Children’s sense of being a writer: identity construction in second grade writers workshop

Demet Seban; Ömer Faruk Tavşanlı

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2015) IEJEE

Children’s sense of being a writer: identity construction in second grade writers workshop

Demet Seban
Ömer Faruk Tavşanlı

Published August 21, 2017 | Pages: 215-232 | Views: 1344

Download PDF

SHARE

Abstract

Literacy activities in which children invest in and understand literacy creates spaces for them to construct their identity as readers/writers and build their personal theories of literacy. This study presents the identity construction of second grade students who identified as successful, average or struggling in their first time engagement with writing workshops. Writing as a process approach in which students practiced drafting, sharing, editing and publishing their pieces of writing were implemented during a year. 27 second grade students were interviewed at the end of the school year. Analysis of the data revealed that students conceptualized identity under four dimensions: (1) purposes of writing, (2) assumptions/views about writers/writing, (3) the process of writing, and (4) competence in writing. Involvement in the writing workshops influenced students’ identity as writers. Children’s perceptions of themselves also played a role in their engagement in literacy learning especially writing and identity construction.

<p>Literacy activities in which children invest in and understand literacy creates spaces for them to construct their identity as readers/writers and build their personal theories of literacy. This study presents the identity construction of second grade students who identified as successful, average or struggling in their first time engagement with writing workshops. Writing as a process approach in which students practiced drafting, sharing, editing and publishing their pieces of writing were implemented during a year. 27 second grade students were interviewed at the end of the school year. Analysis of the data revealed that students conceptualized identity under four dimensions: (1) purposes of writing, (2) assumptions/views about writers/writing, (3) the process of writing, and (4) competence in writing. Involvement in the writing workshops influenced students’ identity as writers. Children’s perceptions of themselves also played a role in their engagement in literacy learning especially writing and identity construction.</p>

Listen -

References

Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The Dialogic Imagination: Four essays. (C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans.). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Beach, S. A., & Ward, A. (2013). Insights into Engaged Literacy Learning: Stories of Literate Identity. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 27(2) 239–255.
Bourne, J. (2002). ‘Oh, what will Miss say!’: Constructing texts and identities in the discursive processes of classroom writing. Language and Education, 16(4), 241-259.
Çağımlar, Z., & İflazoğlu, A. (2002). Yazılı ve Sözlü Anlatım Becerilerinin (Kompozisyon) İlköğretim 5. Sınıflarda Öğretmen ve Öğrenci Görüşleri Açısından Değerlendirilmesi [The evaluation of written and oral expression skills (composition) of 5th grade students in terms of teacher and students views]. Çukurova Üniveristesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 23(2), 12-22.
Cappello, M. ( 2006). Under construction: Voice and identity development in writing workshop. Language Arts 83(6), 482-91.
Collier, D. R. (2010). Journey to becoming a writer: Review of research about children’s identities as writers. Language and Literacy, 12(1), 147-164.
Christian, B., & Bloome, D. (2004). Learning to read is who you are. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 16(4), 365-384.
Compton-Lilly, C. (2006). Identity, childhood culture, and literacy learning: A case study. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(1), 57-76.
Dutro, E., Kazemi, E., & Balf, R. (2006). Making sense of "The Boy Who Died": Tales of a struggling successful writer. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 22(4), 325-356.
Flint, A. S., & Cappello, M. (2003). Negotiating voice and identity in classroom writing events. In C. Fairbanks,J.Worthy, B. Maloch,J. Hoffman, & D. Schallert (Eds.), 52nd Yearbook of the National Reading Conference Yearbook, (pp. 181-193). Oak Creek, WI: National Reading Conference.
Freedman, S. W. (1994a). Exchanging writing, exchanging culture: Lessons in school reform from the United States and Great Britain. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Graham, R. J. (2000). The self as writer: Assumptions and identities in the writing workshop. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43(4), 358-364.
Graham, S., & Harris, K. R. (1994). Implications of constructivism for teaching writing to students with special needs. The Journal of Special Education, 28(3), 275-289.
Johnston, P., Woodside Jiron, H., & Day, J. (2001). Teaching and learning literate epistemologies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 223–233.
Kauffman, G (2006). Authoring ourselves as readers and writers. Language Arts, 83(6), 502-504.
Laursen, H. P., & Fabrin, L. (2013). Children investigating Literacy. Linguistics and Education, 24, 441-453.
Lensmire, T. J. (1994). When children write: Critical re-visions of the writing workshop. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Madden , A. (2010). A descriptive study of literacy identity development in an elementary writing workshop. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation) University of Kentucky.
Martens, P., & Adamson, S. (2001). Inventing literate identities: The influence of texts and contexts. Literacy Teaching and Learning: An International Journal of Early Reading and Writing, 5(2), 27–50.
McCarthey, S. J. (2001). Identity construction in elementary readers and writers. Reading Research Quarterly, 36(2), 122-151.
McPhail, G. A. (2008). Finding freedom as a writer: Genre, gender and identity in a first grade Writer's Workshop. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation) Boston College.
Moje, E. B., & Luke, A. (2009). Literacy and identity: Examining the metaphors in history and contemporary research. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(4), 415-437.
Norton, B. (Ed.). (1997). Language and identity [Special issue]. TESOL Quarterly, 31(3), 409-429.
Norton, B., & Toohey, K. (2004). Critical pedagogies and language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University.
Richardson, L., & St. Pierre, E. A. (2005). Writing: A method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 959-978). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Rowe, D. W., Fitch, J., & Bass, A. S. (2001). Power, identity and instructional stance in writer’s workshop. Language Arts, 78(5), 426-434.
Smith, F. C. (2008). Literacy identity development. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 16(1), 47-51.
West, J. (2002). Motivation and access to help: The influence of status on one child’s motivation for literacy learning. Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 18(3), 205-229.
Young, J. R. (1996). First grade children’s sense of being literate at school. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Oklahoma, Norman.

Keywords

Identity, Writing workshops, Elementary students

Affiliations

Demet Seban

Akdeniz University, Turkey

Ömer Faruk Tavşanlı

Uludag University, Turkey

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

How to Cite

Seban, D., & Tavşanlı, Ömer F. (2017). Children’s sense of being a writer: identity construction in second grade writers workshop. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 7(2), 215–232. Retrieved from https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/76