The Boys! What makes them tick? - Focusing & Developing a Hunch

So since identifying my target students, I have been watching, listening and questioning them to find out as much as I can about them and their learning habits in class.

After our recent PLG session where we identified possible focuses I was able to sit them down and asked them some more focused questions as a group. We sat in a breakout room and we all chilled out sitting on bean bags, desks, stools or standing. Relaxed was the name of the game!

Recording #1

Recording #2

The main points that I took out from this session and these recordings are:

• The boys don't mind writing, in fact most of them really like it when they get to write about the things they like writing about - rugby and other sports, gaming, wrestling, recounts of experiences
• They all said that they struggle for ideas, or they have too many ideas and just struggle to know which idea to pick to write about.
• They get confused by all of the 'big words' that teachers use. 'I mean, what are paragraphs, I've got no idea' one said. This got them all going.
• They don't like writing for ages, however, they all complained that they never have enough time to finish their work!
• They all said they either struggle to get started, get stuck in the middle or struggle to write a whole piece. I GET STUCK!
• The lists of vocabulary (Child = "what is vocabulary?" Me =  "fancy word for words." Students = "Oh!") really help them all with what to include and how to make their writing sound good. Success in their mind seems to be that they have used 'wow words.'
• They hate sitting on the mat for ages.
• They don't really like sharing their writing, as they see other students writing from those who are good writers, and this makes them feel stink!
• Mum and Dad read their writing and say it is great, however they can tell from the look on their face that they don't think this. Or mum and dad don't read my writing.

After talking to them it seems to me that it mostly comes down to engagement in real purposes and a lack of ideas or an understanding of how to expand on their ideas. I think this is where I will make the most impact for now. DEVELOPING IDEAS!