Student Experiences With Writing: Taking the Temperature of the Classroom

This article offers insights into students’ perceptions of writing through the use of drawings and written responses. In a descriptive qualitative study of fifth graders across two diverse elementary schools, students were prompted to draw a picture about a recent experience with writing and how that experience made them feel. Students were then asked to write a description of their drawings. We studied features in the drawings and written responses and constructed four thematic categories. Findings highlight the range of both positive and negative experiences with writing as well as a realistic tool for literacy teachers to use to take the temperature of the classroom.