The Effects of Pictures and Prompts on the Writing of Students in Primary Grades: Action Research by Graduate Students at California State University, Northridge

Nine graduate students (teacher-researchers) with an average of 6 years teaching experience (1-15 years) participated in action research to examine the influence of teacher-chosen visual aids (pictures) on children's writing. A total of 165 elementary students participated in the two phases of the research project: 83 boys and 82 girls in kindergarten through second grade. The data indicate that when teachers are selecting writing assignments as a part of students' writing development, it is important for them to know whether prompts alone or prompts paired with pictures are more advantageous. For younger students and, possibly, second-language learners, the picture aided writing and drawing. However, beyond kindergarten, the picture paired with the prompt did not positively affect writing. Teacher-researchers concluded that although pictures can provide context and background information for student writers of all ages, they may also hinder creativity. This was an unexpected finding; the deciding factor appears to be students' background experience and knowledge of the English language.