Description of Turkish Children's Drawing, Early Writing and Narrative Skills Using A Picture Book

Abstract

This study investigates the drawing, early writing and narrative skills among Turkish children aged 36-61 months using a picture book. The participants were 60 children–28 girls and 32 boys–who attended two preschool institutions in Ankara, Turkey. Two checklists developed by the researchers were used to investigate the drawing and writing skills of children after picture books were read to them following the Dialogic Reading method. In addition, the qualitative methodology of content and descriptive analyses was utilized for transcription and analyses of voice records in order to create categories relating to the participant children’s narrative skills. Turkish children did what was expected from them after reading a picture book. Study results suggest some differences occur with regard to line types and human figures between the drawing behavior of children aged 36-48 months and those aged 49-61 months. It was observed that the drawing aptitude of the older group; those aged 49-61 months, was more developed. This result is similar to the findings of other relevant literature. Furthermore, an investigation of the children’s writing products indicated that age is a determining factor in skill development. Picture books revealed children’s early literacy skills and the results indicated that drawing, writing and narrative skills should be supported through an interconnected learning process.

Keywords

• Dialogic reading,drawing,early writing,narrative,preschool,children

Türk Çocuklarının Çizim, Yazma ve Anlatım Becerilerinin Resimli Bir Öykü Kitabı Kullanarak Betimlenmesi

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı 36-61 aylık Türk çocuklarının çizim, yazma ve anlatım becerilerini incelemektir. Çalışmaya Ankara’da bulunan iki okul öncesi eğitim kurumuna devam eden 36-61 aylık 28’i kız, 32’si erkek olmak üzere toplam 60 çocuk katılmıştır. Çocuklara resimli bir öykü kitabı Etkileşimli Kitap Okuma yöntemine göre okunduktan sonra çizim ve yazma becerileri, oluşturulan kontrol listeleri ile incelenmiştir. Anlatım becerilerine ilişkin kategoriler ise alınan ses kayıtlarının yazıya aktarılmasından sonra nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden içerik ve betimsel analiz teknikleriyle belirlenmiştir. Çalışma sonuçlarına göre 36-48 aylık çocuklarla 49-61 aylık çocukların çizimleri arasında çizgi türleri, insan figürleri ve şekilleri açısından bazı farklılıklar bulunmaktadır. Çizim becerilerinin büyük yaş grubu çocuklarda daha anlaşılır olduğu görülmektedir. Her iki yaş grubunda yer alan çocukların yazı ürünleri incelendiğinde ise yazının yönü, resim ve yazı arasındaki farkın anlaşılmış olması gibi becerilerin yine yaşlarına göre farklılaştığı söylenebilir. Çocukların anlatım becerileri ise altı farklı kategoriye ayrılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın sonuçları, çocukların çizim, yazma ve anlatım becerilerinin birbiriyle bağlantılı öğrenme süreçleri ile desteklenmesi gerektiğini göstermektedir.

Keywords

• Etkileşimli kitap okuma,çizim,yazma,anlatım,okul öncesi dönem,çocuklar

References

1. Anning, A. (2004). The role of drawing in young children's journeys towards literacy. Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 32(2), 32-38.
2. Arnold, DH., Lonigan, CJ., Whitehurs,t GJ., and Epstein, JN. (1994). Accelerating language development through picture book reading: replication and extension to a videotape training format. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86(2), 235-243.
3. Bear, DR., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S. and Johnston, F. (2008). Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ:Pearson Education.
4. Bonoti, F., Vlachos, F. and Metallidou, P. (2005). Writing and drawing performance of school age children:is there any relationship? .School Psychology International, 26(2), 243-255.
5. Büyüköztürk, Ş., Kılıç Çakmak, E., Akgün, Ö.E., Karadeniz, Ş. ve Demirel, F. (2010). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri (Beşinci baskı). Ankara: Pegem Akademi Yayınları.
6. Cabell, SQ., McGinty, AS., and Justice, L. (2007). Assessing Print Knowledge. In Pence KL (eds) Assessment in Emergent Literacy. San Diego: Plural Publishing Inc, pp.327-377.
7. Cabell, SQ., Tortorelli, LS., and Gerde, HK. (2013). How do I write? Scaffolding Preschoolers’ Early Writing Skills. The Reading Teacher, 66(8), 650-659.
8. Chan, L., Juan, ZC., and Foon, LC. (2008). Chinese preschool children's literacy development: from emergent to conventional writing. Early Years: An International Research Journal, 28(2), 135-148.

9. Cherney, ID., Seiwert, CS., Dickey, TM., and Flichtbeil, JD. (2006). Children’s drawings:a mirror to their minds. Educational Psychology, 26(1), 127-142.
10. DeFauw, DL. (2015). Drawing children into reading: aqualitative case study of a preschool drawing curriculum. Early Child Development and Care. Epub ahead of print 14 June 2015. DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2015.1052422.
11. Coates, E. and Coates, A. (2006). Young children talking and drawing. International Journal of Early Years Education, 14(3), 221-241.
12. Diamond, KE., Gerde, HK., and Powell, DR. (2008). Development in early literacy skills during the pre-kindergarten year in Head Start: Relations between growth in children’s writing andunderstanding of letters. Early Childhood Research Quarterly,23, 467–478.
13. Ergül, C., Karaman, G., Akoğlu, G., Tufan, M., Sarıca, D. and Kudret, Z. (2014). Early childhood teachers’ knowledge and classroom practices on early literacy. Elementary Education Online, 13(4), 1449-1472.
14. Fields, MV., and Degayner, B. (2000). Read my story. Childhood Education, 76(3), 130-135.
15. Fives, A. (2016). The association of attitude to reading and reading achievement among a representative sample of nine year olds in ıreland. Reading Psychology, 37(1), 27-54.
16. Fox, JE., and Schirrmacher, R. (2012). Art and Creative Development for Children. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
17. Fleury, VP., Miramontez, SH., Hudson, RF., and Schwartz, IS. (2014). Promoting active participation in book reading for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: a preliminary study. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 30(3), 273-288.
18. Gombert, JE. and Fayol, M. (1992). Writing in preliterate children. .Learning and Instruction, 2, 23–41.
19. Isbell, R., Sobol, J., Lindauer, L., and Lowrence, A. (2004). The effects of storytelling and story reading on the oral language complexity and story comprehension of young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(3), 157-163.
20. Jalongo, MR. and Stamp, LN. (1997). The Arts in Children’s Lives:Aesthetic Education for Early Childhood. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
21. Lowenfeld, V. (1969) Your Child and His Art. New York: The MacMillan Company.
22. Strasser, J. and Seplocha, H. (2007). Using picture books to support young children's literacy. Childhood Education, 83(4), 219-224.
23. Kırmızı Susar, F. (2011). The relationship between reading comprehension strategies and reading attitudes. Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 39(3), 289-303.
24. Levin, I. and Bus, AG. (2003). How is emergent writing based on drawing? analyses of children’s products and their sorting by children and mothers. Developmental Psychology, 39(5), 891-905. Mackenzie, N. (2011). From drawing to writing: what happens when you shift teaching priorities in the first six months of school? Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 34(3), 322-340.
25. Mackenzie, N. and Veresov, N. (2013). How drawing can support writing acquisition: text construction in eariy writing from a vygotskian perspective. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 38(4), 22-29.
26. Nolen, SB. (2007). Young children's motivation to read and write: development in social contexts. Cognition and Instruction, 25(2), 219-270.
27. Papandreou, M. (2014). Communicating and thinking through drawing activity in early childhood. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 28(1), 85-100.
28. Rose, SE., Jolley, RP., and Burkitt, E.(2006). A review of children’s, teachers’ and parents’ınfluences on children’s drawing experience. The International Journal of Art and Design Education, 25(3), 341-349.
29. Scott, FN. (2006). Drawing in preschools: a didactic experience.” International Journal of Art and Design Education, 25(1), 74-85.
30. Soundy, CS. (2012). Searching for deeper meaning in children's drawings. Childhood Education, 88(1), 45-51.
31. Şimşek, Çetin Ö., Bay, ND. and Altun Akbaba, S. (2014). The investigation of developmental characteristics of pre-school children’s writing skills. Elementary Education Online, 13(2), 564-576.
32. Teale, WH. (2003). Reading Aloud to Young Children as a Classroom Instructional Activity: Insights from Research and Practice vanKleeck A, Stahl SA, and Bauer EB.(eds) On Reading Books to Children: Parents and Teachers. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp.177-200.
33. TEPFC. (2013). The Education Program For 36-72 Months Children. Ankara: The Ministry of Education Pub.
34. Trawick-Smith, J. (2010). Early Childhood Development: A Multicultural Perspective. Pearson Education Inc.
35. Treiman, R. and Yin, L. (2011). Early differentiation between drawing and writing in chinese children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108, 786–801.
36. Vygotsky, L. (1976). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
37. Yang, HC and Noel, AM. (2006). The developmental characteristics of four- and five-year-old pre-schoolers’ drawing: an analysis of scribbles, placement patterns, emergent writing, and name writing ın archived spontaneous drawing samples. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(2), 145-162.
38. Walker, K. (2007). Review of research: children and their purple crayons: understanding their worlds through their drawings. Childhood Education, 84(2), 96-101.
39. Watanabe, ML., and Hall-Kenyon, MK. (2011). Improving young children's writing: the ınfluence of story structure on kindergartners' writing complexity. Literacy Research and Instruction, 50(4), 272-293.
40. Watts, R. (2010). Responding to children's drawings. Education 3-13:International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 38(2), 137-153.
41. Whitehurst, GJ., Arnold, DH., Epstein, JN., Angell, AL., Smith, M. and Fischel, JE. (1994). A picture book reading intervention in daycare and home for children from low-ıncome families. Developmental Psychology, 30, 679–89.
42. Whitehurst, GJ., Falco, FL., Lonigan, C., Fischel, JE., DeBaryshe, BD., Valdez-Menchaca, MC., and Caulfield, M. (1988). Accelerating language development through picture book reading. Developmental Psychology, 24(4), 552–558.
43. Zucker, TA., Ward, AE., and Justice, LM. (2009). Print referencing during readalouds: a technique for increasing emergent readers’ print knowledge. The Reading Teacher, 63(1), 62-72.