TABLE 1.

Sample Quotes for Two Descriptive Codes

Reading Interest: Get involved with plot, characters:

1st Grade: [Reading is fun because] if you really like a story, it’s like you’re going into stories when you’re reading it.

2nd Grade: Well, it’s like fun. It’s like adventure… It’s like I was someone in an explorer book, like Harry Potter, like I was part of the characters.

3rd Grade: I like reading about Mary Kate and Ashley; they’re twins, they’re in Hollywood. They’re like 13.

Creative Self-Expression: Like having choices, creative control

1st Grade: [Writing is] fun, and sometimes you get to write about whatever you want.

2nd Grade: Like if we get free writing, we get to write about anything you want and then that’s fun.

3rd Grade: Its fun to think about it, if you get to make the decisions, rather than, “OK, you write this, you write that.” Because it’s not your creation, it’s not your idea. It’s better if you got to make your idea.