ABSTRACT
The study investigated whether once children have become aware of the prototypical schema for stories, they are able to apply it to their productions, and then produce elaborate stories. Children attending the 2nd year of elementary school did a pre-test and a post-test, both involving writing an original story. After the pre-test, they were divided into an Experimental Group and a Control Group. Children in the Experimental Group received an intervention in which they were explicitly taught about the characteristics of stories. The stories written in both testing occasions were analysed according to their narrative structure and the use of cohesive devices. The intervention had a positive impact and resulted in the production of cohesive and elaborate stories. The data indicate relationships between metatextual awareness and the development of textual production. Educational implications for the teaching of writing texts at the beginning of elementary school are discussed.
Keywords:
Textual structure; Cohesive devices; Written stories; Children.