Visual Arts: Effective Means to Enhance

Creative Writing Quality

Karen Randle

Abstract
This study focuses on how integrating visual art and the writing process enhance fourth grade students
creative writing quality. The qualitative inquiry uses three writing conditions including open-ended
textual story prompts, fine art images as story prompts and student created artwork as story prompts to
motivate students to write creatively, as well as student interviews, field observations, and artifact
analysis. The results show that open-ended prompts both textual and visual lead to more imaginative
storylines, complex sentences structure and elaborate character development than the comparison
writing condition using a highly scripted writing prompt. The benefits of using visual art and art
production in the prewriting process include greater student engagement in the writing process as well as
heightened student investment in the end product.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to my husband Jeff and our two sons Tucker and Cal for tolerating the visual image of the
back of my head for the many months I sat working at the computer to complete this research endeavor.
To compliment this image they have taken to lovingly calling me the groundhog as I mimic the
marmots attentive stance while seated at the keyboard. I am immeasurably grateful for their support
and well-timed comic relief.

Table of Contents

Section

Page

Abstract 2
Acknowledgements.. 3
Literature Review. 5
Methodology... 14
Findings... 22
Key Findings... 23
Unanticipated Findings... 29
Discussion... 30
Implications for Teaching and Future Research. 31
References.. 32
Appendices
PEELs writing prompt.... Appendix A
Textual story prompts.. Appendix B
Text prompt writing page. Appendix C
Fine art painting samples.. Appendix D
Fine art painting prompt writing sample... Appendix E
Fine art painting writing prompt........ Appendix F
Student watercolor painting samples.... Appendix G
Watercolor painting writing prompt............. Appendix H
Evaluation rubric....... Appendix I

PEELs evaluation rubric...... Appendix J

Visual Arts: Effective Means to Enhance Creative Writing Quality

In the current education environment driven by high stakes testing many educators and school
districts focus on teaching the basics in an effort to command good test scores. Thus attention to arts
education or any overtly creative pursuits are often seen as luxuries schools cannot afford for our
children (Chicola & Smith, 2005). Several researchers have challenged this thinking by revealing
academic gains across various content areas through the process of teaching practices that deliberately
integrate art creation and literacy instruction (Andrzejczak, Trainin & Poldberg, 2005; Chicola & Smith,
2005; Cowan & Albers, 2006).
To explore the extent to which using visual arts in the classroom affects the quality of students
creative writing and overall literacy skills, several studies have been reviewed that examine the
boundaries of literacy, and traditional methods for teaching creative writing. Additionally, an
investigation of the meaning of visual thinking in general, and specifically Visual Thinking Strategies
(VTS) as outlined by researchers Housen and Yenawine (2001) to encourage literacy skills has been
pursued. Consideration has also been afforded to a variety of research studies that measure the effect of
specific teaching strategies utilizing fine art and art creation on student writing quality.
Strategies for Teaching Creative Writing
Before examining how grade school children go about the task of writing an imaginative story it
is important to consider the cognitive processes involved in transferring the aesthetic and emotional
quality of a spoken tale to paper. Small children make sense of the world through the stories they hear
and the stories they tell. Inflections in the story tellers voice, facial expressions and body movements
act in harmony to convey meaning and emotion in the tale told. Children pick up on these nuances of
communication, and in the process learn about themselves and construct understanding about the
workings of the world (McGarvey, 1999). McGarvey (1999) also suggests it is through storytelling that
children discover cultural diversity, character differences, and develop feelings of empathy. She goes on
to say that the cognitive processes in play during storytelling exercise both the logical left hemisphere of
the brain to provide sequence and structure, and the more creative right hemisphere to convey
imaginative content (McGarvey, 1999). The cognitive processes involved for transferring the aesthetic
quality of the spoken tale to paper, however, are more complex than simply writing down what has been
said. Rather, before students can successfully convey meaning and emotion inherent in a creative story
they must employ their long-term memory to access information about the writing process itself and also
information about the topic at hand, while simultaneously recognizing and retrieving those words and
phrases that create imagery and convey emotion applicable to a given story. In addition, students
engage their working memory to monitor the planning, translating and reviewing processes that are
ongoing throughout the writing exercise (Bruning, Schraw, Norby & Ronning, 2004). The cognitive
load Bruning, et al. (2004) contend is quite significant and can often overwhelm the writers ability to
generate creative thought.
It is not surprising then that teachers attempt to break down the writing process into manageable
bits in order to assist students writing efforts. Thwaite (2006) reveals, however, in a case study of third
graders whose teacher subscribes to a basal writing program called First Steps, some of the drawbacks
of this approach. The First Steps program consists primarily of stock forms that essentially ask students
to fill in the blanks regarding their storys setting, complications and resolutions, varying the format for

a variety of writing genre (Thwaite, 2006). Thwaites conclusions are similar to those of Ellis (2003)
which found given highly structured, scripted formats, students put more energy and focus into filling in
the boxes and checking off the steps than into imaginative thinking and creative storytelling.
Furthermore, students are apt to limit their thinking and stories to the space allotted by the form itself.
Ellis (2003) expands on this by comparing four different writing conditions and including student
reactions to each condition. Two of the four conditions, Picture-Sequence and Modeled-Story task, and
The Complete-Story-Planner task, Ellis (2003) describes as highly scripted formats for writing. The
other two conditions, The Class-Discussion task and The Detailed-Decision task, she describes as
unscripted writing activities. Congruent with Thwaites (2006) findings Ellis (2003) found that scripted
writing procedures, those procedures that essentially supply students with a storyline, resulted in bland
writing products and students comment that the process was boring and easy, whereas the unscripted
writing tasks resulted in more imaginative and creative writing products. Students responses to the
unscripted writing process reveal that while they found the tasks much more difficult they also found the
challenge more satisfying and were more pleased with their end products (Ellis, 2003).
Assuming the goal is to tap into those strategies and procedures that result in greater creativity
and appropriate student challenge, and recognizing that scripted formats fall short on both counts, the
question that remains is why not simply focus on unscripted writing formats. The major reason cited is
that for many students, the process is just too frustrating and the anxiety generated by a blank page is
sometimes too great a challenge (Ellis, 2003). The risk involved is that students will turn off to the
creative writing process completely. Allowing students to paint and draw before writing is one way to
address the added challenge unscripted writing tasks present without dictating storylines. It appears
somewhat obvious that having a visual to refer to while writing reduces the cognitive load, leaving more
resources available for developing story elements such as plot, setting, character and crisis. Advocates of
teaching visual literacy, Flood and Lapp (1998), state that using visual arts in the classroom motivates
learners to use a variety of means such as drawing, drama, and multi-media presentation in addition to
reading and writing to communicate ideas. Flood and Lapp (1998) contend that employing instructional
strategies that include visual arts may encourage students to more willingly accept the challenges of
creative writing.
Visual Thinking and Visual Literacy
Arnheim (1969) explored the interplay between our visual perceptions and cognitive thought
coining the phrase visual thinking, saying, Thinking calls for images, and images contain thought (p.
254). This implies the interdependency of the two mental processes. By extension of this thought
process Arnheim (1964) contends that every picture, every visual image we perceive is a statement of
thought, and how well we cultivate our visual perception skills determines how well we discern meaning
and understanding from a visual image. Flood and Lapp (1998) provide a more current understanding of
this commingling of visual stimuli and thought by including drama, visual arts, signage, and media as
integral pieces to our thinking, understanding and communication processes.
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a teaching strategy used to encourage critical and creative
thinking using visual images. The VTS strategy uses a process of asking three carefully worded
questions about an image during group discussion in an attempt to foster these thinking skills. The result
of extensive research, the VTS discovery process, asks students to look at an image and answer the
questionsWhats going on in this picture?, What do you see that makes you say that?, and What more
can we find? as a means to construct meaning and understanding from the image (Housen & Yenawine,
2001). Housen (2002), like McGarveys (1999) earlier study, contends that the process plays into
students natural abilities for storytelling. By dissecting an image, by observing for minute detail,
students make inferences and draw conclusions about the story behind the photo or painting. While the

VTS strategy does not include writing exercises as part of the process, the group discussions key to this
strategy certainly tap into those abilities necessary for creative writing, specifically valuing different
viewpoints and reflective thinking (Housen & Yenawine, 2001).
Yenawine (1997) defines visual literacy as the ability to find meaning in imagery. The ability to
do this is different for everyone depending on ones prior knowledge and experience. An advocate for
VTS, Yenawine equates the visual literacy process to the process of reading for comprehension in that it
is gradual and evolving. One assumes from this stance that like becoming a better reader, becoming
more visually literate requires practice (Yenawine, 1997). Housen (2002) explores how using VTS
builds critical and creative thinking skills that carry over into other contexts and content areas beyond
the initial premise of developing aesthetic awareness. Considering the scripted writing tasks discussed
earlier through the work of Ellis (2003) and the difficulties presented by unscripted writing tasks,
Housen presents a solution with VTS. She implies that open ended thinking about visuals provides the
necessary structure and focus for student thinking that does not inhibit the critical and creative thinking
process (Housen, 2002).
Art in the Classroom
Chicola and Smith (2005) look specifically at using visual arts throughout the social studies
curriculum to put the joy back into learning and motivate students in our current test driven education
environment (Chicola & Smith 2005, p. 167). Aimed at convincing teacher candidates to incorporate the
creation of authentic art into their classrooms, Chicola and Smith (2005), like Housen and Yenawine
(2001), see the arts as a means to encourage students to problem solve and develop critical thinking
skills as well as expand their imaginative abilities. Arguing the importance of integrating visual arts into
all curriculum areas, Chicola and Smith (2005) quote Pablo Picasso saying, Painting is just another way
of keeping a diary (p. 168). The implication is that using art in the classroom for all curriculum areas
affords students the opportunity to give form and structure to new information similar to the way
keeping a diary gives form and structure to ones thoughts. The art making process assists students in
making connections across content areas to extract deeper meaning and foster more understanding than
is possible through traditional teacher-directed lessons.
Other researchers make connections between the visual arts and academic gains as well. For
instance, Livingston (2005) found that incorporating drawing and journaling activities with fifth grade
science lessons resulted in participating students greater retention of science concepts. Moreover, the
consensus of student comments about the process was that drawings made it much easier to remember
information later on, presumably when students were tested on the lesson material (Livingston, 2005).
Similarly, research conducted in a middle school environment found that using visual arts in a variety of
formstelevision, computers, multimedia, drama, comic books and/or graphic booksmotivated
students to become more actively involved in the more traditional communicative arts, reading, writing
and speaking (Lin, 2005). While Lin makes no direct connection between using visual arts in the
classroom and increasing specific academic abilities, she does suggest that using visual arts increases
students background knowledge in a variety of meaningful ways that heighten students abilities to
make connections in their thinking across content areas.
The connection between increased aesthetic awareness and academic growth is not so readily
accepted by all, however. Art educator Eisner (1999) offers an opposing view that suggests current
research is too limited. Eisner does not deny a possible link between art experience and academic
achievement but questions the wisdom of using such claims to justify arts education programs in our
schools (Eisner, 1999). His concerns about promoting a link are twofold: 1) the studies, he contends, are
vague as to what constitutes art experience as well as the parameters of increased academic performance
measured, and 2) the studies imply that art education and experience are worthy endeavors only if they

lead to greater achievement in academic areas, as opposed to promoting art education as an equally valid
pursuit comparable to reading or math. Eisner (1999), however, offers three levels of evaluating
students art experience that may indeed contribute to both art education and academic achievement.
The first mimics the VTS method whereby students develop visual literacy by observing, questioning,
analyzing and discussing visual images for the sole purpose of building knowledge about a particular
image. The second level of art education Eisner (1999) portrays is art experience that allows students to
transfer learning from the first level that is image focused to art found in nature. In other words students
at this level have developed aesthetic awareness to the point where they can discern, compare and
contrast artistic qualities found in nature and in works of culture. And lastly, it is at the third level of
aesthetic awareness that Eisner (1999) concedes students would be able to transfer the critical and
creative thinking skills developed in the previous two levels to non-art tasks such as are warranted in
other academic areas.
Combining Visual Art with the Art of Creative Writing
Several educators offer methods for combining visual arts with literacy instruction in the
classroom. Cowan and Albers (2006) describe a process they developed for fourth and fifth grade
students that uses art making to explore meanings of specific words. For example, one student created a
papier-mch mask to depict what enthusiasm looks like and followed this exercise by writing a poem
also titled enthusiasm (Cowan and Albers, 2006). The authors contend that the process of creating
allows students to become invested in the emotion they choose to depict. Thus when later writing about
this emotion, students used the visual they created to remember specifics about their own thinking
during the creating process. The students utilize this heightened awareness of their own thinking to
create poetry that is more detailed and emotive than previous writing products not including an element
of visual art (Cowan and Albers, 2006).
Similarly, Olshansky (2006) developed a writing curriculum focused on art making called
Picturing-Writing. Essentially the process asks students to draw and/or paint what they are thinking and
then write a story to tell what is going on the picture. The advantage to making art first, Olshansky
(2006) suggests, is that while creating, the seeds of story are forming and those thoughts are represented
in the resulting visual. Students can then access more detail during the writing process because the
burden of cognitive load, which Bruning et al. (2004) mention, is lightened by having the visual to refer
to. Research conducted by Olshansky (1998) seems to reveal this advantage. Olshansky (1998) studied
555 first and second grade students in 13 schools in three different states to conclude that the treatment
group using the Picturing-Writing strategy dramatically outperformed the control group in quality of
writing and use of visual elements within the story. Interestingly, those students identified as at-risk for
academic failure participating in the treatment group performed as well as students not at-risk also in the
treatment group (Olshansky, 1998).
A case study of two second grade students, one boy and one girl, conducted by Andrzejczak,
Trainin and Poldberg (2005) also utilizing Olshanskys Picturing-Writing strategies came to similar
conclusions as Olshanskys (1998) study. They add, however, that the importance of art making
preceding the writing process is crucial to success of the method so that the initial words students write
do not constrain the artwork (Andrzejczak, Trainin & Poldberg, 2005)). The presumption is that if
students write and then draw they see the process as complete even if the quality of either the artwork or
the writing is significantly less than if they had created artwork first. Consequently, Andrzejczak et al.
(2005) see creating artwork as the motivational tool necessary to encourage children into the writing
process. In a larger scale follow up study, this time headed by Trainin, similar conclusions about the use
of Olshanskys Picturing-Writing strategies as the Andrzejczak et al. case study were found (Trainin,
Andrzejczak, & Poldberg, 2006). Moreover, Trainin et al. (2006) suggest that those students motivated

to write more and to a higher level of quality as a result of creating artwork, also increased their writing
quality in other contexts, improved their writing ability in general, and showed more interest in reading
tasks. That is to say that Trainin et al. (2006) revealed that students transfer of knowledge gained
through art making and creative writing made a positive impact on how well those students did in other
academic areas.
Summary
The body of research investigated for this review does show strong support for utilizing visual
arts in the classroom as an effective means to enhance students creative writing abilities. Furthermore,
the research offers evidence that the process of creating authentic artwork and then writing about it has a
positive influence on students achievement in other academic areas in addition to creative writing. The
sum of the research also reveals that enhancing visual literacy through a variety of art experiences as
well as explicitly teaching visual literacy through Visual Thinking Strategies are essential components to
reaping the benefits of integrating art into any curriculum area.

Methodology
As discussed throughout the preceding literature review there is evidence to support using visual
art creation in the classroom to encourage creative writing and improve academic achievement. I
observed a classroom teacher and students in a fourth grade classroom setting who participated in the
current study engage in an activity called History Detectives. This activity stimulated my thinking
about how visual images may spark critical and creative thinking and led to the research presented here.
Specifically the classroom teacher asked his students to view a painting, in this case an artists rendition
of the first trading market on the banks of Cayuga Lake in the late 1700s. The painting depicted the
same location where the Farmers Market still exists in Ithaca, New York today. The children carefully
scanned the image for clues to inferences they could make about life in Ithaca 200 years ago. Loosely
following the Visual Thinking Strategies outlined by Housen, the teacher questioned his students in
ways that improved their observation skills and allowed for detailed group discussion. The exercise
served to deepen the students understanding of and help them make connections to the history of the
area in which they live. This activity led me to wonder if the teacher had followed the observation task
with a writing task, asking the students to describe the images and the inferences they made in narrative
form, whether the quality of their writing would have been enhanced by the visual art experience.
Research Site
The school district where the current study took place is located in a small city that is home to
two major universities. There are a total of 2,851 students enrolled at the elementary level within the
district, with 293 enrolled within the targeted school (NYSED, 2006 a). The target school is located in
an upper middle class suburban neighborhood representing racial demographics that reflect that of the
district as a whole with two percent of students of American Indian heritage, six percent Hispanic, ten
percent African American, 14 percent Asian and 68 percent Caucasian (NYSED, 2006 b). The
socioeconomic demographics of the students in this school district report that 27 percent of students
within the district are eligible for free or reduced lunch (NYSED, 2006 a). For the targeted elementary
school the percentage of those eligible for free or reduced lunch is much lower with 13 percent reported
eligibility. There are approximately four teachers per grade level within the targeted school which
would suggest that with a total school population of 293 students a student to teacher ratio of 12/1

school wide (NYSED, 2006 b). The targeted classroom, however, is a bit larger than most others in the
school with 27 students supported by one teacher and one teachers aide who is in the classroom for
approximately one hour each day. Additionally there are two or three parent volunteers who often help
during afternoon writing lesson activities.
Participants
Participating in the current study were 27 fourth grade students, 15 boys and 12 girls ranging in
age from eight to ten. Two of the girls have IEPs to address specific learning disabilities, another girl
receives services for emotional disability and a total of five students, two boys and three girls, receive
remedial reading instruction. All students in the class are fluent in English with two students also fluent
in a second language. Throughout the course of the research activities, 22 students completed all four
measured conditions although eight of these were out of the classroom for the first half of the last
writing condition when students were asked to write a story to a picture they painted the day before. Of
the remaining five students in the classroom, three completed all but one of the research activities and
two students were absent for two of the writing conditions. Consideration is given to these limitations
when analyzing the content and extent of students writing products.
Researcher Position
As a teaching practicum student I participated in this classroom setting for approximately twelve
hours per week for a total of 10 weeks. I was active in the classroom for eight weeks prior to
administering any activities related to the research study. The students had recently had a student
teacher participating daily in their classroom and understood my role was very similar to that of the
student teacher. As part of my classroom responsibilities I led whole group lessons and small group
discussions, tutored individuals, monitored student progress, and helped students negotiate issues and
conflicts as they arose. The classroom teacher in this setting encouraged my teaching role as well as my
role of authority with the students.
Design of the Study
The participating students had some experience viewing visual art as a means to develop
understanding as described previously by the History Detective activity. Shortly after this activity I
also observed these same students taking the PEELs writing test, a district wide fourth grade writing
assessment using a limited number of textual prompts to choose from as story starters. After reading the
stories resulting from this assessment, I noticed a dramatic lack in descriptive words and phrases
compared to the detailed and descriptive language these same students employed during the History
Detective activity. For the current research, the goal was to discern if the gap between creative speech
and creative writing quality would be closed by providing students with alternate methods as story
starters, including both textual forms and visual art forms.
The decision to employ the action research approach was twofold. Access to timely baseline data
in the form of the PEELs writing assessment represented one factor in deciding to use action research
methods. Since the students had already participated in the PEELs assessment, it was reasonable to
mimic the setting of this baseline activity for the research activities while observing the same class of
students as opposed to limiting the study to a couple of individual students as might be done for an even
smaller case study. Time was also a factor. Since the research presented was conducted near the end of
the school year, any longitudinal studies would be confounded by the impending summer break. The
second factor in choosing action research was the desirability of assessing students work created in a

naturalistic classroom setting and in response to typical teaching instruction. Additionally, in the
students natural classroom setting, the action research method allows for examining the problem of
motivating creative writing within the same context students are most often asked to write.
Procedures and Data Sources
I evaluated the 27 students creative writing quality in four different writing conditions. The
PEELs writing assessment using textual prompts similar to those on most standardized tests, such as A
Pet Story or An Accident I Remember (see Appendix A), served as the baseline evaluation. The second
writing condition was also a textual prompt but revised to be more open ended, for example, The
howling wind (see Appendix B). For the third writing condition students choose from a number of
fine art prints and were instructed to write a creative story based on the painting they selected (see
Appendices D, E & F), and for the last writing condition the students created their own artwork and
wrote a story to go along with their created image (see Appendices G & H).
Using the same rubric (see Appendix I) to evaluate each writing condition, I measured the extent
of students sensory descriptions and character development, students use of imagery and adjectives,
and total word count. I hypothesized that the open ended textual prompt would result in more
imaginative stories than the typical standardized test prompt because it is less limiting and more
dependent on the writers personal experience as well as individual interpretation of the prompt. I also
hypothesized that both writing conditions involving visuals would result in a greater use of descriptive
words and imagery than the textual prompts and that stories created as a result of the students own art
creation would be longer and include more detail than any of the other writing conditions.
For the initial writing activity, during whole group discussion students were shown a hat
containing 30 small pieces of paper folded up so no one could read the print on each piece. This activity
took place during the students traditional writing time so the students anticipated that whatever was to
happen next would be writing related. As both researcher and teacher leading this activity, I reminded
students of some of the other short story writing activities they had done in previous months including
the most recent PEELs writing assessment. After allowing students a few moments to recollect what
they had written for the PEELs, one of the story prompts, an open ended textual story prompt The
howling wind, was selected from the hat as a means to model the impending writing activity through
group discussion. The class then engaged in a group discussion about possible story lines this opening
sentence could lead to. Some examples included the wind knocking down trees and making it difficult
to hear when someone was calling. After encouraging students to use their senses to help them imagine
what would happen in their stories, each student selected a story prompt from the hat. Student were then
instructed to begin writing their creative story and given 50 minutes to complete their work.
The second writing condition took place in two parts the following day. Part one was a brief
group discussion in the morning that consisted of students perusing a collection of fine art color prints
(see Appendix D) displayed on the board in front of the room. After a few minutes, students were
directed to focus on a pastoral painting done by Winslow Homer in 1878 titled Feeding Time (see
Appendix E). Calling students attention to whole group discussion, we examined the painting together.
This discussion proceeded by my asking the questions outlined in the Visual Thinking Strategies
proceduresWhats going on in this picture?, What do you see that makes you say that?, and What
more can we find? as a means to construct meaning and understanding from the image (Housen &
Yenawine, 2001). Following this discussion I read aloud a portion of a story written to go along with
this painting as a means to model what the students would be doing for this second writing task (see
Appendix E). I asked students to pay particular attention to descriptions of what things looked like,
sounded like, felt like, smelled like and/or tasted like. Students were then randomly invited to come up
to the front board and select a painting to write a story to later in the day. The second part of this activity

took place after the students returned from their lunch and recess and during their normal writing time.
For this portion of the activity students were instructed to begin writing their creative stories based on
the painting they chose and given 50 minutes to complete their work.
The final writing condition was also accomplished in two parts. The day after completing the
stories prompted by fine arts prints, students gathered during writing time to create their own artwork
from which they would write a creative story. The first part of the lesson introduced students to painting
with watercolors. Students were each given their own art supplies and then they worked individually on
their artwork. After giving students some rudimentary instructions about how to use the water color
paints with the help of the classroom teacher and a number of parent volunteers, students were given the
opportunity to experiment with one of their pieces of watercolor paper. Students were given 15 minutes
for this experimentation. The children were then encouraged to begin painting the scene or image they
thought of knowing they would be writing a story to go with it. Students were given 50 minutes to
complete this painting activity.
For the next days writing activity students retrieved their painting from the drying table.
Before beginning to write the class was instructed to think about what their story looked like, sounded
like, felt like, smelled like and/or tasted like. Students were then given 50 minutes to complete their
story.
For the sake of consistency the same rubric (see Appendix I) was used to evaluate the baseline
PEELs writing assessment and all three writing conditions. In order to assess if the rubric fairly
measured the expected abilities of fourth grade students, the results indicated by the rubric on the PEELs
writing condition were compared for consistency in grading to the standardized assessment form (see
Appendix J) used to assess the PEELs at the district level. Additionally, the grading rubric was
reviewed by the classroom teacher who as a district grader and teacher with 30+ years experience, many
at the fourth grade level, has extensive and relevant experience in evaluating student writing.
Analysis Process
After students completed each of the writing conditions, each students writing for the three
writing conditions was matched to that students PEELs writing sample. Student work and writing
quality were not compared to any other students. Rather, each students work was compared to how that
student performed at each writing condition. To evaluate students use of sensory description and story
setting, the researcher/grader counted the number of senses the students made reference to and assigned
a number 1-4 as correlating to the level indicated on the rubric. For example, if the student included
descriptions involving three or more senses and created a vivid image of the story setting, the grader
indicated a score of 4 for the first category on the rubricSensory description of the story setting.
Similar procedures were followed for the next two rubric categoriesCharacter development and
Imagery and adjectives. Each student received two numeric scores for each writing condition, one
number indicating the total score resulting from adding the rubric scores from each story content
categories, and a second number indicating the total number of words contained in each story.
Once the scoring process was complete each participating student had four sets of scores: one
score for the PEELs writing condition serving as the students baseline score, and one score for each of
the three writing conditions. The four scores generated by each student were then evaluated for changes
from one writing condition to the next.
Validity of Data and Constraints of the Study
To ensure the validity of the writing conditions, the same amount of time was allotted to each writing
condition based on the average amount of time students spent writing their PEELs writing assessment

stories. Additionally, similar verbiage was used to instruct students to begin each writing condition.
Furthermore, each writing condition was administered within two months of the baseline writing
condition and within days of each other so that students natural maturation is thought to play little if
any role in any increases in writing quality.
Some limitations of the study are the small sample size and the fact that the classroom teacher
administered the PEELs writing condition and the practicum student/researcher administered each of the
other writing conditions. Also, because of absences not all students participated in all four writing
conditions essentially making the already small sample size even smaller. Lastly, a number of
unforeseen circumstances cut into the students actual writing time and created significant distraction
during the three research writing conditions.
Findings
The purpose of the current study was to shed light on the effectiveness of utilizing visual arts and
authentic art making to enhance the quality of students creative writing within the context of one
fourth-grade classroom. Previous research explored throughout the literature review suggests a positive
link between art making and students critical thinking and creative thinking skills. Furthermore, the
research reviewed offers visual art experience as a means to make connections between content areas for
deeper understanding of new concepts. The implications for teaching are that by introducing visual
literacy and art making in the classroom teachers can indeed enhance their students critical and creative
thinking skills which in turn may boost academic achievement.
In order to discern what constitutes a meaningful and thus effective creative experience, students
participated in a series of four writing activities for this current research. Each activity presented
required progressively more creative input from the students, the understanding of the researcher being
that the more creative energy students put into a project the more creativity will be reflected in the final
product. The final product in each of the four target activities was a creative story. The first two story
writing prompts were textual prompts, the first of which constituted the most scripted stimulus whereby
students responded by writing a story to a story title which they chose from four different options. The
second prompt was a more open-ended textual prompt in the form of a portion of the first sentence of a
story to stimulate a slightly more unscripted written response. The third story prompt students responded
to was a fine art print representing a somewhat more scripted response than the fourth and final writing
condition whereby students created a written response to a painting of their own creation.
Key Findings
Three of the most important findings of this action research were: 1) standardized story title
prompts used to obtain baseline data resulted in predicable, bland, safe storylines whereas the stories
written in response to the three treatment writing conditions generally resulted in students taking more
risks with their storylines and consequently writing more creative stories, 2) students demonstrated
much greater personal investment in their creative stories and often sacrificed their free time to revisit
and add to their stories, and 3) for some students having a multitude of options such as those presented
by the open-ended story prompts was the key to unlocking their creativity, while for others this sea of
possibilities hampered their ability to choose a direction.
Predictably bland vs. courageously creative. The story titles students had to choose from to
complete the PEELs standardized writing assessment used as baseline data for this research were A Pet
Story, An Accident I Remember, The Day Without Electricity and A Scary Thing Happened to Me.
Students were instructed to select one title and write a story based on their title selection. They were
also warned not to deviate from the story focus or combine story titles. Student responses to these

prompts were basically in the realm of reporting a typical childhood event. For example in response to
A Pet Story prompt, student Amy (all names are pseudonyms) begins her story with:
One day when I came back from school I saw my grandma there. She said, Im
going to be [hear] for a [wile], and I [whant] you to [mete] Beanie. I [whent] in
the living room and there she was sitting in a crate looking at me like she was
[exspekting] me all along. Ooohhh shes so cute, I said. [Quitely] go ahead and
open the crate, my grandma said. So I bent down and opened it. Beanie came
running out and crouched down when she got close to me.
In contrast to this blow by blow retelling of a typical childhood event, this same student began
with the following in response to the first research writing condition, an open-ended textual prompt It
was a mistake to:
It was a mistake to get a pet alligator for her grandmothers birthday
present. It was not a mistake that she saw her grandmother and the
[alligatore] shopping together, doing the [dissco] together and doing
karate together. We all know of course that grandmother won. Birdy
walked home and heard the phone ring. She picked it up and said
hello. The other person said, Hi. Is your grandmother approaching
a [alagatore].
Even though the second example of Amys writing is missing some explanatory details, the story
line is much more creative and the story hook is more exciting than her response to the standardized
prompt. It should be noted here that an unforeseen interruption to the students writing during this first
writing condition precluded the students ability to go back and proofread their stories to make
corrections to grammar, syntax and/or clear up confusing points. This limitation and others will be
discussed in greater detail in later sections.
Similarly predicable, writing a response to the standardized title prompt An Accident I
Remember another student, Mackenzie, recounts a fender bender incident she and her mom experienced
on the way to a birthday party. After beginning the story with a lament on having to wait ten minutes for
her mother to get ready, she continues the narrative with:
Later we were in the car with the radio on. My mom kept flipping
from radio station to radio station. Finally she found what she was
looking for. Silence. So she turned the radio off. It was a slippery,
slushy and rainy day. I never liked to ride in the car at these times,
but I would do it for a birthday party.
I began to notice that the car was going faster and faster. And when
we had to stop our car slipped a little before doing so. Then I soon
realized that my nerves were going crazy! Then all of my cereal
splattered all over my face and clothes. When I looked out of the
window all that I could see was everything spinning all around me.
I could hear my mom yelling to me that everything was going to be
ok. Suddenly it all stopped. We had fallen in to a ditch plus we ran
over a sign.

Mackenzie concludes her story with a friend driving by, stopping to help them out of their
predicament, and ultimately getting to the birthday party. In contrast to this benign fare Mackenzie
writes from a cats point of view for the third writing condition in response to her own artwork:
This story is about, well about me, the cat your see in the picture. Im
an alley cat. You know the stray kind that lives in the streets. But I am
no ordinary cat. I can talk, write, read and draw. Anyway, one day when
I was feasting on roasted mouse some hobo just gave me, a boy came up
to me wrinkling his nose at the yummy smell of my dinner. Hmmm, I
thought to myself, it almost seems like he does not like the smell.
Mackenzies story continues with the cat befriending the boy and protecting him from a
dangerous drunk. She maintains the voice of the cat throughout the story and concludes the story with
the boy and cat as inseparable friends.
The same scenario plays out for the other two standardized story title prompts. The Day Without
Electricity led most students to write about fumbling around in the dark and being bored by not being
able to play video games or watch television. A Scary Thing Happened to Me inspired stories of trips to
the emergency room, trying something for the first time, like skiing, scuba diving, or similar experiences
that typically invoke some level of fear.
Whereas the students responses to the three research writing conditions bespeak a whole slew of
topics that go beyond the bland and ordinary, and I suspect result from students drawing on stories
theyve heard or read before and movies theyve seen, in addition to unique life experiences theyve had
that cannot be pigeon holed into a standard story title.
Joyfully motivated and begging for more. I participated in administering the PEELs writing
assessment used as baseline data for this research by following the classroom teachers lead. After I read
the instructions and made any clarifications needed, the students proceeded with this writing assignment
with the general demeanor reserved for test taking. The level of concentration the students put forth was
reflective of their effort to remember and record the details of what has happened as opposed to
creating stories of what could be. Observations of the students following the completion of the PEELs
writing assessment reveal that not a single student expressed interest in sharing his or her story with a
classmate. Nor did students hand in their stories eager to give the teacher a synopsis of their clever
offering. Students did not ask if their stories would be read aloud in class at some point. The students
simply completed their charge, handed the result over, and promptly moved on to the next activity.
The same cannot be said of the students behavior when writing to the three treatment conditions,
the open-ended textual prompt, the fine art painting story prompt, and the students own artwork as a
story prompt. In each instance of the research writing conditions, many students demonstrated an
interest in sharing their stories with classmates; hearing feedback from other students, the teacher, and
the researcher; and having additional time to add to their stories to make them even better. Surprisingly,
several students even sacrificed their free time in the morning as well as snack time to continue working
on their stories. One student even requested taking the materials with her on a vacation trip knowing she
would miss the opportunity to write her story by being absent. In short the students expressed joy in the
writing process, as well as with their written offerings, and a level of personal investment in the end
products that was not displayed for their work on the standardized PEELs writing assessment condition.
Although the classroom teacher could not afford additional time to have all the children share
their completed stories with their classmates, he did recognize the importance of some level of sharing
in order to take advantage of the students heightened motivation. To address the sharing issue, the
researcher created a gallery of their artwork and led a whole group meeting whereby I read a number of
the most intriguing first lines of several students writing and asked those willing authors to identify

themselves so that those authors could read their story in its entirety to a group of interested classmates
during silent reading time. Some examples of the intriguing first lines are:
It was dusk, when the wind whispers over the trees with a sliver of
silver in its wake.Michelle, in response to own artwork
Tucked away behind the huge boulder blackening the door to a gloomy
cave over the ocean at the end of the world, across the desert plains of
nowhere and where no living thing had ever been, between the great
mountains of Orethas lived JUNCO! Abby, in response to openended text prompt
Through the open door was the culprit. The one whose face was all over
town.Gerald, in response to open-ended text prompt
I, Kazul, am the green dragon of Dovania. Before I begin my story, I
think I should tell you about Dovanian culture.Jill, in response to
own artwork
The barking dog wouldnt stop once he saw the intruder in the trash can.
Frank, in response to open-ended text prompt
If you walk along the golden path, through a meadow filled with flowers
of every color, past a tree and across a bridge, youll come across a
beautiful town called Hamshire. Lillie, in response to own artwork
The beauty and bane of having options. Following each writing condition, each student
participated in a brief interview with the researcher in order to record individual student impressions of
the writing process as precipitated by the various story prompts. The class as a whole represented a split
in thinking whereby roughly half of the students found the open-ended story prompts harder to write to
while the other half found the open-ended story prompts easier to write to than the PEELs standardized
story title prompts. This dichotomy was particularly true for the open-ended textual prompts that
provided students with the first few words of the first sentence (see Appendix B). For students who
found the process harder than starting with a title, the comments mimic Thwaites (2006) research and
Ellis (2003) research. They found that the scripted writing procedures, represented by the standardized
story title prompts used in the current research, resulted in bland writing products and student comments
that the process was boring and easy, whereas the unscripted writing tasks resulted in more imaginative
and creative writing products and student comments that the process was challenging.
For example, Joseph, a student who found the open-ended writing process easier than starting
with a story title due to having options states, I thought this was cool because the story could go
anywhere. In contrast, Laura found the process harder due to having too many options: This was
harder because the story could be anything so I had to narrow it down first. Similar student comments
followed the writing condition using the fine art paintings as story prompts. However, student
comments following the writing condition whereby students wrote stories prompted by their own
artwork yielded a greater majority of students finding the writing process easier because they could use
their painting to remind them of story events they wanted to include in their stories. Laura comments,
following this last writing condition, This was easier because I could just look at my picture for clues.

Unanticipated Findings
Two unanticipated findings that posed substantial influence on students writing during the three
research writing conditions were: 1) the additional cognitive resources needed to write in cursive
resulted in significantly shorter stories and 2) for some students having the freedom to choose the story
topic for each writing condition resulted in a great deal of time spent in the decision making phase of the
writing process as opposed to time spent actually writing.
Cursive writing hindrance. At the start of my teaching practicum in this classroom, eight weeks
prior to beginning the research presented here, the cooperating classroom teacher put me in charge of the
cursive writing club. As such I worked with small groups of students helping them develop better
cursive handwriting technique, while expounding on the virtues of writing in cursive versus writing in
manuscript form. Consequently, when beginning the research writing conditions several students asked
the question, Do we have to write in cursive? Caught in a conundrum, I was left to insist on the
students using cursive handwriting.
While for a few students writing in cursive posed no issue, for most the additional cognitive
resources required to write in cursive resulted in significantly shorter stories. The average total word
counts for stories written in response to the three writing conditions were approximately 30% fewer
words than for stories written for the PEELs writing condition. The classroom teacher did not require
students to write in cursive for the PEELs writing assessment. Interestingly, students did not sacrifice
the quality of their stories in response to having to write in cursive only their story lengths.
The freedom of having options. Selecting a story topic without having a finite number of
choices from which to choose proved difficult for a number of students. Whereas for the PEELs
writing condition students needed only to decide between the four options given (see Appendix A), the
more open ended nature of the research story prompts are limited only by the individual students
imagination. For two students with specific learning disabilities, it was necessary to narrow the options
in order for them to write anything at all. Interestingly, another student, for fear of having to make a
decision, rewrote a story he had written earlier in the school year. Several other students needed only
encouragement from a teacher that the idea they had voiced as an option was worthy of writing a story
about.

Discussion
The findings of this research suggest that visual imagery, whether prompted by an open ended
textual prompt or by fine art or authentic art making, increases students ability to write more creatively.
Some of the limitations presented while conducting this research point to the importance of sustained
time devoted to art making, as well as sustained writing time as crucial to the writing process.
Unforeseen interruptions during the three writing conditions required students to backtrack their
thinking repeatedly in order to complete thoughtful stories. As the researcher conducting the post
writing interviews following each writing condition, I surmised from student responses that this
backtracking posed more of a problem for the creative offerings completed for the research writing
conditions than for the PEELs writing condition where students often simply reported a list of events.
In this last instance, students need only go back to the last event to continue with their reporting
sequence.
As a pre-service teacher with extensive background in the visual arts, one of the basic
assumptions I make about teaching is that the process of creating is integral to the process of learning.
My assumptions are based on the intuitive sense I have about the parallels between my own art making,
thinking, and writing processes. For example, I equate painting strategies for finding just the right color
and hue to depict feeling in a painting, to the cognitive processes for finding just the right words and

phrases to convey meaning and emotion through writing. Recognizing that my own intuition is neither
enough, nor adequate justification for building teaching strategies that affect my students, I set about this
research acknowledging both my bias toward the visual arts and my greater desire to implement the best
teaching practices to enhance my students learning and academic growth.
There is overwhelming support for the use of visual arts in the classroom to encourage creative
writing and improve academic achievement. However, many of the researchers discussed throughout the
literature review hint to limited use of visual arts strategies in the classroom citing focus on high-stakes
testing and teachers low confidence level with the arts as primary reasons for the avoidance. The
research reviewed as well as the current study certainly provide fodder for arguing that moving out of
ones comfort zone with the arts and investing in the process early on may in fact result in precisely the
test results the current education climate demands.
Implications for Teaching and Future Research
The implications for teaching are such that incorporating visual arts specifically, and certainly
authentic art making, should not be viewed as extra-curricular or icing on the cake activities but as
essential methods in the practice of teaching. By doing so, we avail students of additional modes of
understanding, of expressing their thinking, and of organizing their thoughts thus freeing cognitive
resources to learn more deeply.
The implications for future research point to expanding the current research to different grade
levels to ascertain how using visual arts affects writing specifically and academic achievement in
general for younger versus older students. In addition, subsequent research should explore how using
visual arts and art making in the classroom meet the call for differentiated instruction to address the
needs of diverse learners.

References
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process. International Journal of Education & the Arts 6(12). Retrieved (February 14, 2008)
from http://ijea.asu.edu/v6n12/ p. 1-17.
Arnheim, R. (1969). Visual thinking. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Bruning, R., Schraw, G., Norby, M., & Ronning, R. (2004). Cognitive psychology and instruction. 4th
ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Chicola, N., & Smith, B. (2005). Integrating visual arts into instruction. International Journal of
Learning, 12(5), 167-175.
Cowan, K., & Albers, P. (2006). Semiotic representations: Building complex literacy practices through
the arts. Reading Teacher, 60(2), 124-137.
Eisner, E.W. (1999). Does experience in the arts boost academic achievement? The Clearing House
72(3), 143-149.
Ellis, S. (2003). Story-writing, planning and creativity. Reading, 37(1), 27-31.
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arts. Reading Teacher, 51(4), 342.
Housen, A. (2002). Aesthetic thought, critical thinking and transfer. Arts and Learning Research
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Housen, A., Yenawine, P. (2001). Visual thinking strategies: Understanding the basics. Visual
Understanding in Education article retrieved on March 10, 2008 from
http://www.vue.org/download_author.html#HousenYenawine

Lin, C. (2005). Literacy instruction through communicative and visual arts. Teacher Librarian, 32(5),
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Livingston, C. (2005). Journals of discovery: Incorporating art and creative writing into science journals
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McGarvey, L. (1999). Using aesthetic work to inspire storytelling, writing and illustration. ED430247,
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New York State Education Department. (2006 a). Ithaca city school district report card. Retrieved April
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Retrieved April 4, 2008, from
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Appendix A PEELs writing prompt

Name _______________________________________________________Date_____________
Choose a story title from the list below. Then write a story to go with the title you chose. Be sure to
write the story title you choose on the line before beginning your story. You can use this page as a
planning page and begin writing on the next page. Be sure to put your name on each page you use.
A Pet Story
An Accident I Remember
The Day Without Electricity
A Scary Thing Happened to Me
Story Title____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix B Textual story prompts
The howling wind
The setting sun
Many voices began
Tucked away behind the
The barking dog
Several of the
High up on the
Through the open
It was a mistake to
I could hear
Appendix C text prompt writing page
Name ______________________________________________Date______________________
Write a creative story use the story beginning paper you drew out of the hat. Remember to
include details about your story setting and descriptions about the characters you create.
Your story should of course have a clear beginning, middle and end, and like all good stories
there should be some problem or conflict that is resolved.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

Appendix D Fine art painting samples

Sample images of fine art prints
Appendix E Fine art painting prompt writing
sample

App

Appendix F
Fine art painting writing prompt

Name ______________________________________________Date______________________

Write a creative story using a fine art painting as your story starter. Remember to
include details about your story setting and descriptions about the characters you
create. Your story should of course have a clear beginning, middle and end, and like all
good stories there should be some problem or conflict that is resolved.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Appendix G Student watercolor painting samples

Appendix H Water color painting writing prompt

Name
______________________________________________Date______________________

Write a creative story using your watercolor painting as your story starter. Remember to
include details about your story setting and descriptions about the characters you create.
Your story should of course have a clear beginning, middle and end, and like all good
stories there should be some problem or conflict that is resolved.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

E
Appendix Appendix
I Evaluation
rubric
Writing a masterpiece
Masterpiece
4
Sensory
description of
the story
setting

Work makes use of

more than three
senses to paint
complete and vivid
pictures for the
reader.

Noteworthy Effort

Ordinary

Work makes use of

more than two senses
to paint some pictures
for the readers.

Work relies mostly on

only one or two
senses. Descriptions
are not specific
enough to paint vivid
pictures for the
reader.

Needs some
work
1
Very little
sensory
description is
present. Work
does not paint
pictures for the
reader.

Score

Character
development

Work shows a main

character the reader
comes to know
through the story.
Vivid descriptions of
how this character
looks, feels, thinks and
acts. Work includes at
least 3 other
characters and
describes their
relationship with the
main character.

Work has a main

character that the
reader learns some
details about. Work
includes some
descriptions of how
this character looks,
feels, thinks and acts.
Story includes at least
2 other characters and
describes their
relationship with the
main character.

Work has a main

character that the
reader learns
something about.
Lacking clear
descriptions of how
this character looks,
feels, thinks and acts.
Work includes only 1
other character and a
weak description of
their relationship with
the main character.

Work has a
main character
but very little
description is
given. Work
does not include
mention or
description of
any other
characters.

Imagery and
adjectives

Work makes use of

similes, and
metaphors and
includes a rich use of
adjectives to paint
vivid images of the
action and interaction
in the story.

Work makes use of

similes, and includes a
rich use of adjectives
to paint images of the
action and interaction
in the story.

Work makes use of

adjectives to paint
images of the action
and interaction in the
story.

Work uses
adjectives but
not enough to
create images
for the reader.

Total word count _________

_____________

_____________

____________

Appendix J PEELs evaluation rubric

______________________S STORY TITLE
___________________________________________
1

IDEAS AND CONTENT

2
3
4

_ Supporting details are specific and

relevant.
_______________________________________

ORGANIZATION

_ You have a very good overall logical plan.

_ The introduction and conclusion are
strong and thoughtful.
_ Transition words are used to connect
ideas.
_ Paragraphs are used to organize
information.
_______________________________________

USE OF EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE

VOICE

_ This piece is smooth and dialogue flows

naturally.
_ Sentences vary in length and are
interesting.
_ You have the right kind of words for this
type of writing (vivid, persuasive,
expressive).
_ Your language is original. Youve made
fragments and capitals on purpose.
____________________________________

CONVENTIONS

_ You have a clear main focus and stay on

topic.
_ Your language is interesting, original and
thoughtful.

_ Your voice is convincing and sincere.

_ Your voice captures my attention.
_ You have created a mood (anger, humor,
sympathy) with your words.
_ Rare errors in spelling commonly used
words.
_ All/most sentences have proper
punctuation, capitalization, and commas.
_ Grammar-All/most sentences are
complete.
_ Few errors in subject-verb agreement
_ Few errors in verb tense.