<p>Using a rich environment to develop boys’ language, literacy and communication skills in key stage 2</p><p>Book area </p><p> books, designed to appeal to boys, displayed attractively and easily accessible in comfortable and quiet surroundings</p><p> good quality story books, including old and modern fairy tales </p><p> poetry </p><p> joke books </p><p> non-fiction texts </p><p> multi-cultural texts </p><p> books about Wales’ geography and history</p><p> bi-lingual texts </p><p> books in English/ Welsh by Welsh authors, or those who write in Wales</p><p> comics and pamphlets</p><p> newsletters </p><p> story-sacks designed specifically to appeal to boys </p><p> puppets </p><p> laptop computers, notebooks, e-Readers, electronic tablets with good literacy-related software – interactive where appropriate</p><p> listening centres – CDs with accompanying books and facilities for boys to record their own stories, poems and plays </p><p> plays and dialogues in English or Welsh</p><p>Countering the Under-achievement of Boys (a Tribal project for WAG, Oct 11 to Aug 14)</p><p> art work created by Welsh-born artists (e.g. Sir Kyffin Jones, Kevin Sinnott, John Rogers, John Knapp-Fisher, James Crisp, Steve Robinson, Rolf Harris, Jackie Morris, Chris Neale, Andy Clay, Diane Walkey, Shani Rhys James, Bethan Huws) </p><p> art created by artists who have visited Wales (e.g. Joseph Turner, Alfred Sisley, Lawrence Stephen Lowry) </p><p>Writing area </p><p> the alphabetic code on display in English and Welsh</p><p> a good range of different writing materials, such as paper, postcards, envelopes, notepads, sticky notes etc on tap</p><p> support for boys’ writing such as scaffolding, story beginnings and endings </p><p> high-frequency words on display in English and Welsh</p><p> words on display in the home language of boys with EAL wherever possible</p><p> topic word banks </p><p> class books </p><p> photo-stories with captions </p><p> book club display board for e.g. critical reviews by boys of books they have read and recommend</p><p> stimuli for boys’ writing such as story cards </p><p> teachers’, governors’ and boys’ writing on display </p><p> magnetic letters and images to ‘play around’ with words and create new stories</p><p> small whiteboards and felt pens for each boy</p><p>Countering the Under-achievement of Boys (a Tribal project for WAG, Oct 11 to Aug 14)</p><p>A literacy-rich environment at key stage 2 should therefore include:</p><p> a rich and dynamic indoor and outdoor literacy environment, where speaking and listening, reading and writing are all given high status </p><p> plenty of good-quality opportunities for children to read and write in comfort in all areas of learning </p><p> listening area, reading area, writing area, ICT areas and role-play (oracy) areas that are well equipped with resources for imaginative drama, reading and writing E.g. a dressing up box and clothes wardrobe hanger, a small semicircular stage</p><p> good quality displays illustrating the forms / genres and purposes of writing in a readable format suitable for KS2 boys</p><p> frequent use of story-reading and story-telling sessions, including poetry and role-play, which may be for boys alone at times </p><p> practitioners who provide good language role models for speaking and listening, reading and writing </p><p> visits by actors, poets and authors and examples of pupils’ writing stemming from such visits</p><p>Countering the Under-achievement of Boys (a Tribal project for WAG, Oct 11 to Aug 14)</p>