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Children’s Literacy Narrative Workshop

Digital Archives of Literacy Narratives (DALN)

Many of the literacy narratives contributed to the DALN revolve around some aspect of the story-teller’s childhood—memories of being read to by a parents, learning to spell in elementary school, trying in vain to keep up with an older sibling’s language skills.

Telling stories about learning to read and write is great way to get young children thinking about the way language functions in their own lives. This document outlines a Children’s Literacies Workshop that teachers can use to provide children the opportunity to tell their own stories related to reading, writing, or composing.

Children will be provided with a series of possible questions that prompt them to tell a story about learning to read and write or about memorable experiences that involved reading or writing. They then write or tell their literacy stories. Stories can be recorded (using video cameras or audio recorders), or they can be written.

With parents’ permission and help, students can upload their stories to the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN) where these accounts will be preserved and become part of a historical record of literacy practices that is fully accessible to the public, their families, and friends. This workshop not only proves useful in helping young children think about language, but it also produces keepsakes the children and their families would cherish for years to come.

Children’s first-hand literacy accounts can be submitted to the DALN in a number of digital forms: as written documents saved on a computer (.rtf or .doc), digital audio (.mp3 or .wav), digital video recordings (.mov or .wmv), or some combination of these approaches (e.g., students can write and submit a written story about their experiences reading and/or writing and then make an audio recording of their narrative and submit that as well). Because of privacy and safety concerns associated with public spaces on the Internet, literacy narratives uploaded to the DALN do not have to list students’ names and can remain anonymous. Teachers who plan to use video cameras for this workshop, are encouraged to help children create puppets (paper plate, sock, or otherwise) so that they can tell their story without compromising their identity or safety in online spaces.

Students can also upload family photographs, writing assignments, poems, email messages as artifacts for their stories.

Teachers will want to have students prepare their stories before this workshop, sending them home with instructions for the task and a description of the workshop for parents. (See the two sample letters below, and feel free to modify them.)

Purpose:

To help young children develop an awareness of the power of language in their lives—how it both reveals and creates a sense of self and a connection to those around us. To encourage children to become conscious of the choices they make in developing a storytelling persona.

Ideal Audience:

This workshop would probably connect best with students in 2nd through 5th grades. Although the younger children will probably connect more with the crafting element of this workshop (creating sock puppets to help them tell their stories), older students will probably have an easier time connecting their literacy stories with the aspects of recording family-history and reflecting on their personal language development since childhood.

Although the directions that follow are for video or audio narratives, children’s literacy stories can also be written or typed onto a computer. Many teachers have begin this activity by having all students write/type their stories (for a homework or in-class assignment) and then provide students the option of having their narratives recorded with a video camera or digital audio recorder.

Resources Needed:

• Aides/parents older students who know how to use an audio recorder or a video camera.

• Projection unit for showing/listening to literacy narratives.

• Audio/video recording devices for capturing stories.

• Computers for transferring video/audio files once recordings are finished.

• CDs/DVDs for burning narratives so that students can take their narratives home to share with the rest of the family.

• Supplies for puppets

o Sock puppets: Socks, pompom balls, felt cloth (for ears and mouth), googly eyes, pipe cleaners, glue (glue gun works best but requires adult supervision), etc.

o Paper plate puppets: Paper plates, popsicle sticks, crayons/markers, glitter, Elmer’s glue, pompom balls, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, etc.

Time and place:

Depending on the number of participants, this workshop can easily be completed in 2 to 2 ½ hours and should ideally be held in a space big enough that will allow participants to spread out and record without picking up too much noise from the other participants.

If teachers use video cameras and puppets, workshop space will also need surfaces upon which children can design and create their puppets. When video taping narratives, it might be aesthetically pleasing to use the chalkboard or a bookshelf as a backdrop.

Sample agenda:

• Begin by showing/listening to one narrative from the DALN that will give the students an idea of what a literacy narrative is as well as jump start their own memories about reading, writing, or composing. The following narratives hosted through the DALN feature children telling their own literacy narratives.

o Anonymous Boy's narrative about learning to read with his Grandmother

o Anonymous Boy's narrative about writing his first email

o Anonymous Girl's narrative about learning to write

o Hall Moore's narrative detailing how his 3rd grade teacher helped him learn to write

o Ellen Snyder's narrative about how she learned to read

• Allow 15 minutes to discuss narratives with students.

o What can we learn by listening to stories like the one we listened to?

o Why might other people be interested in hearing our stories about reading or writing? What can they learn from our stories? Why might that be important?

o Have you had similar experiences like the one we heard about in this story?

• Tell students that today they will get the chance to create their own story about reading and writing. Provide them suggested prompts to help them think of stories they might want to tell. (See handout included in this document.) Have students write and type their stories in class or at home.

• For classes videotaping students’ narratives, create puppets that students can use in telling their story. Be sure students are creating puppets that will represent them the way they want the world to see them. Allow 30-45 minutes for puppet preparation.

• Depending on the number of students, allow 30 minutes to an hour for students to have a teacher or aide record their story (in either audio or video form). To address safety and privacy concerns associated with the Internet, classes using video cameras should have students use puppets instead of recording faces. As recordings are completed, they should be transferred to a computer and burned onto CDs or flash drives so the students can take their narratives home to show to their families.

• Reconvene after everyone has recorded a story and allow fifteen minutes to discuss what kinds of stories the students told.

• Remind students to take their stories home to show to their parents. Parents can help upload their own children’s literacy stories directly to the Digital Archives of Literacy Narratives so that family and friends can access the children’s accounts. Alternatively, teachers provide parents/guardians with a set of 4 printed permission forms to sign and return. Once each of these 4 forms have been returned, teachers can upload the literacy narratives of a child. Teachers who are uploading students’ stories should make sure that parents/guardians have signed all four of the forms provided for this project: 1.) the DALN’s Consent Form, 2.) the Release Form, 3.) the Deed of Gift form, and 4.) the About this Narrative form. All of these forms can be downloaded from the following web page and duplicated for parents .

Dear Parents:

As part of our class, your child has created a literacy narrative about ___(subject matter)____, for which your child made an audio/video recording of his/her literacy narrative on __(date)___.

We would like to contribute this recorded audio narrative to the national Digital Archives of Literacy Narratives (DALN) and preserve it as a valuable historical record of reading and writing practices in the United States. The DALN is a digital archive of narratives about literacy and is similar to the StoryCorps project that many of you know from the popular National Public Radio series. All narratives in the DALN are available to the public on the Internet. These stories can be used by teachers, librarians, and scholars to improve literacy instruction. They can be freely accessed by families and community members, as well. We have attached an example of a literacy narrative for your information.

Attached, you will find 4 forms that must be signed by you and returned to me before we can contribute your child’s narrative to the Digital Archive of Literacy Narrative. Please read and return the forms to me. When filling out these forms, you can let the DALN know if you’d like your child (and his/her narrative) to remain anonymous.

DALN Informed Consent Form (minors)

This document makes sure that you are informed about the DALN project and can make an informed decision about participating in the project. It also informs you that know that your child’s literacy narrative will be posted publicly on the web where it will be searchable by web browsers.

DALN Release Form (minors)

This document affirms that the literacy narrative is the original work of your child and that it does not violate the rights, copyrights, trademarks, privacy, or reputation of any other person.

Deed of Gift Form (minors)

This document releases the literacy narrative and the copyright for this narrative to the DALN. (Because the literacy narrative will be publicly posted, the author can still use the narrative in any way he/she chooses.)

About Your Literacy Narrative (minors)

This document describes your child’s literacy narrative so that users of the DALN can find it within the collection.

If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to contact me at _[name/address/telephone]_.

Regards,

_____________________________

__[Date]__

Dear Parents:

If you were asked to tell a brief story about how you learned to read or write, or how you helped someone else learn to read or write, what story would you tell?

As part of my class, your child will have the opportunity to write a narrative about how he/she learned to read and/or write and to have his/her story recorded with a video camera. We will make sock puppets that students can use to help tell their stories so that students’ faces are not shown on these video recordings. We have attached an example of a written literacy narrative for your information.

In order to record a narrative at the workshop, your child will need to write his/her own __[one paragraph/one page/two page]___ narrative before __[date]__ . I have attached some sample prompts that students can use when identifying the story they want to tell.

Once we have video recorded these literacy narratives in class, I will send a copy home to you. If the story meets your approval, we have been invited to upload each child’s stories to the national Digital Archives of Literacy Narratives (DALN), where it will be preserved as a valuable historical record of reading and writing practices in the United States. The DALN is a digital archive of narratives about literacy and is similar to the StoryCorps project that many of you know from the popular National Public Radio series. All narratives in the DALN are available to the public on the Internet. These stories can be used by teachers, librarians, and scholars to improve literacy instruction. The narratives can also be freely accessed by families and community members, as well.

You can either help your own child upload his/her story by going to directly to the DALN web site or, if you prefer, you can return the story to me along with the attached permission forms (each of which must be signed) so that I can upload the story for you.

Attached, you will find the 4 forms that you will need to sign and return to me before we can contribute your child’s narrative to the Digital Archive of Literacy Narrative. Please read and return the forms to me. When filling out these forms, you can let the DALN know if you’d like your child (and his/her narrative) to remain anonymous.

Please sign and complete all 4 forms and have your child bring them along with his/her literacy narrative to class.

DALN Informed Consent Form

This document makes sure that you are informed about the DALN project and can make an informed decision about participating in the project. It also informs you that know that your child’s literacy narrative will be posted publicly on the web where it will be searchable by web browsers.

DALN Release Form

This document affirms that the literacy narrative is the original work of your child and that it does not violate the rights, copyrights, trademarks, privacy, or reputation of any other person.

Deed of Gift Form

This document releases the literacy narrative and the copyright for this narrative to the DALN. (Because the literacy narrative will be publicly posted, the author can still use the narrative in any way he/she chooses.)

About Your Literacy Narrative

This document describes your child’s literacy narrative so that users of the DALN can find it within the collection.

If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to contact me: _[name/address/telephone]_.

Sincerely,

SAMPLE LITERACY NARRATIVE

How I learned to Read

By N. B., 4th Grader

Every morning when I was 4 years old my mom would take me to my grandma’s house when my mom went to work out. When I knocked on the door to their house, I had a feeling that today is the day that I will learn to read.

Once I heard the squeak of the doorknob, I would slip off my shoes and sprint to the bookshelf as fast as a cheetah. I was so excited to read the first book of my life! The first book I picked out was Where is My Mommy?. The book was about a duck that lost his mom. Whenever the duck heard an awkward sound he would say “I know that is my mommy” but it really wasn’t. When I found a good book I would run to the kitchen to find a fresh banana and hop onto the couch. My grandma would be sitting on the couch waiting for me because she knew my routine.

When I opened the book to the first page I would take the first bite of the banana. I would get stuck on a few words but that is o.k. because I was a beginner. When I finished a book, I would go one step higher to chapter books. When I took the first bite of the banana, I would flip to the back of the book. If it was above 70 pages I thought that it was a long book and I was scared. My grandma was so proud of me, I could tell because she always had a smile on her face, and before you knew it I was done and I had to pick another good book!

In kindergarten I was sad because my little sister got to do what I did. I felt bad, like she was getting more attention. My sister got to eat fresh bananas and got to read and have fun with grandma. And all I did was sit in a chair at school, get bored and think about how lucky she was. When she is out of preschool, I won’t be complaining!

Prompts for Children’s Literacy Narrative Workshop

What is a literacy narrative?

A literacy narrative( is simply a story about how you learned to read, write, and compose—for example, about learning to read cereal boxes, learning to write plays, listening to bedtime stories, getting a first library card, or learning to create Web pages or write text messages. Literacy narratives in the DALN can also include samples of writing and composing.

Your narrative can focus on any memories of learning to read and/or write that are important and meaningful to you, but here are some suggestions to help you reflect on your own experiences:

• Tell a story about your earliest or best memory of reading.

• Tell a story about your earliest or best memory of writing.

• Tell about the kinds of reading and writing that were done around your house when you were little or when you were growing up. Were there books in your house? Comics? Music?

• Tell a story about what your parents/grandparents wrote (example: letters, journals, shopping lists, greeting cards, stories, poems).

• Tell a story that your parents/grandparents have told you about how they learned to read and write.

• Tell a story about how you first learned to use a computer. Who helped? Where was it? What did you use it for?

( Note: Students will go home with a digital copy of their literacy narratives as well as a handout on contributing to the DALN.

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The Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN), sponsored by Ohio State University, is a publicly available repository of literacy narratives in a variety of formats (print, video, audio) that, collectively, provide a contemporary and historical record of the literacy practices and values of diverse contributors.

We welcome all kinds of literacy narratives, and invite contributors to provide samples of their own writing (papers, letters, zines, speeches, etc.) and compositions (music, photographs, videos, sound recordings, etc.) that illustrate their literacy stories.

Researchers, scholars, librarians are invited to use this open-access national archive to study and research the literacy narratives and practices of people who have contributed their stories.

Faculty and graduate students are encouraged to incorporate archive narratives into their courses as instructional materials and to design assignments that involve students in creating their own literacy narratives and, if they wish, contributing them to the DALN.

People of all ages, races, communities, backgrounds, and interests are invited to contribute stories about how they learned to read, write, and compose meaning and how they continue to do so.

Contact Cynthia L. Selfe or H. Lewis Ulman for further information about using the DALN or questions about contributing narratives to the archive.

Visit the DALN web site, use the collection in your classes, contribute a narrative, and encourage others to contribute their stories.

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