Beyond the True Story: Student Choice in Narrative Writing: Kindergarten-6th Grade
Teaching personal narrative at the start of the year can be a powerful way to invite students to get to know each other, to create their own identity and life story via the narratives they choose to tell, and to set the stage for a year of meaningful, creative, powerful writing. However, lying just under the surface of this work lies the risk of blocking out some students who might not be ready to trust others with their stories. Some stories, some life circumstances, are just too precarious to share first thing in the school year–or maybe anytime during the school year. So what can you do to earn their trust? How do you build a community of writers who can trust each other at the start of the year? What options can you offer so that every child in your classroom feels welcome and included as a writer in your classroom?