Guided Drawing with Multilingual Preschoolers: A Research-Based Approach to Vocabulary and Concept Acquisition

• In Event: The Reduction of Differences in Early Vocabulary

Abstract

This session highlights guided drawing with multilingual preschoolers (Authors, 2023), a research-informed instructional practice that positions drawing as a powerful tool for supporting vocabulary acquisition, oral language development, and emergent literacy in early childhood classrooms. While drawing is often seen as a creative or fine motor activity, our research suggests that when intentionally guided by educators, it can function as a catalyst for meaningful language interactions—particularly for multilingual learners.
Guided drawing, grounded in sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and developmentally appropriate practice (NAEYC, 2020), invites young children to visually represent their ideas while engaging in purposeful, language-rich dialogue with educators, peers, and family members. This approach situates vocabulary learning within authentic, collaborative experiences, allowing children to connect new words with their lived experiences and conceptual knowledge, particularly in science. Drawing serves as both a communicative act and a scaffold for deepening oral language, as children are encouraged to describe, explain, and expand upon their representations through guided conversation.
Drawing offers a way for young children to demonstrate what they understand about the world. This study reports on the findings from an eight-week intervention program called guided drawing designed to build vocabulary and content knowledge for dual language learners in Head Start settings. Four researcher-designed assessment measures were used to assess 13 preschoolers' vocabulary and concept knowledge at the receptive, expressive, and definitional levels in a pre/post-intervention design. Analysis of researcher-designed measures reveals positive changes in all vocabulary and concept knowledge areas targeted by the intervention. Thematic analysis of researcher–child interactions and drawing products indicates the guided drawing intervention provided opportunities and context for every participating child to explore new content and concepts related to science learning; reveal what they know; grow knowledge and vocabulary; reveal misunderstandings; and overhear and adopt new language.
Beyond individual vocabulary gains, guided drawing holds promise as a culturally and linguistically sustaining practice. By honoring children’s home languages, cultural knowledge, and personal narratives within the guided drawing process, educators can create spaces where multilingual children’s linguistic repertoires are viewed as assets. The relational nature of guided drawing interactions also supports identity development and peer collaboration, key elements in fostering inclusive and affirming early learning environments.
This session will engage symposium participants in examining the research on guided drawing including illustrative examples from classroom practice and sample drawings and dialogue transcripts. As part of the joint symposium on research-based vocabulary strategies, this work underscores the importance of integrated, interactional approaches to early language and literacy development.

Authors

• Christina Marie Cassano, Salem State University

• Kathleen A. Paciga, Columbia College Chicago