The trouble with "getting personal": New narratives for new times in classroom writing assignments

This article explores and interrogates the common practice of asking students to write personal narratives within elementary English Language Arts classrooms, addressing some of the difficulties that may arise when students are required to share personal details. Using interview and focus-group data...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:English teaching : practice and critique 2013-12, Vol.12 (3), p.102
Main Authors: Laidlaw, Linda, Suzanna So-Har Wong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adoption
Bias
Canada
Classrooms
Educational Environment
Educational Research
Elementary education
Elementary School Students
Elementary School Teachers
English Instruction
Focus Groups
Foreign Countries
Interviews
Language arts
Learning Processes
Narratives
Parents
Problems
Student writing
Systems Approach
Teacher Educators
Writing (Composition)
Writing Assignments
Writing instruction
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Summary:This article explores and interrogates the common practice of asking students to write personal narratives within elementary English Language Arts classrooms, addressing some of the difficulties that may arise when students are required to share personal details. Using interview and focus-group data from a study of internationally adopted children and schooling, and a number of autobiographical experiences, using a complexity thinking frame, we address some of the challenges such assignments can present for students who have diverse cultural, family or life history backgrounds. We examine some teacher biases that can present difficulties within writing assignments and present some new narrative possibilities and literacy practices that can be more inclusive of all students and acknowledge diversity.
ISSN:2059-5727
1175-8708
1175-8708