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A descriptive study of intermediate grade students' extended transaction with the picturebooks of author/illustrator Patricia Polacco

Dorr, Christina H.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1101158426

Abstract Details

2004, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Educational Theory and Practice.
Picturebooks have traditionally been part of the literary life of young children. However, picturebooks today are not only appropriate for older students, but many are expressly written for that audience. The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of a small group of intermediate grade students’ extended transactions with several diverse picturebooks by author/illustrator Patricia Polacco. In this study, I looked at the types of responses the students made in their efforts to make meaning of the books, how they used the illustrations to further this process, how extended time with one author/illustrator’s work deepened this development, how they employed their own lives in the task, and how the voice of the author/illustrator assisted in my understanding of the students transactions. This study has potential significance in adding to the body of research on reader response, picturebook use with older students, small group literature discussions, and extended time with the work of one author/illustrator. Data collection took place during twelve sessions over a nine week period. I used a qualitative viewpoint and acted in various roles as a participant observer, audiotapes of read aloud sessions with full transcription, field notes of my observations, student journal entries, and an interview with the author/illustrator. The major findings of this study were: intermediate grade students utilize a wide variety of responses, both individually and as a group, to both story and illustrations, to construct meaning; the personal response became a crucial category in revealing how students’ backgrounds assisted them in dealing with all emerging issues of the literature, including issues of diversity; extended time with the work of one author/illustrator allowed discoveries that built on earlier understandings; the voice of the author/illustrator confirmed students’ ideas and answered their questions; though the researcher attempted to play as small a role as possible in the study, I necessarily entered into the discussions; and, the longer we met and discussed as a group, the less the researcher became part of the group and the more the author/illustrator entered into the conversation.
Barbara Lehman (Advisor)
181 p.
Education, Language and Literature
Reader Response; Patricia Polacco; Intermediate grade students; Picturebooks; Literature Circles

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Dorr, C. H. (2004). A descriptive study of intermediate grade students' extended transaction with the picturebooks of author/illustrator Patricia Polacco [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1101158426

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dorr, Christina. A descriptive study of intermediate grade students' extended transaction with the picturebooks of author/illustrator Patricia Polacco. 2004. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1101158426.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dorr, Christina. "A descriptive study of intermediate grade students' extended transaction with the picturebooks of author/illustrator Patricia Polacco." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1101158426

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.