2012 Volume 60 Issue 4 Pages 402-415
The present study investigated whether a chain-story activity could be a routine part of children’s writing tasks, and examined aspects of the writing process, classroom climate, and the children’s attitudes toward reading/writing. Effects of the chain-story activity were measured from the results of writing tasks. The participants, third-grade children (N=27), engaged in chain-story writing for 3 weeks. Quantitative analysis of the results from questionnaires, and a categorical analysis of their writing products suggested the following : (a) The children were able to finish writing the chain stories in a short amount of time. (b) Writing regularly affected the classroom climate, which in turn supported the children’s writing activity. (c) After the children had participated in the chain-story activity, a positive change in their attitude toward writing was observed, especially in those children who had been having difficulties in writing. (d) The quantity of the children’s written products increased after the chain-story activity. These findings suggest that chain stories could be a routine activity, and may have positive effects on children’s writing.
