A study of children’s redesign of a media universe in an ECEC context

Abstract

In this study, I take a social semiotic perspective on a group of children’s meaning-making of a media universe exemplified with the Lego universe Ninjago. The aim of the study is to investigate the children’s redesign of Ninjago, as it is expressed in a conversation during a colouring activity with characters from the universe. I conduct a text analysis of the conversation and especially of three sequences in order to examine how the children construct their interpretation of Ninjago. The analysis is conjoined to the concepts semiotic resource, available design, and redesign. In the discussion, I consider the relation between the physical and fictive reality, interaction with a media text, and a media universe as a place for exploration.