This Collected Family Stories unit is adapted from the Lucy Calkins’ Writer’s Workshop Narrative unit for Kindergarten. While teaching in an urban, Title-1 school in Los Angeles, I observed how students’ level of engagement and excitement increased in proportion to how much of a voice they had in our writing projects. Applying my professional knowledge of how to adapt and create standards-based curricula, I designed a narrative unit inviting students to recall and retell an experience that was particularly meaningful to them. During our one-on-one conferences, I recorded each student telling their story. Then I transcribed every story, leveraging the text as content for future Word Study and Shared Reading. Students’ faces beamed as they saw their story typed out.
During our final Writer’s celebration, I presented the culmination of their project – a bound book showcasing every student’s story. Student engagement increased twofold during the project and each student participated with minimal prompting. Ultimately, it provided a powerful community building classroom experience; students saw themselves as co-authors of their own education. When writing prompts are personally relevant and draw upon family and community, the learning can transform into something unusually long-lasting.
Collected Family Stories
Family means something different to everyone and is unique. Family can be Mamas, Dads, brothers and sisters. Family can be neighbors, good friends, Aunties, Abuelas, Abuelos, Grannys, Grandpas, baby sisters, cousins, caring adults, Godsisters, Godbrothers and Nannas. People who care about, love and are there for you can be family. Families gather around food, tell jokes, make stories, help each other solve problems, celebrate birthdays and share significant moments.
Kindergarten Room 5 carefully created this book of original stories and illustrations about special moments they want to share with their classmates and family members. I asked them to tell a story about a significant time for them connected to family they would want to share with their classmates and families. I audio recorded their stories and typed them up with Spanish translations. Then students added their wonderful matching illustrations.
Storytelling is an art practiced for thousands of years across the world that binds people together. The art of storytelling allows us to consciously reflect on life experiences and realize their importance to us. When we celebrate these experiences, we pass their meaning on to others as a gift and we are heard by our community. Collected Family Stories teaches us about students’ home and classroom culture and what is meaningful to them. They are proud of their work, as I am.
