Wollman-Bonilla 2000, Teaching Science Writing to First Graders

Wollman-Bonilla, J. (2000). Teaching science writing to first graders: Genre learning and recontextualization. Research in the Teaching of English, vol. 35, no. 1.

Qualitative study of 4 first graders. Case studies.

1. Research Questions

1. To what extent can science journal writing by 1st graders be characterized as 'science writing'?
2. How do children appropriate an recontextualize the conventions of science writing?
   

2. Subjects, Setting, Context

Two classes of 1st grade students, suburban, majority middle class, majority white school. Classes used Family Message Journals, promoting two way communication between parents and students about classroom content.

3. Procedures (briefly)

Field notes from one hour weekly classroom participant-observations
Interviews with both teachers
Case studies on four students, including 4 sets of parents and all messages written from and to these 4 students
Researcher read and categorized writing into genres within scientific writing based on text structure and lexicogrammar.

4. Findings

Participants appropriated linguistic conventions of scientific texts flexibly and recontextualized genre elements to fit the family journal format. Kids could improvise within a genre to fit audience and situation.

5. Strengths and Weaknesses of Study

Limited sample size
Homogeneity of sample
Little data on teacher behaviors; primary focus on text alone

6. Implications

"The belief that personal ownership and self-expression must be foregrounded in teaching writing to children ignores the larger social context and functions for writing in society. Children, especially those from non-mainstream homes, must learn the mainstream genres of power to gain access to cultural capital in our society." p. 62
"Children become critically literate when they realize that texts are socially constructed, according to genre conventions, to serve specific social functions (Martin, 1998; Rothery, 1996)." p. 62

7. Other Comments
As it relates to genre-specific writing, the author identifies the consistency of the Western scientific community in the conventions of the genre of science writing (p. 36).
Scientific writing is intrinsic to the act of 'doing science'; can't teach science without teaching writing.
Theoretical background section will be especially useful.

Quoted section, from page 38:

Another strand of composition research, rooted in the Australian genre movement, has focused on empowering child writers by introducing them to socially valued genres. Within this school of thought, genres are defined as "social processes... for realizing purposes or goals through language," with language characterized by a particular test structure and lexicogrammar (Rothery, 1989, p. 221). Thus, textual and social perspectives on genre are complementary (Bazerman, 1998; Martin 1998). Genres' social functions are established through their structure and functional grammar (Bazerman, 1997, 1998; Cooper, 1999; Cope & Kalantzis, 1993; Halliday & Martin, 1993; Kamberelis, 1999; Kress, 1999; Martin, 1989). Knowing the right genre to use in a situation and knowing how to use it enhances children's power to communicate in society and participate in academic disciplines (Christie, 1989; Martin, 1989; Rothery, 1989, 1996).

Goes on to discuss differences between child-centered approaches, like whole language, and those who believe children must learn genre-specific writing so that they can gain access to discourses of power. Also discusses tension between the view that genre limits creativity and agency and the view that genre liberates and empowers writers. This whole section is great.

Cites Pappas 1991 for children asked to recreate genre-specific text.


Cites

• Cope and Kalantzis, 1993
• Kamberelis 1999
• Martin 1999
• Pappas 1991
• Pappas & Pettigrew 1998