Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates multimodal assessment in the South African higher education context. The communication landscape of students is becoming increasingly multimodal, resulting in a shift away from higher education institutions’ preferred mode (that is, the written mode). This is partly as a result of the digital era in which we live, as the verbal, visual and audio modes co-exist to make meaning, thereby creating new forms of text (Iedema 2003: 33). Although there is a common acceptance that the communication landscape has changed, higher education institutions still seem to consider the written text and written communication as the most dominant form of meaning-making (Lea 2004: 743). Thus, there is a disparity between the types of literacies with which students arrive at university, and the types of literacies that they are expected to use in university. I argue that this disparity is problematic for education, and maintain that pedagogies be transformed in order to resolve this issue. In this way, students will be able to “benefit from learning in ways that allow them to participate fully in public, community, and economic life” (Cazden et al. 1996: 60). Data for this research includes assignments that were produced by second-year students of Applied English Language Studies, a subject offered by the Department of General Linguistics at Stellenbosch University. These assignments include a multimodal component as well as a formal, written component. Analysis of their assignments revealed that students show great dexterity in their creations of multimodal texts. Apart from their design skills, it was revealed that students have knowledge of a wide variety of social discourses, which is currently mostly ignored in the education context. Thus, I propose that this knowledge, along with the digital and visual design skills with which students arrive at university, be valorised and utilised as an entry point for the teaching of linguistic literacy. This proposal is partly supported by schema theory, a cognitive theory of learning, which entails that existing knowledge is used as a platform on which to build new knowledge. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek multimodale assessering in die Suid-Afrikaanse hoër onderwys konteks. Die kommunikasie landskap van studente word al hoe meer multimodaal wat ʼn skuif weg van die voorgekeurde modaliteit (die geskrewe) in hoër onderwys teweegbring. Dit is gedeeltelik a.g.v. die digitale era waarin ons leef waarin die verbale, visuele en klank modaliteite saam gebruik word om betekenis te skep; dus word nuwe vorme van teks geskep (Iedema 2003: 33). Alhoewel daar algemeen aanvaar word dat die kommunikasie landskap verander het, beskou hoër onderwys instansies nog steeds die geskrewe teks en geskrewe kommunikasie as die dominante vorm van betekenisskepping (Lea 2004: 743). Daar is dus ʼn gaping tussen die tipes geletterheid waarmee studente by die universiteit opdaag en watter daar van hulle verwag word om te gebruik in die universiteit. Ek voer aan dat hierdie gaping problematies is vir opvoedkunde en stel voor dat pedagogie verander moet word om dit aan te spreek. Op hierdie manier kan studente voordeel trek op maniere wat hul toelaat om ten volle deel te neem aan publieke, gemeenskaplike en ekonomiese lewe (Cazden et al. 1996: 60). Data vir hierdie navorsing sluit opdragte in wat deur tweede jaar Applied English Language Studies (ʼn vak wat deur die Departement Algemene Taalwetenskap by Stellenbosch Universiteit aangebied word) studente uitgevoer is. Die opdragte sluit ʼn multimodale element sowel as ʼn formele geskrewe element in. Analise van die opdragte wys dat studente vaardigheide het in die produksie van multimodale tekste. Behalwe die produksie vaardighede wys die analise ook dat hierdie studente kennis het van ʼn wye reeks sosiale diskoerse wat op die oomblik meestal geïgnoreer word in die opvoedkundige konteks. Ek voer dus aan dat hierdie kennis sowel as die digitale- en visuele produksie vaardigheide waarmee studente by die universiteit opdaag, gevalideer en gebruik word as ingangspoort vir die aanleer van talige geletterheid. Deels word die voorstel deur skema teorie ondersteun, ʼn teorie wat in kognitiewe benaderinge tot leer ontwikkel het en wat voorstel dat bestaande kennis gebruik kan word as ʼn platform om nuwe kennis te bou.

Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar como os discursos na área da alfabetização são representados nos “novos” livros de alfabetização por autores didáticos e editoras, a partir dos princípios e critérios do Programa Nacional do Livro Didático (PNLD 2010) que guiaram a sua seleção. Para tanto, conto com a perspectiva teórica dos Estudos Culturais pós-estruturalistas e pós-modernos, privilegiando a análise do circuito de produção, regulação e consumo dos discursos de alfabetização em quatro exemplares dos livros didáticos destinados ao 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental de Nove Anos (EFNA), buscando examinar como eles se originaram, isto é, que condições históricas e conjunturais possibilitaram a sua formulação. As questões norteadoras desta tese são: como o PNLD, enquanto programa governamental, constitui quais discursos na área da alfabetização são válidos para a produção, regulação e consumo de livros didáticos na edição de 2010? Como são representados nos livros didáticos examinados nesta tese e destinados ao 1º ano do EFNA os discursos sobre alfabetização por seus autores e editoras? Como tais discursos de regulação e produção constituem as escolhas docentes e, por consequência, o consumo de determinados discursos na área da alfabetização? Para realizar esta investigação foram analisados os seguintes documentos: o Edital de Convocação do PNLD 2010, o Guia do Livro Didático do PNLD 2010 e quatro dos 19 livros didáticos selecionados para o “novo” 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental, por meio do PNLD 2010, pertencentes à Coleção Letramento e alfabetização linguística, incluindo o Manual do professor, sendo estes quatro os mais escolhidos pelas escolas da Rede Municipal de Ensino de Porto Alegre. Tomando como referência os artefatos acima citados e considerando-os como parte do circuito de produção, regulação e consumo dos discursos sobre alfabetização e letramento nos livros didáticos selecionados pelos PNLD 2010, esta tese constata que – ao que parece – as disputas entre métodos “tradicionais” e “inovadores” de alfabetização dão espaço para uma bricolagem deles, atualizando-os por meio do discurso sobre a consciência fonológica que, por sua vez, é associado aos da psicogênese da língua escrita e do letramento para produzir a coleção Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística do PNLD 2010. / This research aims at analyzing how the discourses in the area of literacy are represented in the “new” literacy books by authors and publishers, from principles and criteria of National Program of Textbooks (Programa Nacional do Livro Didático, PNLD 2010), which guided the selection of textbooks. To do so, I rely on the theoretical perspective of poststructuralist and postmodern cultural studies, privileging the analysis of the production, regulation and consumption of discourses related to literacy in four exemplars of textbooks for the 1st year of basic education of nine years (EFNA), seeking to examine how they were formed, that is, which historic and conjuncture conditions made their formulation possible. The guiding questions of this dissertation are: how PNLD, while governmental program, determines which discourses in literacy area are valid for production, regulation and consumption of textbooks in the 2010 edition? How are the discourses about literacy represented in the textbooks examined in this dissertation, which are destined to the 1st year of EFNA, by their authors and publishers? How do such discourses of regulation and production determine the teachers’ choices and, therefore, the consumption of certain discourses in the area of literacy? To conduct this research analyzed the following documents: the textbooks for literacy of PNLD 2010, the Guide Book Guided PNLD 2010 and four of the 19 textbooks selected for the “new” 1st year of Elementary School through PNLD 2010, which belong to the collection Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística, including the teacher’s manual, these four being the most chosen by schools of Municipal Schools of Porto Alegre. Taking as reference the artifacts mentioned above and considering them as part of the production, regulation and consumption of discourses about literacy in textbooks selected by PNLD 2010, this dissertation finds that - apparently - the disputes among “traditional” and “innovative” methods of literacy gives room for a work on them, updating the discourse on the teaching of reading methods through the discourse of phonological awareness, which is associated to the written language psychogenesis and to the literacy to produce the PNLD 2010 collection Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística.

Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar como os discursos na área da alfabetização são representados nos “novos” livros de alfabetização por autores didáticos e editoras, a partir dos princípios e critérios do Programa Nacional do Livro Didático (PNLD 2010) que guiaram a sua seleção. Para tanto, conto com a perspectiva teórica dos Estudos Culturais pós-estruturalistas e pós-modernos, privilegiando a análise do circuito de produção, regulação e consumo dos discursos de alfabetização em quatro exemplares dos livros didáticos destinados ao 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental de Nove Anos (EFNA), buscando examinar como eles se originaram, isto é, que condições históricas e conjunturais possibilitaram a sua formulação. As questões norteadoras desta tese são: como o PNLD, enquanto programa governamental, constitui quais discursos na área da alfabetização são válidos para a produção, regulação e consumo de livros didáticos na edição de 2010? Como são representados nos livros didáticos examinados nesta tese e destinados ao 1º ano do EFNA os discursos sobre alfabetização por seus autores e editoras? Como tais discursos de regulação e produção constituem as escolhas docentes e, por consequência, o consumo de determinados discursos na área da alfabetização? Para realizar esta investigação foram analisados os seguintes documentos: o Edital de Convocação do PNLD 2010, o Guia do Livro Didático do PNLD 2010 e quatro dos 19 livros didáticos selecionados para o “novo” 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental, por meio do PNLD 2010, pertencentes à Coleção Letramento e alfabetização linguística, incluindo o Manual do professor, sendo estes quatro os mais escolhidos pelas escolas da Rede Municipal de Ensino de Porto Alegre. Tomando como referência os artefatos acima citados e considerando-os como parte do circuito de produção, regulação e consumo dos discursos sobre alfabetização e letramento nos livros didáticos selecionados pelos PNLD 2010, esta tese constata que – ao que parece – as disputas entre métodos “tradicionais” e “inovadores” de alfabetização dão espaço para uma bricolagem deles, atualizando-os por meio do discurso sobre a consciência fonológica que, por sua vez, é associado aos da psicogênese da língua escrita e do letramento para produzir a coleção Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística do PNLD 2010. / This research aims at analyzing how the discourses in the area of literacy are represented in the “new” literacy books by authors and publishers, from principles and criteria of National Program of Textbooks (Programa Nacional do Livro Didático, PNLD 2010), which guided the selection of textbooks. To do so, I rely on the theoretical perspective of poststructuralist and postmodern cultural studies, privileging the analysis of the production, regulation and consumption of discourses related to literacy in four exemplars of textbooks for the 1st year of basic education of nine years (EFNA), seeking to examine how they were formed, that is, which historic and conjuncture conditions made their formulation possible. The guiding questions of this dissertation are: how PNLD, while governmental program, determines which discourses in literacy area are valid for production, regulation and consumption of textbooks in the 2010 edition? How are the discourses about literacy represented in the textbooks examined in this dissertation, which are destined to the 1st year of EFNA, by their authors and publishers? How do such discourses of regulation and production determine the teachers’ choices and, therefore, the consumption of certain discourses in the area of literacy? To conduct this research analyzed the following documents: the textbooks for literacy of PNLD 2010, the Guide Book Guided PNLD 2010 and four of the 19 textbooks selected for the “new” 1st year of Elementary School through PNLD 2010, which belong to the collection Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística, including the teacher’s manual, these four being the most chosen by schools of Municipal Schools of Porto Alegre. Taking as reference the artifacts mentioned above and considering them as part of the production, regulation and consumption of discourses about literacy in textbooks selected by PNLD 2010, this dissertation finds that - apparently - the disputes among “traditional” and “innovative” methods of literacy gives room for a work on them, updating the discourse on the teaching of reading methods through the discourse of phonological awareness, which is associated to the written language psychogenesis and to the literacy to produce the PNLD 2010 collection Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística.

Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar como os discursos na área da alfabetização são representados nos “novos” livros de alfabetização por autores didáticos e editoras, a partir dos princípios e critérios do Programa Nacional do Livro Didático (PNLD 2010) que guiaram a sua seleção. Para tanto, conto com a perspectiva teórica dos Estudos Culturais pós-estruturalistas e pós-modernos, privilegiando a análise do circuito de produção, regulação e consumo dos discursos de alfabetização em quatro exemplares dos livros didáticos destinados ao 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental de Nove Anos (EFNA), buscando examinar como eles se originaram, isto é, que condições históricas e conjunturais possibilitaram a sua formulação. As questões norteadoras desta tese são: como o PNLD, enquanto programa governamental, constitui quais discursos na área da alfabetização são válidos para a produção, regulação e consumo de livros didáticos na edição de 2010? Como são representados nos livros didáticos examinados nesta tese e destinados ao 1º ano do EFNA os discursos sobre alfabetização por seus autores e editoras? Como tais discursos de regulação e produção constituem as escolhas docentes e, por consequência, o consumo de determinados discursos na área da alfabetização? Para realizar esta investigação foram analisados os seguintes documentos: o Edital de Convocação do PNLD 2010, o Guia do Livro Didático do PNLD 2010 e quatro dos 19 livros didáticos selecionados para o “novo” 1º ano do Ensino Fundamental, por meio do PNLD 2010, pertencentes à Coleção Letramento e alfabetização linguística, incluindo o Manual do professor, sendo estes quatro os mais escolhidos pelas escolas da Rede Municipal de Ensino de Porto Alegre. Tomando como referência os artefatos acima citados e considerando-os como parte do circuito de produção, regulação e consumo dos discursos sobre alfabetização e letramento nos livros didáticos selecionados pelos PNLD 2010, esta tese constata que – ao que parece – as disputas entre métodos “tradicionais” e “inovadores” de alfabetização dão espaço para uma bricolagem deles, atualizando-os por meio do discurso sobre a consciência fonológica que, por sua vez, é associado aos da psicogênese da língua escrita e do letramento para produzir a coleção Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística do PNLD 2010. / This research aims at analyzing how the discourses in the area of literacy are represented in the “new” literacy books by authors and publishers, from principles and criteria of National Program of Textbooks (Programa Nacional do Livro Didático, PNLD 2010), which guided the selection of textbooks. To do so, I rely on the theoretical perspective of poststructuralist and postmodern cultural studies, privileging the analysis of the production, regulation and consumption of discourses related to literacy in four exemplars of textbooks for the 1st year of basic education of nine years (EFNA), seeking to examine how they were formed, that is, which historic and conjuncture conditions made their formulation possible. The guiding questions of this dissertation are: how PNLD, while governmental program, determines which discourses in literacy area are valid for production, regulation and consumption of textbooks in the 2010 edition? How are the discourses about literacy represented in the textbooks examined in this dissertation, which are destined to the 1st year of EFNA, by their authors and publishers? How do such discourses of regulation and production determine the teachers’ choices and, therefore, the consumption of certain discourses in the area of literacy? To conduct this research analyzed the following documents: the textbooks for literacy of PNLD 2010, the Guide Book Guided PNLD 2010 and four of the 19 textbooks selected for the “new” 1st year of Elementary School through PNLD 2010, which belong to the collection Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística, including the teacher’s manual, these four being the most chosen by schools of Municipal Schools of Porto Alegre. Taking as reference the artifacts mentioned above and considering them as part of the production, regulation and consumption of discourses about literacy in textbooks selected by PNLD 2010, this dissertation finds that - apparently - the disputes among “traditional” and “innovative” methods of literacy gives room for a work on them, updating the discourse on the teaching of reading methods through the discourse of phonological awareness, which is associated to the written language psychogenesis and to the literacy to produce the PNLD 2010 collection Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:32:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrea Guida Bisognin.pdf: 1536157 bytes, checksum: c2e50cad2a9e3dc1e3f30408ebe9f82f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The main object of this research is the process of choosing the books of the Programa Nacional do Livro Didático (PNLD) and focuses on the selection of collections from Literacy and Initial Linguistic Literacy by teachers who teach in public schools at Guarulhos-SP to the extensions of Elementary School (Ensino Fundamental EF) during nine years. The research started on the analysis of the quality of teacher s participation regarding the specificity required by the task of choosing the books for First and Second years of this segment of Basic Education should consider the conditions under which the PNLD is held. Accordingly, aspects of the microstructure, such as school organization for the selection of textbooks, are discussed in the relation with the macrostructure the actions of the federal government, the commercial practices of publishers, the municipal level of management on the process, as well as national education policy that determine the enrollment of children in Elementary School from six years old. To describe the practices experienced by the Guarulhos´s teachers during the choice of PNLD 2010 books on this network of relationships were used as sources: interviews with staff involved in the process of choice (teachers, coordinators, principals), reports written during the observations in loco, reports and official documents (federal and municipal) related to the regulations on Elementary School of nine years in the education system, on pedagogical matters and on the execution of PNLD. Authors such as Apple, Choppin and Gimeno Sacristán provide theoretical support for this analysis. This research allowed its author to: verify that the obstacles that hinder the process of selecting books for students enrolled in the 1st and 2nd years of Basic Education are similar to those already identified in previous research; observe that the specificities of this education segment were not taken into account, despite the changes, both in the organization of the municipal school system to incorporate to the Basic Education System children from age six, as well as in the guidelines on the teaching of reading, writing and speaking in those classes; identify aspects in the management of spaces of collective work in schools that have imposed limits on the possibilities of holding discussions on a teaching project for the acquisition of literacy of students in the early years of Basic Education, as well as making effective changes in the process of selecting textbooks, the recognition that the choice of these books from the last edition of the (PNLD) took place in the midst of a transition process, even in a school system in which debates on the registration of children in six years in the Basic Education began nearly ten years ago. And that, therefore, any attempt to analyze the quality of teachers' participation in the selection of book collections for students of 1st and 2nd years requires needs to be contextualized in the web of relationships that this research sought to weave / Esta pesquisa tem como objeto o processo de escolha dos livros do Programa Nacional do Livro Didático (PNLD) e focaliza a seleção das coleções de Letramento e Alfabetização Linguística por professores que lecionam na rede municipal de Guarulhos SP, no quadro da ampliação do Ensino Fundamental (EF) para nove anos de duração. Parte do princípio de que a análise da qualidade de participação dos professores frente à especificidade requerida pela tarefa de escolher as obras destinadas aos 1º e 2º anos desse segmento da Educação Básica deve considerar as condições sob as quais o PNLD se realiza. Nesse sentido, aspectos da microestrutura, como a organização escolar para a seleção dos livros didáticos, são analisados na relação com aspectos da macroestrutura as ações do governo federal, as práticas comerciais das editoras, a gestão do processo na esfera municipal, bem como a política nacional de educação que torna obrigatória a matrícula de crianças no EF a partir dos seis anos de idade. Para descrever as práticas vivenciadas pelos professores de Guarulhos durante a escolha dos livros do PNLD 2010 em meio a essa trama de relações são utilizados como fontes: entrevistas realizadas com agentes envolvidos no processo de escolha (professores, coordenadores, diretores), registros do diário de campo utilizado durante observações realizadas in loco, informes e documentos oficiais (federais e municipais) relacionados tanto à regulamentação do EF de nove anos nos sistemas de ensino, quanto às questões de ordem pedagógica e de execução do PNLD. Autores como Apple, Choppin e Gimeno Sacristán dão importante suporte teórico às análises realizadas. Esta pesquisa possibilitou: a verificação de que os entraves relativos ao processo de seleção dos livros destinados aos alunos matriculados em classes de 1º e 2º anos do EF guardam semelhança com aqueles já identificados em pesquisas anteriores a esta; a constatação de que não foram levadas em conta as especificidades relativas a esse segmento da escolaridade, apesar das mudanças ocorridas, tanto na organização do sistema municipal de ensino para a incorporação de crianças de seis anos de idade ao EF, quanto nas orientações relativas ao ensino da leitura, da escrita e da oralidade nessas turmas; a identificação de aspectos da gestão dos espaços de trabalho coletivo nas escolas que impuseram limite às possibilidades de realização de debates em torno de um projeto pedagógico relativo ao processo de alfabetização dos alunos dos anos iniciais do EF, bem como de efetivação de mudanças qualitativas no processo de escolha de livros didáticos; o reconhecimento de que a escolha dos livros didáticos da última edição do PNLD se deu em meio a um processo de transição, mesmo em uma rede de ensino onde os debates sobre a matrícula das crianças de seis anos no EF iniciaram há quase dez anos. E que, portanto, qualquer tentativa de análise da qualidade de participação dos professores na escolha das coleções destinadas a alunos do 1º e 2º anos do EF requer sua contextualização na trama de relações que esta pesquisa procurou tecer

Η παρούσα μελέτη διερευνά τον τρόπο με τον οποίο τα παιδιά πρωτοσχολικής ηλικίας νοηματοδοτούν τα έργα τέχνης, και ειδικότερα τους πίνακες ζωγραφικής, στο πλαίσιο μιας οργανωμένης διδακτικής συνθήκης που σχετίζεται με το πεδίο της γλωσσικής και εικαστικής αγωγής και ανάπτυξης. Συγκεκριμένα,ακολουθώντας την κοινωνιοσημειωτική προοπτική της Συστημικής Λειτουργικής Γλωσσολογίας (ΣΛΓ) καθώς και μία γνωστική προσέγγιση για τις τέχνες στην εκπαίδευση, αναλύονται οι γλωσσικές πραγματώσεις μιας ομάδας παιδιών νηπιαγωγείου που αφορούν στην ερμηνεία 10 επιλεγμένων από την εκπαιδευτικό-ερευνήτρια πινάκων ζωγραφικής στις διαδοχικές φάσεις μιας λειτουργικά νοηματοδοτημένης διδακτικής παρέμβασης. Η έρευνα προσανατολίζεται στις δυνατότητες για την ενεργοποίηση των προϋπαρχουσών εμπειριών και γνώσεων των παιδιών και των διαδικασιών συλλογισμού και μάθησης πάνω στο κείμενο κατά την την ερμηνεία των έργων τέχνης. Επιπλέον, εξετάζεται η προοπτική της εν λόγω διαδικασίας για εμπλοκή των παιδιών με ποικίλα κειμενικά είδη καθώς και με σημειωτικές διαδικασίες («ειδικές» μορφές γλωσσικής σημείωσης) που συναρτώνται άμεσα με τη μετάβαση από το πεδίο της κοινής, καθημερινής γνώσης στη συστηματική, εκπαιδευτική γνώση. Βάσει της ανάλυσης των αποτελεσμάτων, η νοηματοδότηση των πινακων ζωγραφικής από τα παιδιά συναρτάται άμεσα με ζητήματα ανάκλησης από την πρότερη εμπειρία και γνώση τους (οικογενειακό, κοινωνικό και διδακτικό πλαίσιο), καθώς και το συμφραστικό και κειμενικό πλαίσιο αναφοράς, χρήσης συγκεκριμένων κειμενικών ειδών (περιγραφή, εξήγηση, επιχειρηματολογία και αφήγηση) και εμπλοκής με σημειωτικές διαδικασίες (κατονομασία, γενίκευση, χρήση αιτιωδών και χρονικών συνδέσεων κ.ά.) που μπορούν να θεωρηθούν ως γλωσσικά επιτεύγματα εφόσον εμπίπτουν στο πεδίο της «γλωσσικής προετοιμασίας» για την μετάβαση στη σχολική γνώση. Τα παιδιά νοούνται ως κοινωνικά τοποθετημένα υποκείμενα που συνομιλούν προκειμένου να διαπραγματευτούν το νόημα ή να παράγουν νέα νοήματα. Με δεδομένο ότι η γλωσσική ανάπτυξη δε συνιστά μία απλή ατομική διαδικασία αλλά συντελείται μέσα και μέσω διαλόγων, μέσω, δηλαδή, της ανθρώπινης και κοινωνικής αλληλόδρασης που κατασκευάζει και διατηρεί τη γλώσσα, κατανοούμε τη σημαντικότητα του σχολείου ως πλαίσιο στο οποίο συντελούνται συστηματικές και στοχοθετημένες πρακτικές γραμματισμού. Εστιάζοντας στον γραμματισμό ως τόπο μετάβασης από την κοινή (commonsense) στη μη κοινή (uncommonsense) γνώση, στην παρούσα μελέτη αναλύονται οι γλωσσικές διεπιδράσεις παιδιών πρωτοσχολικής ηλικίας σε μια διδακτική παρέμβαση στοχευμένη στην νοηματοδότηση πινάκων ζωγραφικής βάσει του θεωρητικού πλαισίου που παρέχει η εκπαιδευτική γλωσσολογία του ρεύματος της συστημικής λειτουργικής γλωσσολογίας (ΣΛΓ). / The purpose of this study is to investigate the way in which kindergarteners make meaning of works of art, in particular paintings, within an organized didactic project to the field of language and art education. More specifically, based on the socio-semiotic perspective of educational linguistics in the frame of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as well as a cognitive approach to arts in education, the study focus on the linguistic developments of a group of Greek kindergarteners, during successive phases of an art-and-language literacy intervention, in their effort to construe 10 paintings selected by the teacher - researcher. Following SLF framework, language development does not constitute an individual process but occurs in and through dialogue, through, social interaction in specific socio-cultural context. By these means, systematic and meaningful school literacy interaction is to be considered the dialogic context in which the transition from commonsense to uncommonsense knowledge is taking place. Through the analysis of the exchanges between children and their preschool teacher, by employing the tools provided by SLF, the research aims to explore children’s pre-existing experience and knowledge as well as the learning and reasoning processes, when they are trying to construe art paintings. More specifically, it aims to explore how children are engaged with various genres (such as description, explanation, argumentative, narrative) as well as the semiotic processes ("specific" forms of linguistic semiosis) that are directly related to the transition from common to systematic, educational knowledge. After our analysis, the meaning-making of the paintings by the children are not only directly linked to the recall of past experience and knowledge (family, social and educational context) but, more interestingly, with the use of specific genre and with the engagement with semiotic processes (naming, generalization, use of causative and time connectors, etc.) which can be considered as linguistic achievements provided they fall into the "linguistic preparation" for the transition to school knowledge. Our findings offer some evidence for both for language-based learning and knowledge and for literacy specific semiotic processes.