Site Director Responds to Gender Gap in Writing
Publication: Education Daily
Date: April 7, 2008
Summary: In this Ed Daily piece examining results that show NAEP scores for boys lagging behind those for girls in writing, Mary Buckelew of the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project offers suggestions for closing the gap.
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Excerpt from Article
"The best way to engage boys is to ensure that they are given 'authentic' writing prompts that require them to take ownership of their writing," said Mary Buckelew, associate director of the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project, a National Writing Project site.
Buckelew, who instructed high schoolers for 18 years, recalled teaching a successful unit on persuasive writing in which students wrote letters to the school administration about controversial issues within the school community, such as certain dress restrictions.
Copyright © 2008. Reprinted by permission of LRP Publications.
Sawchuk, Stephen. 2008. "Writing gender gap worrisome, stakeholders say." Education Daily 41 (66), April 7.
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Read Writing Gender Gap Worrisome, Stakeholders Say (PDF) in Education Daily.