An Integrated Strategy Approach Combining Observation and Drawing for Informational Writing

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of a strategy that integrated observation and drawing on the development of fifth-grade students' informational writing. Between-group and within-group analyses were conducted on participants' written descriptions before and after strategy instruction. Students who received the strategy instruction (n = 20) included significantly more descriptive elements and descriptive phrases and had higher word counts in their writing from pretest to posttest than students in the comparison group (n = 14). Implications for future research and practice are discussed.