“That storrey reminse you to be cefl”: A multimodal analysis of a first-grader’s blended genre composition

Abstract

This study draws on theories of social semiotic perspectives on multimodality and genre as a social semiotic resource to examine one first-grader’s blended-genre nonfiction multimodal composition. Regan, the young author whose work is featured in this article, composed this sophisticated text during a nonfiction writing workshop in a school environment where she had the freedom to choose her topic and make design decisions. Regan’s elementary school is located in the southwestern United States. This multimodal analysis examined the visual and verbal semiotic resources that Regan used to construct her text and explored the meaning potentials of her semiotic choices. Findings show how the linguistic aspects of this first-grade text blended informational, persuasive, and personal narrative genres within an overarching nonfiction text structure. When creating her illustrations, Regan remixed design features and visual conventions from picturebook fiction to offer personal recount and sometimes fantastical narrative components. The images could also operate as a stand-alone image sequence within the overall composition. This study shows how this young author synthesized rich genre knowledge in sometimes unpredictable ways. It also highlights the necessity of curricular space, student-directed time, and opportunities to expand student engagement with the writing process and the ideas they wish to express.