Patterns of Written Response to Literature of Average Fifth Grade Readers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the patterns of the written responses of average fifth grade readers who have not received instruction in literature response. The subjects for this study were eight fifth grade students who read at grade level. The subjects attended a suburban public elementary school. The eight subjects read the novel Number the Stars by Lois Lowry each day in class in a variety of different groupings. After reading, the students were asked to individually respond in their response journals. The only prompt the students received from the teacher each day was "Respond in writing to what you have just read." Each student's response journal entry was coded, compared, and categorized. The researcher found eight dominant patterns among all subjects' responses. The researcher also kept anecdotal records, and conclusions were made for individual students based upon the results of this study.