Drawing Before Writing: A Metacognitive Scaffold to Year 2 Children's Story Writing

Abstract

This paper describes a pre-service teacher-researcher’s action research study into Year 2 children’s approach to story writing. The purpose of the study was to investigate the use of drawing to improve the quality and quantity of children’s writing by using drawing before writing to scaffold children’s thinking during the story writing process. The use of drawing also sought to improve students’ view of themselves as competent writers. The paper describes a six week period during which children were encouraged to draw their thoughts before commencing the writing of their story. Children’s comments on the drawing process give educators insights into the way lower primary children create and develop story plots during story writing sessions. Data was analysed using themes emerging from anecdotal jottings, and teacher-researcher diary reflections. Student work samples and questionnaires were also collected and analysed. The findings of this research suggest that some children’s thinking and story writing skills benefit from drawing before commencing writing tasks. This research also provides teachers with insight into the way children reflect upon themselves as writers and communicators.