I think VTS has worked out very well for "Steve". He seems to talk a alot more and not just during discussion but also during art making actives with the rest of the boys as well. I know I would make sure to call on him every time I would see his hand raised and he would also generally have something completely unique to say also. I think this also made him more comfortable around his peers because they would then sometimes "ping" off of his answer and I feel that not only made him more confident during VTS but also around his peers.
I think VTS has provided a wonderful scaffolding mechanism for all the boys and not just Steve. When we started out with more "simple" images they were all able to jump in and didn't seem to have issues with the art making or writing activity afterwords. As we got to more complex images the boys were able to start diagnosing them more and would differentiate more on ideas. The more complex images also cause them to write more complex and in-depth stories as well. Over time they started to use adjectives and create more elaborate stories with a beginning, middle, and end.
VTS also allows for plenty of differentiation. Since all of my boys were of similar interest and ages it wouldn't have been easy to do it for them. However if there had been girls in my group there could have been days were I could have easily used images that could have been tailored to interest the boys or the girls.
I love the word "diagnosing" that you used. Interesting way to describe what happens during VTS; really sums up the in depth analysis the boys are doing. I like, too, that you recognized the differentiation that it fosters.
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