How to compose a narrative

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge on children’s narrative writing from a pedagogical perspective. Through analyses of nine- to ten-year-old students’ narrative writing, aspects that are critical to discern in order to write narratives with a well-developed plot are formulated. The theoretical framework is narratology theories and Variation Theory. Narratology provides a conceptual framework for describing narrative writing, while Variation Theory offers a pedagogical perspective. A total of 80 narratives written by students have been analyzed, and five qualitatively different approaches to writing were seen. Narrative writing can be approached as describing events, solving a problem, creating action, making jokes and composing a narrative. A comparison between these approaches revealed five aspects that are critical for children to discern in order to develop the ability to write narratives: the discernment of a reader, the function of a narrative, the narrative structure, coherence, and duration. These aspects can be discerned in a more or less powerful way. The study contributes to the field by offering teachers guidance in what aspects are critical to address when teaching narrative writing in school.

Prompting story elements in first grade: An intermodal approach for exploring two teachers’ orchestrations

“…In previous research, the abstract notion of problem in stories has proven to be challenging for students to grasp (Liberg and Nordlund, 2019; Thorsten, 2019). The teachers’ negotiations indicate two different approaches to making this genre-defining stage more concrete.…”

‘It's missing the heart of what writing is about’: teachers' interpretations of writing assessment criteria

“…This inconsistency of interpretation and the different markers of achievement that teachers referred to may have implications for teachers assessing narratives in very different ways-some may be prioritising language as a marker of achievement, whereas others may focus solely on grammatical choices. These understandings of narrative may impact on pedagogical approaches to story writing, in which the focus may be placed on the final product for assessment purposes rather than encompassing the various elements of storytelling (Thorsten, 2019).…”

Att undervisa om berättelseskrivande i årskurs 3 och 4 – med variationsteorin som redskap

“…I nästa steg jämfördes de olika uppfattningarna med varandra. I skillnaden mellan dem framkom aspekter som är kritiska för elever att urskilja för att utveckla sitt berättelseskrivande vidare (se Thorsten, 2019).…”

“…De kritiska aspekterna som beskrivs i denna artikel är empiriskt grundade och bygger på analyser i Thorsten (2014) och Thorsten (2019). Aspekterna har framträtt när olika uppfattningar om berättelseskrivande, det vill säga olika sätt att hantera berättelseskrivande på, har jämförts med varandra och med det ämnesmässiga kunnande i berättelseskrivande som eleverna ska utveckla i skolår 3 och 4 (som beskrevs i slutet av bakgrunden).…”