Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the outcomes of creative story writing of third grade students when a drawing activity is used prior to writing. Sources of Data The teacher researcher used both quantitative and qualitative measures to analyze the students’ writing. A writing rubric using four measures: character development, plot build up, organization of writing and overall creativity, was used to score the papers. The word count was recorded as a quantitative measure also. All students were given a student survey with six questions regarding their opinions on writing and drawing. In addition, six students: three English Only and three English Language Learner students, were interviewed in depth about their feelings about writing and drawing. Within the three students of each subgroup there was a high, a medium and a low leveled writer. Conclusions Reached The teacher researcher found that the majority of the students, 13 of 15, improved their score on the writing rubric when they drew a picture before writing their fictional story. Due the limitation of a small sample size and multiple constraints on time the teacher researcher can not make any valid conclusions. The teacher researcher will continue to explore the outcomes of drawing and writing through different professional development groups, including the Area 3 Writing Project.