Government test results show a continuing disparity between boys' and girls' achievements in literacy with the gap widest in writing. This advice - believe in what you write - was given to younger writers by a Year 6 boy after a term's project work aimed at raising boys' achievements as writers.

This practitioner-based research and intervention project was designed to provide a substantial and reliable evidence base drawn from activities designed to raise boys' achievements in writing. However, the aim was not only to address boys' achievements but to develop effective teaching approaches appropriate to all learners. The project, which proved to be successful, used a planning and teaching model which emphasised visual and oral approaches to teaching and learning.

The project work took the form of three-week integrated teaching units for literacy which were designed to lead to a sustained written outcome. Research groups of eight to 10 teachers/practitioners in Birmingham, Essex and Medway, worked on teaching units using either drama and other speaking and listening activities (Medway) or visual approaches using integrated technologies (Birmingham and Essex).

The term integrated technologies includes visual stimuli generated by different digital technologies: video and DVD and the associated use of remote control devices and computer texts of all kinds, alongside the more traditional 'technology' of writing: model making, artwork and puppetry.

The teachers each selected a focus group of five or six underachieving boys, including those who were potentially high-achievers, and kept survey data on pupils' perceptions of themselves as writers; contextual data; writing samples and assessments; and observations and evaluations over the period of the project. The classes involved included a range of age groups from foundation stage to key stage 2.

The teachers carried out two three-week units over the summer term, making decisions about the text types they wanted to teach according to their existing long-term plans. These units were designed to ensure that planning for writing was integrated with reading, speaking and listening, and specifically used drama and/or visual approaches to generate ideas for writing. The first part of the teaching process involved watching and analysing video extracts; reading novels, picture books or information material in electronic or book form; and using drama and role play to aid understanding of the texts chosen so that pupils became confidently familiar with the features of the chosen text type.

Talk, drama or role-play activities were used to support the grasp of whole-text structure and capture ideas for writing. Writing in many forms was part of the process from the start, but after extensive examination of the text features, the process of demonstrating, modelling and guiding writing was used to support successful sustained and independent writing. At the end of each unit the class produced writing in the chosen text type.

The project was highly successful in terms of improvements in the attitudes and achievements of the writers themselves, their standards of writing and in the teachers' views of themselves as effective teachers of writing.

All the teachers/practitioners carried out perceptions surveys with their own classes before the project. These revealed, for example, that a number of boys in the sample wrote by choice at home. However, they also revealed some worrying trends, including a serious decline in self-esteem from Reception to Year 6. When asked at the outset of the project if they were good writers, 80 per cent of key stage 1 boys in the sample replied yes, contrasted with 36 per cent of boys in Year 6. Post-project responses to the same question rose to 95 per cent in key stage 1 overall and 86 per cent in Year 6. This remarkable rise was also shown in other survey responses. Where pre-project advice to younger writers had concentrated largely on technical features of spelling and handwriting, post-project advice included:

"I would say 'what would you like to write?'" (Reception: dictated response)

"Be confident. Don't think you're rubbish." (Year 4 boy)

"Tell them how to draw the reader in." (Year 6 boy)

Observations at the end of the project emphasised the boys' willingness to sustain commitment to writing and the development of greater pride, independence, enthusiasm, confidence, motivation and a sense of feeling valued.

While positive changes were found in the boys' attitudes and motivation, there were also significant gains in achievement. Teacher/practitioner assessments showed that over the course of a term, about three-quarters of the boys had made more progress than would be expected for a pupil in that year group. Analyses of writing samples indicated that the pupils' willingness to write had impacted on the length and quality of their writing.

A noticeable improvement was shown in awareness of audience, particularly how pupils led the reader through the structure of the text using appropriate signposts and a wide range of cohesive devices. Stimulus from both video and drama was evident in the style and language choices and, overall, there was a high incidence of pupils being much more in control of viewpoint, voice and pace in their writing.

For many of the teachers/practitioners involved in the project, a three-week planning and teaching block was a new way of working, which was challenging but was seen to reap considerable benefit:

"I hadn't done three-week blocks before but was able to carry ideas from one week to the next and this gave the children a more coherent learning experience."

"The slow build up to the writing objective really helped my young writers, particularly the boys who enjoyed the variety across time around one text."

In contrast to working to weekly sets of objectives, teachers/practitioners identified specific long-term intentions, working more flexibly and creatively and explicitly building in more time to develop thinking and imagination. There was a general sense of satisfaction in being able to cover short-term objectives within a longer time frame. Literacy lessons were more varied than usual with greater use of paired and mixed-ability group work.

The Primary National Strategy has held a series of dissemination conferences where the teachers involved and the research team have shared the findings. In some areas, of course, there has already been considerable attention given to raising boys' achievements, and in the three education authorities involved in this project further dissemination and embedding is planned. In addition, however, other local consultants and advisers are using and adapting the planning and teaching model for their own development work. The team hopes to track a sample of the boys involved to try to gauge any longer-term gains.

The project provided some unexpected consequences. A substantial increase in speaking and listening activity and expertise was perhaps partly expected but one of the surprises of the project was the positive impact of the work on standards of reading; this is likely to become a focus for future work. Another significant outcome was the power of the collaboration between the National Strategy and an association dedicated to promoting literacy learning and teaching. Such fruitful partnerships may signal ways forward in other areas of research and intervention.

Key findings

• The project has impacted not only on standards of boys' achievements in writing but on teachers'/practitioners' professional development and capacity.
• The planning and teaching model with the integration of drama and/or visual approaches was successful in promoting marked and rapid improvements in standards of boys' writing.
• Positive changes have been noted in the attitudes, motivation, achievement and attainment of boys who had been described as underachieving in writing.
• The sample boys' perceptions of themselves as successful and satisfied writers improved considerably as a result of the project. This was particularly noticeable in the higher age ranges.
• The project work extended the boys' available language to talk about writing (metalanguage). By the end of the project they were more able to express ideas about the process of writing and effective writing behaviours and indicated that they saw themselves as much more in control of their own writing.
• Teacher/practitioner assessments showed that, as a result of the project, in 71.5 per cent of the sample, writing levels had improved one third of a level or more in the course of one term.
• The project had a noticeable beneficial effect not only on levels of writing attainment but also on reading, speaking and listening.
• The project provided significantly increased opportunities for professional dialogue, development and capacity building.
• For a large number of the teachers/practitioners, involvement in the project changed their perceptions of the Primary National Strategy. They saw opportunities for innovation within the frame and recognised the active encouragement of the Strategy in promoting this.

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