This paper provides an analysis of texts produced by children between 9 and 11 years of age, throughout one school year, as a free writing activity. Starting from the most frequent subjects and the way they are approached by the children, the text provides a contextual profile of this group of students attending 5th grade of a private school in an affluent area of Rio de Janeiro, and investigates their relationship with the task proposed, as well as the corresponding implications with teachers day- to-day practice. The investigations are based mainly on the theoretical contributions of Erik Erikson for clarification of emotional aspects of child development, and of Sara Pain for insights into the relationship between this and cognitive dimensions. As to the methodology used, it is an empirical study based on the analysis of the texts provided by the authors, complemented by data collected in the form of questionnaires answered by the writers themselves and by their parents, as well as descriptions provided by their teacher throughout the development of the activity. The author concludes with descriptions of the most remarkable traces of this group of children and reflections on the need to consistently address both experience and theoretical knowledge when it comes to educational practice.