The
Craft of Writing through Narrative History
is designed for bilingual students in the third grade. It introduces students to social studies through literature and writing by using stories about people. I will focus my lessons around a collection of biographies about children in history and two autobiographies--a bilingual autobiography by an artist and an autobiography by a civil rights heroine. The lessons will explore the lives of people and their perspectives on the world around them through narrative histories. I think a first person point of view will motivate my students to get excited about writing.
Students also examine selections from literature as models for their own writing; investigate the events that shaped the author’s stories; and relate what they learn about other people to their own lives. In the end students will write their own narratives to help them understand more about themselves and to understand their own place in history. Florence Krall writes … “the journey inward becomes an ongoing process that leads outward to a more complete understanding of the human condition. Self-understanding is not merely a reflection on what we are but what we are in relation to the world. Self-understanding comes to us via our unique perceptions of the world which are inherent upon our individual abilities as well as on our social cultural histories” (Graham 119). Understanding the world and how the students are a part of it is the general theme throughout this unit. Insofar as my students have experienced first hand the types of events that they will read about in the biographies and autobiographies, the unit will be relevant and therefore meaningful.
We choose to express ourselves through writing. Writing gives our thoughts a home, a place where they can settle and take shape. Writing allows expression of our imagination in a way that visual images cannot because language is filled with nuance and shared meaning. Writing also records oral history so that other cultures and societies can share in each others stories. The focus of writing through narrative history is to encourage students to flourish within their culture as well as in the larger society.
I want to help my students learn what it means to be who they are, to know where they come from, and to show them how they are a part of American history. I feel I can do this through literature, storytelling, and writing. I believe bilingual students in American society need to learn how to use and understand English without denying their own language. My primary goal in my classroom is to use discussion, debate, and journaling to develop decisive, critical thinkers. Through the use of historical literature that focuses on Hispanic traditions and some challenges of American society, students will explore their own cultural heritage as well as their American history. Students can then make historical connection with the past and try to understand how these events can still touch their daily lives.
Research studies indicate that when students can relate their daily life experience as well as prior knowledge to the content of literature, they are better able to understand and assimilate new concepts and knowledge; hence the engaging of narrative style through literature may result in a student’s discovery and retention of historical concepts (Farris 74).
Donald Murray also supports this theory for using literature to make connections in order to help students retain information. In his book,
Write to Learn,
Murray says: “the narrative’s story telling style can be a pivotal component in using description to show the reader what is taking place. Historical facts placed in a story persuade the reader to stay interested long after the information has been passed. The story then develops into a sequence of events encouraging the reader to respond, creating an inter-active experience” (246).
Integrating reading and writing into social studies adds variety and interest for students, so that students, sparked by material that touches their own lives, will participate in open discussions, that will lead to questions about the world around them. In participating in such an exercise students will find their own writing voice through narrative form and they will explore various historical views including their own. Writing also allows students to interact with literature by forcing them to take ownership of what they read and providing them with the opportunity to reflect. They can then develop skills such as critical thinking, planning, and responding.
Author Pamela J. Farris provides the five stages of the writing process: “prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing” (75). In prewriting students gather information before they begin to write. Students must demonstrate that they know how to locate reference materials and sources, plan the type of writing they will do (in this case narrative) and use graphic organizers, outlines, and webs. Through a series of teacher generated questions, students will discuss what they already know, what they want to learn, and what they have learned to create a list of information. This information is later used in their writing.
Drafting is the stage when students write down their main ideas in an organized manner with a clear beginning, middle, and end. In the revising stage, the student rereads the draft and makes any necessary changes in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar. The editing stage combines the modifications in content and punctuation.
Publishing is the final stage. At this stage students are encouraged to share their work with each other. Once students have spent the time gathering information and doing their rewrites, publishing offers them the chance to finally share all that they have learned and collected in their finished work. It is an opportunity for students to see how an audience reacts to what they have written. All lessons in this unit will go through the five stages of the writing process.
It is important to integrate learning through a variety of texts. Because of the different reading levels in my classroom I have chosen a combination of books that students can read on their own or listen to because the reading level of the book is difficult. These books reach back into America’s past as well as into contemporary issues. These texts include
We Were There, Too! Young People in U.S. History
by Phillip Hoose, a collection of young people’s stories during the time periods of 1492 to present. All of the stories in this book are factual, taken from the diaries and the interviews of the actual people. This collection will serve as the catalyst for the student’s own journal, story telling, and writing activities. Next, we will read the bilingual book
Family Pictures/Cuadros de familia.
Artist and author Carmen Lomas Garza uses her art and her family’s story to describe what it was like growing up in a border town.
Through My Eyes: The Story of Ruby Bridges
as told by Ruby Bridges is an incredible story of how a six-year-old girl became a symbol for the Civil Rights movement and was propelled into American history. Lastly, I will use
Kids Explore America’s Hispanic Heritage: Westridge Young Writers
Workshop
. This book organizes writings by students in grades three to seven around topics of Hispanic culture, including dance, cooking, games, history, art, songs, and role models. By incorporating these types of books into the curriculum not only will students be challenged but the books allow them to be able to explore their own cultural history as well as the history of others. Students will be able to make connections among historical events using real life experiences that are recognizable and meaningful in their daily lives.
