More Than Crayons and Paper: How Thematic Materials, Play, and Discourse Support Children's Composing

• In Event: Teachers' Approaches to Writing Instruction in Preschool Classrooms

Abstract

Purpose. Writing instruction in preschool classrooms has been found to be limited, and when present, is often focused on handwriting and spelling (Pelatti, Piasta, Justice, & O’Connell, 2014). These types of constrained activities limit opportunities for language development (Dickinson, Hofer, Barnes, & Grifenhagen, 2014). So, while writing could be a strong vehicle for language development as well as foundational literacy skills (i.e. alphabet knowledge), without a focus on composition, this opportunity may not be fully realized. A recent review of early writing studies revealed a lack of consensus on the nature and development of early composing and encouraged additional research in this area (Quinn & Bingham, 2019). The present study seeks to contribute to this gap by describing teacher supports for children’s composing. Research questions include: 1) What supports for composing were provided? 2) How are ideas developed both on the page (i.e.: pictures and text) and off the page (i.e.: gesture and language)?
Perspectives. Study design and analyses are rooted in the emergent literacy paradigm (Teale & Sulzby, 1986) and sociocultural (Gee, 2003; Vygotsky, 1978) theories of learning which hold that children’s understandings of language and writing are socially constructed through participation with others. Teachers play a crucial role in shaping the language and literacy environment of the classroom.
Methods & Data Sources. An exploratory study of adults’ support of children’s composing (i.e. developing and recording ideas) was conducted in one prekindergarten classroom. The classroom teacher was a mid-career, African-American teacher. The researcher, a white woman, was an experienced early childhood educator and researcher. Children in the classroom came primarily from low-income homes and represented diverse racial and linguistic backgrounds. The researcher took on a participant-observer role and visited the classroom 1-2 times a week for 2.5 months, for a total of 13, half-day visits.
The researcher and classroom teacher collaborated to design and enact writing events that supported children’s idea generation for writing. Adult-child writing interactions were recorded using field notes, audio-video recording, and photographs. Ongoing reflections by both teacher and researcher informed future composing supports offered to children. Multimodal transcripts were created for all composing events. Constant comparative analysis (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) was used to describe supports for composing and idea development.
Results. Adults supported children in developing ideas for writing by utilizing thematic materials (ex: ant farm, kinetic sand, ice cream scoop) and engaging children in prolonged conversation about the materials prior to and during writing. Adults supported composing by responding to the marks on the page (illustrations and text) and the gestures and language developed off the page resulting in more detailed student writing. Teachers also capitalized on children’s play and their interests to create opportunities for writing utilizing a range of writing genres.
Significance. Crafting rich ideas lies at the heart of great writing. However, this type of writing support is not common in preschools today. Descriptions of the ways teachers support idea development can serve to push teaching practices forward in ways that support both writing and language development.

Author

• Zarabeth G. Davis, Vanderbilt University