Boy Writers on Fire

1. Boy Writerson Fire An inquiry dedicated to the way boys think about writing

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. How can their needs be addressed?

6. 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

7. How does Three Word Share help boy writers? • According to Ralph Fletcher….

8. 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.

9. Sample Work

11. Now you try it…..Your three words are….. • Zombies • Toilet bowls • Slime You have 7 minutes to write! Have fun with it!

12. What the boys are saying….

13. 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.

14. 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)

15. 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?

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. Do partnerships work? Here’s what the boys are saying!

22. And What do the girls have to say????

23. 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)

24. Building Excitement • Studied R.L Stine • All kids read at least one Goosebumps book • Students use covers of books to jump-start their ideas

25. Monster Blood by the boys

26. 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.

27. 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

28. 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.

29. Check out these teasers….

30. 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

31. 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?