Fantasiens afgørende rolle i skriveundervisning

Resumé

The article is based on an empirical study of children’s writing and writing enjoyment in so-called author schools for children in Denmark. The study shows that using their imagination in writing has great value for the participating children, and that the possibility for “making things up” themselves is vital for creating and maintaining their will and desire to write. The article analyzes what characterizes children’s experiences with imagination in writing in author schools. The analysis includes a rhetorical perspective from Giambattista Vico. Building on this, the article discusses how children’s experiences with imagination in writing in author schools can inspire reflections on literature and writing instruction in the Danish L1 school subject. The empirical method is exploratory and ethnographic. Through the rhetorical perspective, the article’s purpose is to connect children’s experiences from author schools with ideas about imagination, fiction, and writing in L1. The article concludes that statements about fiction writing from children in author schools align with ideas from rhetorical pedagogy regarding the central role of imagination in teaching and writing. The article thus argues empirically and theoretically that stimulating imagination in fiction writing can be a crucial element of both literature and writing instruction.