Millard, E. (2001). Boys girls and writing. [Online]. Accessed 06/25/02:
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Pubs/millard.html
Millard looks at the Kirklees Gender and Writing Project, which took an in-depth look at how the writing of boys and girls differ. The children reviewed what they thought was their best writing, and what needed improvement. Girls and boys do not like to write about the same genres or events which occur in a book. At home, it was noted that many girls will write for fun, whereas the boys mentioned they liked drawing and working on computers rather than writing. It is thought that boys get their ideas from drawing. They can use it to get their thoughts together before they write. However, Millard notes that many teachers will not allow the boys to draw until they have written a story. As a result, when asked to analyze their writing, they chose small pieces and were only concerned with correcting their grammar, and not developing their thoughts. Millard notes several ways which teachers can get boys more interested in writing, one of which being that to gain good composition, there should first be visual stimulation, where the students have a chance to draw and use story frames to develop thought.

Murphy, J. (2001). Boys will be boys: A public Librarian leads her first book group for the opposite sex. School Library Journal. p31
There were many reading programs for mothers and daughters, but there were not many which focused on the son. Murphy created parent-son book group, which meets once a month, not after school for the children are too tired, but on Saturday afternoons. To engage the boys, Murphy created little activities that went with the reading selection, which she felt kept them focused. Murphy feels that girls respond differently than boys do to a selection. The instructor can ask girls up-front what they felt about the book, whereas the boys will respond better when they are doing an activity while talking to them at the same time. She referred this to action talk as William Pollack had noted in his work. She also kept them engaged by allowing them on occasion to bring in their favorite non-fiction books, giving them a choice of what to read.

Norman, J., (2002). Reading Between The Lines: Boys' Literacy.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/8305/boys_lit.html
This article on literacy looks at possible reasons why boys are behind girls in terms of reading and writing. He feels that being able to read and write will make people feel part of society, and that literacy is a "springboard for learning." He feels the possible reasons why boys are behind is because there are no real male role models. He feels that fathers are not seen writing and reading enough. For example, one child said that his father "writes cheques." Also, Norman claims that boys are slower to develop, and that they prefer to be outside.