Dedicated to our TCH 224 class!

Hope you enjoy reading our book and learn something new.

"As a writer you should not judge. You should understand." -Ernest Hemingway

Introduction

-Teachers impact students' perception of learning and self-esteem

-We must open our minds to gaps between male and female learners

-Writing should be taught in a way that instills passion

-Teachers need to treat all student writers with equal respect for their work

Chapter 1- The Trouble with Boys

-Fletcher talks about how students are often "Turned off, checked out, disengaged and disenfranchised" (Page 4).

-We need to advocate for boy writers

-Boys are struggling with writing

-“Instead of trying to understand these boys we treat them as a problem to be managed” (pg. 4). 

Chapter 2- Failure to Thrive

-The achievement gap between boys and girls is wide.

-Boys score lower than girls on writing achievement tests.

-Girls naturally want to write and express their emotions through word.

-Boys shy away from feelings with writing.

- “Boys need our patience, encouragement, and most intelligent support” (Page 15) in order to thrive.

Chapter 3- The Gender Filter

-Gender of the teacher and gender of the student may affect how writing is taught and learned in the classroom.

-Fletcher surveyed teachers to see if gender made a difference.

-“Ninety percent of elementary school teachers are women” (pg. 22). This shows that there is a possible correlation that boys are not able to connect to female teachers the way they may connect to male teachers.

Chapter 4- Rules of (Dis)Engagement

-There are many ways to get boys more engaged in writing, one being private writing.

-Private writing also allows boys to express their emotions..

-Boys will not improve if they aren't writing.

-“IM, emailing, writing on blogs, creating websites, scribbling for fun in notebooks, creating comics with friends-all of these represent an important part of boys lives as writers” (Page 38). 

Chapter 5- Vanishing Act: The Matter of Choice

-Boys and girls have such diverse interests.

-Choice is typically taken away from boys when choosing writing topics!

-We need to allow students to choose what they write about.

-With choice comes diversity and passion, and with diversity and passion comes interest!

-"Boys in school today find themselves whipsawed by several different forces, each of which limits not just what they can write about but also how they can deal with their topics" (Page 43).

Chapter 6- Violent Writing

-Uncomfortable topics aren't always unimportant topics ("inappropriate" writing)

-"There must be common sense limitations on how much violence we permit in student writing" (Page 54).

-It's important to negotiate with boys on how much violence we allow them to write about.

-Teachers can create boundaries

Suggestions for Instruction (Chapters 1-6)

*Consider how your gender might affect how you respond to the substance/style of your boys' writing. (p.24)

*Create the kind of classroom where boys feel "at home" when they write. For example, let them write on the floor, or in a corner of the room, if that helps them concentrate. (p.37)

*Remember that choice involves not just the what but the how. Giving students a choice in the how might include allowing them to be conversational, use slang or words from a native language, employ humor, include illustrations, or write with an authentic child-like voice even if that means it is ungrammatical. (p.46)

Chapters 7-12 and Key Takeaways with voice over

Humor (Chapter 7)

-is a way that boys can express who they are, their independence

-By not allowing boys to use humor, we are censoring a part of them

-"How can boys envision themselves as writers if they don't find in books they read examples of strong, salty writing they want to create themselves" (p. 64).

Handwriting (Chapter 8) (Voiceover)

-Writing can be physically painful for many boys, they're often behind girls in their fine motor development

-As long as a child can read their own writing they can communicate what the teacher needs to know

-Keyboarding is an important skill that we can utilize to help our boy writers

Conversation (Chapter 9)(Voiceover)

-"Writing showed a discrepancy between the genders, but in conversation the boys found a forum where they could match the girls" (p. 82).

-By beginning conversations we can let our boys communicate in a safe environment what they learned we can then lead them to putting it on paper

-Boys discussions often involve interruptions and don't usually connect to what the person before them stated, and that is okay!

Conferencing (Chapter 10)(Voice over)

-"The teachers in the room did not accept the particular slant I'd taken on my topic...instead they had judged the writing. And, indirectly judged me" (p. 91).

-We need to recognize that we need to be careful with our judgements they do more harm then good when we act as judge and juror

-Boys want to be told what to do, boys need to see that what we are trying to lead them to is a creation of a tool to use in their writing (make it less abstract)

-Even if a boy does not listen to you and use what you taught them, they did hear you.

Carl Anderson Interview (Chapter 11)(Voice Over)

-Don't discourage genres just because you are unfamiliar with them

-Be interested in what they are interested in (even if you're not)!

-"I hope they [boys] feel that writing workshop is a safe place for them to write about what matters to them, and make sense of their lives" (p. 105).

Language (Chapter 12)(Voice over)

-"Language issues instantly arise when we read boys' writing and must make a snap judgement about what is acceptable" (p.110)

-Boys write to entertain, language is a part of that

-Our words matter too, they stick with out students, watch yourself carefully

-Approach students with a growth mindset