by Jessica Allee
Why a Personal Literacy Narrative?
I begin each semester the same way, by asking my students to write a personal literacy narrative. I do this for several reasons. First, it serves as a diagnostic assessment; I can tailor future lesson plans to meet my students’ needs. Secondly, this assignment helps my students think introspectively about their relationship with literacy and how it has evolved over time. Thirdly, students get to know each other as they share their personal literacy narratives. Instead of asking students to critique each other’s work in the normal peer review sense, I ask students to put themselves in each other’s shoes and to consider what they can learn about each other.
Outcomes
Reactions to this assignment suggest one outcome is that students become more comfortable with each other. In a classroom where group activities help reinforce learning objectives, students need to feel heard and valued to get the most out of group activities. This assignment allows students the space to share pieces of themselves with their peers. and instead of going into sharing thinking that they will be evaluated for their writing prowess, they go into it with the expectation that their stories will be heard and valued. Reactions to this assignment are varied, but all have been positive. Here are two responses:
“I think that starting this class with personal literacy stories was brilliant. It not only gives your professor insight into your writing style but also how literacy has affected your life. I also enjoyed getting to hear my peer’s literacy stories and share my own. I think it gives the people in your class more information about yourself that isn’t just a baseline like what is your name and where you are from.”
“This lesson helped me to expand my view of my classmates and helped me get to know them on a more personal level because a lot of students struggle with their personal literacy stories. Not everyone has a glowing past with reading and writing. A lot of students grow up struggling with literacy, so getting to hear about their trials and tribulations made me feel closer to them. But at the same time, I enjoyed hearing about their triumphs with literature and how a teacher or impactful figure changed their personal literacy story.”
Personal Literacy Narrative Writing Instructions
During week one, I ask my students to consider how reading and writing have impacted their lives. They brainstorm together, read a personal literacy story, and hear mine. Then I provide them with the following instructions:
What was one of your first experiences with reading and/or writing that impacted your life for better or for worse? Write about it.
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Describe the impact your experience has had on you (personally, educationally, socially, etc.)
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Set the scene. When did it take place? Where? With whom?
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Express your feelings. How did you feel when this experience took place? How have you felt since then?
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Describe the lesson you learned. What effects did it have on you when it occurred? Does it still affect you the same now or has it changed over time? What insights can you impart for others to learn from?
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2 ½ – 3 double-spaced pages, Times New Roman, 12-point font
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Submit as a Word doc or PDF
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This assignment does not need to be perfect. In fact, it should be flawed. Just get ideas flowing and you can polish it later.
Sharing Personal Literacy Narratives
After personal literacy narratives have been submitted to me, I ask students to share their stories with their peers. However, before providing them with the instructions, I share my own story and acknowledge that sharing stories can be intimidating. I emphasize that everyone has a story that is worthy and that has led them all to the same space, my composition classroom.
Instructions for the Group Activity: Share Your Personal Literacy Stories
Take turns sharing your personal literacy stories with your
peers.
- After each reading, take several minutes to provide the
following feedback:- Provide positive feedback. What did the writer do well?
- Identify elements of style each writer uses to convey their message. Think
in broad terms (i.e., organization, content, punctuation and grammar) and
in more specific terms (i.e., alliteration, repetition, metaphor, simile). - Were there any lingering questions that weren’t answered in the
narrative? - Do you have any suggestions for improving organization, tone, content,
and/or style?
- At the end, have a group discussion in which you place
yourself in each other’s shoes. Discuss this question:- What do you have to learn from each other’s experiences with literacy?
- What did it feel like to imagine yourself in your peers’ shoes?
- How are your stories similar?
- How are they different?
- What did you learn about yourself through this experience?
- What was it like to, in some ways, make yourself vulnerable by sharing your literacy story?
- Consider how experiences with literacy help people examine other’s
experiences to help them understand beliefs, values, and perspectives on
life. - Discuss as a group. Be prepared to share your finding with the class.
Follow-Up
About one week after sharing personal literacy narratives with their peers, I follow up with students by asking them to respond to a discussion board entry:
During weeks 1-3, you have had the opportunity to consider your own literacy story in addition to your peers’ literacy stories. What have you learned from this experience? In what ways have your perspectives of others in the class and their experiences expanded? Think in terms of how you have had the opportunity to put yourselves in your peers’ shoes by reading their literacy stories. What was this like? What did you learn? What was it like to, in some ways, make yourself vulnerable by sharing your literacy story? Discuss in a minimum of 3 fully developed paragraphs or approximately 400 words. Please post directly to the discussion board and comment on at least 2 of your peers’ threads. I look forward to reading your entries!
Jessica is a first-year doctoral student studying rhetoric, composition, and literacy at the University of Arkansas. Her research interests include Narrative Medicine, stories of illness, and pedagogical practices in literature and composition classrooms that engender empathy between students.
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