Motivating and engaging fifth grade boy writers

The research question addressed in this project was how do we engage and motivate fifth grade boys in writing? The motivating factor for this question was the struggle boys revealed during their classroom writing process. This capstone delves into current research on gender and learning differences in the brain, cultural implications that impact boy learning and classroom environments and practices to enhance the writing process for boys. Key influence for this capstone was writer and speaker, Ralph Fletcher, who inspired this author to create a writing lesson with effective strategies which will support and engage fifth grade boys in writing. The author describes both the success and struggles in implementing the lesson and concludes that: 1) incorporating varied and multiple strategies, while time consuming, is a valuable tool to use in the classroom to boost motivation and achievement for all learners 2) boy writers showed significant change in attitude and growth under this teaching model