First Graders Constructing Meaning Through Drawing and Writing

Abstract

body leaning into the hard and gentle lines. He stirs the marker bin like he would a cake batter, searching for specific colors, wondering out loud which ones to use. He is careful. He is deliberate. He is responding to text with the thoughtful consideration anyone would expect from an architect. The classroom is abuzz. In the midst of this gentle hum of meaning-making energy, Timmy is approached by the teacher from the side and asked, "Talk to me about your drawing." With a quizzical brow, he turns and says, "That's not my drawing, that's my writing." In this single suspended moment, what Dyson (1986) has long observed is clearly understood, "Young children are symbol weavers. Their 'drawings' may be composed, not only of lines and colors, but of language as well" (p. 381). Timmy is one of 17 first-graders in a pilot study reviewed herein. In the study, the researchers observed how children construct meaning through drawing, writing, or a combination of the two. Specifically, we asked when given a choice between drawing or writing or both drawing and writing, which forms did first graders choose to communicate meaning? In parallel fashion, based on these same student responses and drawings we hoped to determine ways in which students made qualitative aesthetic choices (Eisner, 2002; Siegesmund, 1999). We believe this study contributes to existing research (

Understanding Emirati Children's Drawing in Relation to Self and Identity Through the Interaction of Social Context

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Aesthetic Teaching: Seeking a Balance between Teaching Arts and Teaching through the Arts

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