Writing and Literacy through the “Diary” Textual Genre: A Study with Sixth-Grade Elementary School Students at the 1st Walter Cabral Municipal Center for Applied Education

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the contributions of the diary textual genre to the development of writing and literacy among sixth-grade elementary school students at the 1st Walter Cabral Municipal Center for Applied Education. The pedagogical proposal was developed based on the short story De Escola by Machado de Assis, integrating students' prior knowledge and experiences to promote meaningful reading and writing practices. This research adopts a qualitative approach, with a bibliographic and experimental design conducted within the school context. Methodologically, the students produced their own diaries, recording experiences and reflections related to their daily lives, thereby expanding writing practices both inside and outside the school environment. The findings indicate that the use of the diary textual genre fostered the development of writing and literacy practices, promoting a greater understanding of the social function of written language and strengthening interaction in the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, diary writing contributed to the re-signification of writing by encouraging autonomy, expressive ability, knowledge retrieval, textual comprehension, and the development of competencies and skills related to language use in different social contexts.