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Raising boys' achievement in writing

Date of issue: Oct. 2004
Audience: Trainees and NQTs, Key Stage 2 teachers, Key Stage 1 teachers, Foundation Stage practitioners

group of children in classroom

Introduction
Concerns about boys' achievements in literacy, and in writing in particular, are not new. However, current government test results show a continuing gap between boys' and girls' achievements in literacy. The gap is widest in writing. While the reasons for boys' lower test scores are complex and varied, influenced by factors out of school as well as within the classroom, nevertheless the gap in attainment needs to be taken seriously.

The Primary National Strategy has identified boys' achievements in writing as a key issue and this pilot project was aimed to tackle differences in attainment. While focusing on boys, however, the research did not take a simplistic view. There are, of course, differences between boys as well as between boys and girls, and the aim of the project was to develop effective teaching approaches which would specifically address boys' achievements while offering a sound teaching model appropriate to all learners. The Primary Strategy/UKLA project used a planning and teaching model which specifically addressed visual and oral approaches to teaching and learning.

This practitioner-based project was designed to provide a focused, but substantial and reliable evidence base drawn from activities designed to raise boys' achievements in writing. The project work took the form of three-week integrated teaching units for literacy. Teacher research groups of eight and ten teachers in three different areas: Birmingham, Essex and Medway, worked on teaching units designed to raise boys' engagement, motivation and achievements in writing using either:

  • visual stimuli including integrated technologies (Birmingham and Essex),
or
  • drama and other speaking and listening activities (Medway)

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Unit planning for literacy: An integrated model
The term 'integrated technologies' was used to denote the use of visual stimuli generated by different digital technologies - video and DVD and the associated use of remote control devices and computer texts of all kinds - alongside the more traditional 'technology' of writing, model making, artwork and puppetry. The teachers involved were all leading teachers or were identified by the LEA literacy consultant as expert practitioners. Each selected a focus group five or six underachieving boys (including boys who were potentially high achievers) and kept writing samples and assessments as well as observations and their own reflections over the period of the project. The classes involved included a range of age groups from foundation stage, key 1

The project work took the form of three-week teaching units for literacy. These were designed to ensure that planning for writing was integrated with reading, speaking and listening and, specifically, using drama and/or visual approaches to generate ideas for writing. This model of planning and teaching for longer-term sequences of lessons over three (or two or four weeks) to support writing ensures that:

  • reading and writing objectives are linked;
  • speaking and listening is planned into the teaching sequence;
  • text, sentence and word level work support each other;
  • there is a writing outcome with a clear link to the specific objectives identified for the unit of work.

The following steps describe the planning process.

  1. Selecting the aspect of the range/text type to be taught.
  2. Choosing texts which will familiarise the class with the text features to be covered. These might include novels, short stories, picture books, poetry, videos, CDROMs, information texts.
  3. Identifying the key reading text objectives to be covered.
  4. Deciding on the desired written outcome and identifying the key writing text objectives to be covered.
  5. Noting the aspects of speaking and listening to be covered.
  6. Identifying the sentence and word level objectives suitable for the unit.
  7. Creating medium-term plans guided by the sequence in Figure 1.

The first part of the teaching process involves reading, viewing, exploring and discussing the features of the text types covered by the unit. This might include viewing and analysing video extracts and reading novels, picture books or information material in electronic or book form. Drama and role-play may also aid understanding of the texts chosen. The idea is that pupils should become confidently familiar with the features of the chosen text type. Ideas for writing will be captured in a variety of ways, but it is during this part of the process that the class is likely to benefit from talk, drama or role-play activities which will support their grasp of the whole text structure of the text type (for example, role-play to aid personal narrative or persuasive argument). Writing in many forms may be part of the process from the start, but once there has been extensive experience of the text features, the process of teacher demonstrating, modelling and guiding writing is used to support successful sustained and independent writing.

diagram of 3-week unit - teaching process

Figure 1: Three-week integrated unit for literacy - teaching process

The teachers carried out two three-week units, one in the first half of the summer term and one in the second half, making decisions, according to their existing long-term plans, about the text types or genres they wanted to teach Before and after each three-week unit they kept writing samples from their focus group of boys.

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Key findings

  • The project has not only made an impact on standards of boys' achievements in writing but also on teachers'/practitioners' professional development and capacity.

  • The planning and teaching model with the integration of drama and/or visual approaches was successful in promoting marked and rapid improvements in standards of boys' writing.

  • Positive changes have been noted in the attitudes, motivation, achievement and attainment of boys who had been described as underachieving in writing.

  • The sample boys' perceptions of themselves as successful and satisfied writers improved considerably as a result of the project. This was particularly noticeable in the higher age ranges.

  • The project work extended the boys' available language to talk about writing (metalanguage). By the end of the project they were more able to express ideas about the process of writing and effective writing behaviours and indicated that they saw themselves as much more in control of their own writing.

  • Teacher/practitioner assessments showed that in 71.5% of the sample, writing levels had improved one third of a level or more in the course of one term.

  • The project had a noticeable beneficial effect not only on levels of writing attainment but also on reading and speaking and listening.

  • The project provided significantly increased opportunities for professional dialogue, development and capacity building.

For a large number of the teachers/practitioners, involvement in the project changed their perceptions of the Primary Strategy. They saw opportunities for innovation within the frame and recognised the active encouragement of the Strategy in promoting this.

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Case studies
A number of case studies to accompany the report have been produced and are available to view and download from this website. Many of the case studies also contain planning exemplars. View case studies.