name of the ship. Hall (1995) argues that one important resource is adults. He suggests that practitioners can model, they can take a role in the play, or react to something brought to their attention by the children. They can subtly integrate literacy into a response or demonstrate that literacy has a role in the play theme.

Through this intervention Jack began to write. He used letter shapes because he was writing the name of the ship. He decided not to use the sticky note but wrote directly onto the block, as this was where the name should be. He displayed an understanding of the purpose of labels and signs.

Jack then decided that he would write a letter to Peter Pan. He wrote using letters from his own name.

Anthony then decided that he would become involved and wrote: ‘Peter Pan is climbing to see Captain Hook.’ He displayed his knowledge of the story and understood that stories could be written down. He wrote using marks and was aware that text is arranged from left to right and his ‘scribble’ is in lines. George wanted to write a card to Captain Hook. He began by drawing a picture of himself on a piece of card, then put the card in an envelope and addressed it to Captain Hook. He used letter shapes from his own name to write the envelope.

Without an adult to scaffold the learning, the boys in the block area may not have spent 73 minutes playing in this area. They were given uninterrupted time to pursue their own interests. Appropriate resources, materials and access to an adult extended their learning.

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Conclusions

Reviewing the evidence it would appear that boys are capable of writing in the early years but it is necessary to start from where the boys are in terms of their interests as well as the level of physical skills they have developed.

From the evidence, it appears that boys are motivated to ‘write’ when they have a reason for writing and have access to appropriate resources. The example of writing the name of Captain Hook’s ship arose. When the boys had access to resources and a real purpose for writing, they found that they had an interest in writing and a desire to write.

The research identified the blocks as the area in which the boys chose to play. The block area was used as a vehicle for developing their writing skills. Neall (2002) states that boys need to experience success. The boys were able to work without restrictions and created their own sense of success through the building work in which they were engaged. The research appears to show that when boys are in a situation where there is no right or wrong way to use the writing materials, they will write.

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Implications for practice

• Practitioners need to consider how to use the self-chosen activity to challenge and stimulate the boys.
• Boys’ play needs to be supported and extended by practitioners.
• Practitioners need to consider reviewing the daily routine in order to provide time for boys to engage in and complete self-chosen tasks.
• Practitioners need to consider incorporating popular media or culture into the planned nursery activities.

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References

Ackroyd, S. and Hughes, J. (1992) Data Collection in Context (2nd edn). London: Longman.
Hall, N and Robinson, A. (1995) Exploring Writing and play in the Early Years. London: David Fulton.
Hudelson, S. (1994) Literacy Development of second language children: The Whole Child, the Whole Curriculum, the Whole Community. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Maynard, T. (2002) Boys and Literacy: exploring the issues. London: Routledge Falmer.
Neall, L. (2002) Bringing out the Best in Boys. Gloucestershire: Hawthorn Press.