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Boy Writers on Fire. An inquiry dedicated to the way boys think about writing. Why did I want to explore this topic? . To build writing confidence in boy writers To unlock a passion that lies deep inside To work with other like minds to build communication and social skills
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Boy Writerson Fire An inquiry dedicated to the way boys think about writing
Why did I want to explore this topic? • To build writing confidence in boy writers • To unlock a passion that lies deep inside • To work with other like minds to build communication and social skills • To create pieces of writing as a group • Ultimately, to transfer all this into their own independent practice
Welcome to 4-405 • A fourth grade classroom at P.S. 94, Bronx, NY • Heterogenous grouping, including students with IEPS and ELL • 13 girls, 13 boys • Writing is occurring at multiple points of the day and is inter-disciplinary • Building vocabulary is a main focus
Initial Survey Results • Administered December 2012 • Most boys felt that they were: • Awkward and feeling like others would not understand their writing • Disorganized and Confusing • Reluctant but wanting to share • Most boys reported that if they could change one thing about their writing, it would be: • Their handwriting • Coming up with better ideas • Increasing their Volume • Spelling
Activity One: Three Word Share • All students engage in a morning routine that allows them to free-write • As a jump-off point, they are given three random words to get them started. • Students also get to submit words • The activity is multi-genre • Students write for seven minutes, the teacher writes with them
How does Three Word Share help boy writers? • According to Ralph Fletcher….
But what about Overcoming Reluctance…My own observations • Three random numbers will be called to share with the whole class • Students have the right to pass. I think this was a good safety net, but difficult to build confidence as a few of the boys always (and still do) pass • At the start of this activity, more girls would share and boys would regularly pass • As time goes on, more boys begin to share and are excited to. There stories were funny! But I learned that in order to share, they had to feel like other kids in the class were going to react positively to it. • The activity expanded as the year went on to include a fourth reader called “Guest Reader.”I made this change because some kids were complaining about not getting to read ever. • It made me think that in the future, I may also offer three word share as a time to share past entries so that they can still share the ones that they feel good about • Another idea is to create a monthly binder and each child would submit their favorite of the month and then the binder would be shared by all the students.
Now you try it…..Your three words are….. • Zombies • Toilet bowls • Slime You have 7 minutes to write! Have fun with it!
Activity 2: Symbotic Partnerships • In February, students began to work with each other in same-gender groups in order to establish symbiotic relationships • In nature, it is a relationship between two organisms that is mutually beneficial to both • In class 4-405, it is a relationship between two students who can both offer each other something • I felt like this would be a good way to get the boys starting to feel comfortable about talking about their writing if not to the class, but to another “like mind” • All partnerships were assigned by gender and after considering what one could give to the other.
Task: Persuasive Brochures • All students were expected to write a persuasive brochure about a topic that they were passionate about • The goal of establishing writing partners was to offer: the presence of another person, feedback from another student, access to tools, multiple options for activity, and problem solving situations ( Neuman and Roskos, 1997)
Case Study: Byron and Jose • Byron is our reluctant writer who needs to build up his confidence • Jose is an ELL who struggles with language and getting his ideas onto a page. • Can Byron learn to help Jose to help him get words down on the page? • Can Jose learn to take Byron suggestions and then use them independently?
A Plan is in the Works Teacher: So, what was Byron helping you with today? Jose: He was helping me with, the, um, the third paragraph of the writing piece because I only have two done. Teacher: What do you think Byron? What were you tell him? Byron: Um, I was telling him that I would look in my binder to see if there were any words that he could add to his piece.
Implications from this Clip • It was necessary for me to continue to reinforce the idea that Byron is not “doing” the work for Jose. • Together, the boys identified what Jose needed to do and Byron had a way to support him. • Whole Class – All students needed to be clear on the role they play as learning partners
The boys start to work… The two boys are going through a list of vocabulary words. Jose: (saying to himself) dawdle, concealed, can use it, maybe? Solo. Byron: Jose, did you use “consider?” Maybe you should put that there.
Noticings • Byron knows that throughout our unit, the word “consider” has been a main focus for Thesis statements • Jose does not have a thesis statement. • He is encouraging Jose to include it in the writing piece. • Jose is just listing out random words, and Byron gets him back on track by giving him a word that he can use.
Reflections for Byron and Me • Byron was asked, “How it was going with Jose?” • He said that he didn’t think that he was helping him much. He said he is very unfocused and doesn’t know how to fix that. • I shared with Byron this powerpoint and discussed how many little things he was doing were EXACTLY the right things to do to help. • I explained the rhino and the bird and he asked, “Which one he was?” • I told him, “It didn’t matter each one helps the other in their own unique way.” • Byron walked away with a smile on his face. I think that it was necessary for us to have this conversation. He doesn’t think he is a strong writer, but hopefully he is moving towards that after this experience.
Activity 3: Scary Story Competition • Students are all in homogenous groups based on gender • A collaborative writing experience modeled after an activity done at St. Mark’s School of Texas 2009-2010 • “Boys need motivation for writing that is authentic, active, imaginative, results based, and fun” (Fletcher, 2006) • Competition increases the students’ level of motivation during writing projects (Kao, Lin, Sun, 2008) • Research is a “social process” (Dale, 1997) • “Through co-authoring, students learn to cooperate and negotiate, skills which are invaluable in other situations” (Dale, 1997)
Building Excitement • Studied R.L Stine • All kids read at least one Goosebumps book • Students use covers of books to jump-start their ideas
Impressions • After this initial activity, it was clear by the vivid writing that the boys were “game.” • I decided not just to have the students work in their groups to create a story, but to be fighting to win a competition. • Everyone was told to keep their work secretive. This was meant to instill a sense of belonging, companionship and to build trust.
The groups get together and create what if’s… • The boys talked….ALOT!!! • They laughed….ALOT!!! • They didn’t write a lot! • They made lists and that seemed to work for them
A Final Twist:Acting out our Scary Stories • Some boys were complaining that other boys in their groups weren’t doing anything. • A spur of the moment decision – The writing contest becomes a play in order to gain more participation.
As the inquiry is coming to an end, the boys fill out the same survey from December • 50% of the boys are feeling confident (including Byron), while 50% are still feeling reluctant 3 students who reported that they were feeling confident also reported that they preferred working with partners and groups • 85% of the boys stated that having a choice in their topic helped them when they were write • All of the boys agreed that writing was important to them
Lingering Questions… • What else can I do to support my reluctant boy writers? • How can I support these boys momentum as they transition to the next grade? • How can I set up better partnerships that will still also support symbiosis?