Resumo

AGUIRRE, Rubiela  e  ALONSO, Leonor. Changes in verbal creativity: an analysis of figurative language found in texts written by school children. Letras [online]. 2008, vol.50, n.76, pp.280-334. ISSN 2791-1179.

In the basis of the idea that verbal creativity is related to figurative language, and that it constitutes a dimension of the imaginative function of language, this research work describes how verbal creativity in texts written by children at Basic School is improved, after a classroom pedagogical experience following the modality of a workshop. A set of exercises was proposed for the development of verbal creativity in the ludic, sensoperceptive, metaphorical and narrative fields of language. In order to illustrate the improvement during this pedagogical experience, an analysis of texts written by a child is presented. Such analysis was developed with support on the evaluation criteria for verbal creativity of Desrosiers (1978). An increasement of the quality of narrative structure as well as of language figures can be observed in the texts. Finally, the author foregrounds the importance of creating pedagogic performance models in order to promote the development of literary imagination in school children.

Palavras-chave : verbal creativity; figurative language; Basic School.