Later, many boys enjoy creating fictional stories, poetry, and other forms of written expression. In this writing process, we urge the boys to concentrate on ideas during the first draft. Invented or temporary spelling is acceptable. Students often have many informal conferences with a teacher or peers as they work on drafts. They self-edit their piece, then confer with a teacher for final editing.
Boys make necessary corrections, then choose the format for an adult-typed published book.
The authors then add illustrations to their publications. To aid the transition from invented to conventional spelling, new words are introduced weekly. The spelling words are drawn from a high frequency word list. Patterns, rules, and other conventions of spelling are discussed and practiced. Boys will apply their knowledge of phonics as they produce written work.