Research is very clear when it tells us that our boys often fall through the gaps when it comes to writing. Now obviously this is just a generalisation, as we have some wonderful writers in our school. But, data such as NAPLAN, supports this overall generalisation that ‘boys don’t write as well as their female counterparts’.

We know many things about our boys that can help rewire their perceptions of themselves as writers. We know our boys:

• Have some wonderful stories to tell – verbally this is done very well

• With proper encouragement and instruction, boys can write effectively

• Can learn to write well and view writing positively when it is shared with them in a positive light.

Boys are often drawn to alternative forms of writing. Research and practice tells us that ‘boys love things that you can kill’. Writing about high interest areas makes writing much more engaging for boys – thinking spiders not turtles, tornadoes not clouds, and sharks not whales, adds to this interest. The process of writing for our boys needs to be more about writing skills than it is about the content, fostering this love of writing.

Boys tend to fear failure and many find writing to be a challenge. Having an environment where they are free to make mistakes and learn through failure is an environment where they will be able to achieve success.

Boys need to see writing as a part of their everyday lives and in a positive light. Technology and visual literacy are very important to boys. Telling a story through multimedia is so engaging for boys, using pictures, diagrams and video clips helps to focus their imaginations and foster an idea that will build into a story. I had a boy in my class a few years ago who found it much more beneficial to tell the story through a voice recording app prior to writing. This consolidated his thoughts and he could then refer back to his original ideas.

Our boys in Years 3-6 are exposed to a range of writing skills techniques on a regular basis to help them write. Teachers are achieving this by planning together, creating assessments together, sharing their writing successes and failures with the boys, developing acronyms that help boys structure their writing, using both group and individual writing to promote skill development and written reflections of learning. This is also done in fun and exciting ways both inside and outside the classroom. Writing in the bush, at Swain Gardens, in the corridors, on the grass, on the basketball court – these experiences are not a rare occurrence at Lindfield – our teachers make it exciting!

Ways to help our boys write:

• Help boys respect writing as a ‘guy’ thing

• Model writing for the boys

• Time – boys require this to form a detailed plan in their heads about what to write about. The start is always the hardest.

• Make writing capture their interests

• Use technology or visual aids to help the writing process

• Encourage your son to share his writing with you

(ASAD, Vol 56:1, Jan 2014).

Joel Weekes

Teaching & Learning Team leader