Pushing. Typing. Clicking. Primary School Children Playing with Writing Tools

This article focuses on the writing processes of primary school children in the context of two different writing projects, in which typewriters, tablets and pens were used as writing tools. The children's written work was collected and the writing situations of 32 children were documented on video. In this article, we explore the research question of what potentials arise from playing with pens, typewriters and tablets for learning how to write texts. We draw on three theoretical concepts: the phenomenological understanding of writing as a corporeal activity (Herrmann,2024a), the appeal of things (Stieve, 2010) and the qualitative dimension of play that lends passion and liveliness to activities (Huizinga, 1938/2017). In terms of research methodology, we are guided by key incident analysis (Kroon & Sturm, 2007) as well as procedures from phenomenological vignete research (Schrat et al., 2012), which we apply to the description of video data. Using key incidents, we show how learning takes place in the

interplay between tools, people, and writing, and what potential arises from a play-tolerant or play-oriented didactic perspective for text writing in primary schools. [Publisher's Text]

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