Impact on Boys' Writing

The Undeniable Truth About the Gender Gap in Writing

The ability to read and write is undeniably important. Formal school education and academia relies on a solid base of reading and writing and so later success is intrinsically linked to it. But literacy is not just about academic success, it’s also hugely important for social and emotional wellbeing, creativity and confidence. Writing gives children a way to express themselves and their needs and find connection with others. But it’s not a given that every child will find the route to literacy easy - in fact, it is well documented that girls outperform boys in writing (Bourke & Adams, 2012; Gonzales-Diaz et al., 2022). 

This gender gap in writing is broad across writing skills such as phonics knowledge, complex words and forming simple sentences with punctuation (Gov, 2024). This gender gap is also more prominent than other learning skills such as reading, language and mathematics (Reynolds et al., 2015). To the extent that 75% of girls aged 4-5 are averagely achieving 6 points out of 9 in the set standards compared to 56% of boys (Gov, 2024).

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What can help close the gap in boys’ writing?

1. Provide a Language-Rich Environment in EYFS

If you want to see writing develop successfully in all children during the early years, developing language and communication skills is the key (Washbrook, 2016). And so, to overcome the gender gap in writing, language and communication interventions like Tales Toolkit are the way forward.

The goal of a language-rich environment is to provide opportunities for engaging communication between children and adults. Tales Toolkit’s package provides practitioners with the training and interactive resources to create these engaging conversations (you might call them quality interactions) with the children.

Ofsted have recognised improvement in EY provision in Oxfordshire, saying that children benefit from a very language-rich environment. (Paula Lochrie, School Improvement Advisor at Oxforshire County Council)

A variety of vocabulary and methods of expression should be modeled by the practitioners and children should then be given opportunities to practise both independently and in group-led scenarios.

When children are exposed to a greater variety of words, they will have a bigger vocabulary to call upon when they begin writing.

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2. Model and Encourage Storytelling Skills

Where Tales Toolkit goes further than traditional language interventions is the use of storytelling to boost literacy and language in all children - regardless of their gender or background. Research supports the value of storytelling as a way to improve boys’ writing skills as it draws on a variety of literacy skills (Slattery & Willis, 2001).

Storytime has been part of the school day in early years for as long as many of us can remember. Children love stories and teachers love how little planning is needed too. Traditionally though, this is one-way interaction: teacher reads to children. Children are exposed to the language but are rarely involved in the process. Where storytelling gets really powerful is when it becomes a collaborative, interactive experience. This is where Tales Toolkit comes in.

Evidence suggests that boys struggle more with motivation and engagement than girls when it comes to writing (Bethan, 2021; Daly 2002). This gap closed when children were offered a broader range of writing experiences compared with more traditional, direct teaching. This means that early years professionals need to foster a range of creative and imaginative writing opportunities. In short, when writing and language development is fun, boys will be more motivated. 

Tales Toolkit proves just that: a playful approach to language development closes the gender literacy gap (Jones-Bartoli, 2015) - read the whole study. Tales Toolkit centres around the creation of stories where the children take the lead. A story has no rules and no wrong answers. Stories can be quiet, or loud; still or active. 

This child-led approach motivates children and before you know it, language development becomes fun! And as many ECE professionals and researchers know, boys may struggle more with prescriptive learning activities while the freedom to tell a story however they wish is far more likely to keep them engaged.

The freedom to tell whatever story the children wish is essential. That’s why Tales Toolkit recognises the need for variety in what’s offered to children. The kit of resources given to every Tales Toolkit setting includes a range of products designed to engage children in both group and independent play. The practitioners are also taught to be inventive and creative in what’s offered in the provision - props, puppetry, voices, sensory items, familiar items from home … Practitioners know best what the children will engage with.

To further help children get their teeth into making their own stories, Tales Toolkit breaks down story structure into 4 simple parts: character, setting, problem and solution. This structure, especially when paired with 4 memorable symbols, gives even the youngest children a headstart in story creation.No other language intervention can boast such a strong grounding in story structure from as young as two years of age.

One approach focuses on storytelling and supports children's pre-reading and writing skills. Children use a range of toys and other props to tell stories in groups, skilfully facilitated by an adult. Even the newest children are encouraged to tell stories and discuss a character, setting, problem, and solution. (Ofsted report, 2018)

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3. Don't Separate the Boys Out

Experiencing the group dynamics of nursery or school is essential for child development. While some language and literacy interventions take a child away from the classroom, this can be detrimental to their personal, social and emotional development (PSED). That’s why, at Tales Toolkit, we advocate for an inclusive approach. The Tales Toolkit package enables every child to participate in a way that works for them so that developing writing skills doesn’t have to come at the expense of social skills.

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Tales Toolkit is an evidence-based approach proven to help boys write

In a study by Goldsmiths University, the gender literacy gap between girls and boys was closed by 62% after implementing Tales Toolkit. 

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In the same study, teachers also reported higher motivation and engagement when it came to creating stories. Since we know that motivation to write is generally lower in boys (Bethan, 2021; Daly 2002), Tales Toolkit’s ability to foster better motivation allows boys to overcome the gender gap in writing.