The effect of hop-opened book design activties on students' creative writing skills

Writing skills are fundamental not only for academic success but also for personal development, as they are frequently used in everyday life. Among basic language skills, writing is the most difficult to develop and stands out in terms of its cognitive, affective, and motor dimensions. Creative writing, on the other hand, is the process of blending one's imagination and experiences to produce original written works. Creative writing not only strengthens writing skills, but also supports critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical thinking skills. In order for individuals to define their role in society, this skill must be acquired at an early age and maintained throughout life. For this reason, it is necessary to pay special attention to primary school Turkish language classes, which play a critical role in developing creative writing skills, and to use different methods and techniques in the development of creative writing skills. One such method is pop-up books. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of pop-up books used in fourth grade Turkish language classes on students' creative writing skills. A mixed method consisting of quantitative and qualitative research methods was used in the collection and analysis of data. An explanatory sequential design was chosen for the study. The research was conducted with fourth-grade students at a public school in the center of Şanlıurfa during the 2023-2024 academic year. The study group consists of 42 students (21 in the experimental group and 21 in the control group). Within the scope of the research, the 4/E experimental group and the 4/D control group were formed. During the research process, creative writing activities based on creating pop-up books were carried out in the experimental group, while creative writing activities were carried out in the control group. Creative Writing Assessment Scale, The Adaptation Disposition Scale, semi-structured interview form, researcher diary, and student products were used to collect data. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired groups t-test and independent groups t-test. Qualitative data analysis was performed using descriptive analysis. According to the results of the study, creative writing activities based on creating pop-up books have been effective in significantly increasing students' writing tendencies and creative writing skills. In interviews, students participating in the program evaluated the process as creative, fun, innovative, and productive. Students stated that they developed a more positive attitude towards writing, actively used their imagination and expression skills, gained self-confidence by sharing their written work, and enjoyed the decoration and folding stages. The interviews are consistent with data obtained from researcher diaries and student products. In creative writing activities based on pop-up book materials, students experienced not only the act of creating a written text, but also an aesthetic production process. This has led to multifaceted developments in terms of formal writing styles, vocabulary, and originality. Keywords: Pop-up book, creative writing, writing tendency, creativity.