Strategies of children in third-grade when they verbalize during the interface of reading and writing
Abstract
The cognitive and metacognitive strategies which eight above-average third-grade students used during a routine learning situation were described and compared. The learning situation involved how the students comprehended and wrote during the interface of reading and writing. The study included reading and writing in the mystery genre and took place within 2 days. Four girls and four boys were grouped as dyads and assigned to work with an adult. The dyads read and retold a model text together. After reading and retelling the model mystery story, the students used a concurrent think aloud procedure as they wrote and revised mystery stories individually. The data included answers to interviews regarding knowledge of reading and writing, answers to comprehension questions, verbal and written protocols of the students, and verbal protocols of the adults. The data were cross-referenced in order to ascertain the students' prior knowledge and comprehension of the model text. Protocol analysis was enacted on the verbal and written protocols. The protocols were categorized and labeled according to units of meaning. Meaning was established by the use of predicates. The analysis of the writing protocols revealed that the students were able to write mystery stories after exposure to a model text. Improvement was noted between the stories written in the composing and revising phases of the writing process. The girls' revised stories showed the most improvement. The strategies which the adults generated varied and reflected the context within which they functioned. The adults used the strategies of initiating and concluding discussion, questioning, assuring, and informing in varying degrees during the segments of the study. The adults' use of strategies affected the students' use of metacognitive strategies. The results of the study indicated that interaction with other students and an adult enabled the students to demonstrate a modification in their knowledge structure. This modification was apparent in the verbalizations and compositions. Although gender and individual differences of predispositions and prior knowledge were evident, each student was able to write in the mystery genre. The findings illustrated that students can learn to write in a genre in a relatively short duration of time if the conditions to facilitate learning are present. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)
Subject Area
Elementary education|Language arts|Curricula|Teaching
Recommended Citation
Licata, Ann Therese, "Strategies of children in third-grade when they verbalize during the interface of reading and writing" (1992). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI9226422.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI9226422
