Boy Writers

Well all know that boys and girls are interested in different topics and I think its important to think about that when assigning a writing assignment. As teachers we need to be flexible about topic choice because otherwise boys will be uninterested at writing at all. Yes, its true that boys like to write about violence and that they like to be funny. I think teachers need to give boys a little more leniency to what they can and cannot write about. Ralph Fletcher agrees and his book Boy Writers talks about ways to get boys interested in writing and how to relate to them as writers. 

Overall I think the book was great and had a lot of great ideas to help all teachers but its good to note that a lot of this book assumes things about boys. It assumes that boys like to write about violence and it assumes that boys want to be humorous in their writing. So its always good to remember ,as always, that not all boys are the same and this book fails to incorporate that message. It is a great book with a lot of great ideas but just keep in mind that not all boys are the same.

It some good ideas it had that you can incorporate into your classroom. One great assignment that I think that would work really well is having kids is having them draw a place that they remember from childhood like their neighborhood, a park, or anything similar to that. Then after they draw, the students write and describe that area and go into depth about where they spent a lot of time and where they weren't allowed or etc. I think this is good way to help students imagine something so that they can use that creativity to write.

Here is a website that gives some great journal topics to consider which could speak to boys and girls in your classroom. Maybe they will inspire them to want to write.