School is in! Every September, many English teachers assign a narrative essay. Why do teachers do this? A narrative is an easy way to get to know our students, albeit not a particularly enjoyable assignment for some. Some students tell me they dislike narratives, but for the most part, most students want a chance to tell their story. 

Three Great Reasons for Narratives

• The stories are already inside themselves. Students can explore past memories and remember who or what experience taught them a life lesson.
• Narratives help me connect to my students. I can provide great feedback, have empathy with and for them, relate to them, or learn from them.
• Narrative writing helps students with important skills. Word choice, tone, imagery, and figurative language.

In my college writing course, the narrative has a little bit of a twist. Students need to write a literacy narrative. I use the Norton Field Guide to Writing e-book for my course. This book is excellent. So much good information is in this book. A literacy narrative “explores experiences with reading or writing, but…the definition includes experiences with various literacies, which might include learning an academic skill, a sport, an artistic technique, or something else.”

First, I have them read the Chapter about Literacy Narratives. Then, I use quick writes to spark their memories.

• What is your earliest memory of reading? Or any early memory about writing, reading, speaking, or another form of literacy that you recall vividly.
• Can you think of an event at school that is related to literacy (reading or writing) that you found interesting, humorous, or embarrassing?
• A literacy task (reading or writing) that you still find especially difficult or challenging, such as the ACT, testing in general, learning a new language, technology, or reading a class novel. 
• Someone who taught you how to do something literate, such as learn a new language, cooking, reading a recipe, reading a pattern, working on an engine, reading a book about it with your dad, or whatever (but these ideas must still have something to do with reading or writing).

Another activity is creating a cartoon strip about a literacy event in their life – learning to read, write, draw, play music, keep sports scores, read patterns, or something else. Here are some that I received over the years.

This last picture is kind of hard to see, but this cartoon is about how this student felt in grade school being put into a special class for reading and writing. Later, she learns she has dyslexia and was grateful for the extra work that she experienced.

The Power of Connection

During the peer review process, students learn from their peers. They connect with their classmates. We ask questions about our own stories and the moments that shaped our lives: How is my experience like his, hers, yours? How is it different? How did it make me who I am? What makes a good story? Narratives can help students feel “seen” in a classroom. Narratives can be fun to read. Funny, sometimes sad. Their stories are usually engaging with an honest voice. Sometimes, students report that their writing healed wounds from their past. I love that narratives have the power to connect us.