In a few days, elementary school students will write either a personal or imaginative narrative in response to a prompt on the North Carolina Writing Test. They will do this in less than an hour, a feat both daunting and developmentally difficult. Students, teachers, and parents dread the arrival of the North Carolina Writing Test. For the past year, I have been working with elementary school teachers, helping them diffuse anxiety and finding ways to teach not to the test, but beyond it.
A great introductory step is for parents and teachers to help children see as writers by examining the work of others. There are a slew of personal narrative picture books to help children understand this genre made famous by the writing test. Be warned that personal narratives have a high potential of boring children. The most dull are those that have not been crafted into story, but depict "a slice of life". To make narratives personal to children, seek out those that make story sense.
In a recent teacher workshop, I shared Kathy May's Molasses Man (Holiday House, $16.95; ages 6-9). This "slice of life" narrative describes a day when a young boy makes molasses with his grandfather. There is a portrait of the grandfather, their relationship, and the stages of molasses making. The writing is factual and lacks strength as do the feelings of the story. The teachers were unimpressed and felt their students wouldn't care. I had to agree and wondered if this book would have been more successful as non-fiction.
Deborah Wiles' Freedom Summer (Atheneum, $16.00; ages 7-10) has much more connection potential. The story tells of two boys who are best friends. John Henry is black and Joe is white, and though they love the same things, segregation laws prevent them from doing everything together. They've compensated. Instead of going to the town pool, they dam a creek where they "jump in, wearing only our skins." Descriptions and a strong voice draw the reader into the kind of caring that builds as the boys anticipate the end of the law that has divided them. Early the morning that desegregation goes into effect, the two boys leave for the clear waters of the town pool, taking John Henry's lucky coin to dive for. On arrival, they discover workers have filled the pool with "hot spongy tar". Joe, wanting to shift the mood, suggests an ice pop which comes from a store John Henry has never entered. Joe hands his friend a nickel, but John Henry shakes his head and replies, "I got my own" and the boys walk into the store together. Lyricism and feelings will help children relate, better understand another era and discover the power of a personal narrative.
Just as strong, is Cristina Kessler's picture book, My Great-Grandmother's Gourd (Orchard, $16.95; ages 8 and up). Fatima, the heroine, lives in Sudan and she remembers the day a shinning pump was attached to the village well. In a series of sensory details, Fatima pulls down the pump's "long handle, so hard and smooth" and "a soft creaking noise fills the silence" to release a stream of clear water and celebration marked by cheering and beating drums. But as people push forward, Fatima pushes "outward to find my grandmother." Fatima's grandmother mourns the passing of a way of life when the baobab stored water. Out of respect and love, Fatima follows her grandmother's traditions and when the pump breaks, villagers who have jeered respect the older woman. The tenderness of the intergenerational relationship, strength of characters, and how the author achieved story success are all elements worth discussing with children.
In some elementary schools, the fourth grade teachers bear the burden of the writing test. Savvy schools are developing a team approach, and parents and teachers from earlier grade levels help young children understand stories and develop a passion for words. There are personal narratives aimed at a younger audience like Lee Wardlaw's Saturday Night Jamboree (Dial, $15.99;ages 5-8).0803721897 The voice has a strong country twang and rhythm, rhyme, and vivid words describe the thrilling nights of a young girl who welcomes unusual babysitters when her parents go out Western dancin'. Relatives and friends like Uncle Buffalo Beau and Jed who's clad in snake-skin boots rustle up grub and spin a mean tale But the best Jamboree is "when Mama and Daddy stay home with me" and sing "toe tappin' tunes and pretend to be ky-otes that howl at the moon."
Personal narratives can work at different levels as does Ralph Fletcher's Grandpa Never Lies (Clarion, $15.00; ages 5-8). The book begins with a strong slice-of-life feeling, describing a relationship between a young girl and her grandfather. The rhythmic text describes their conversations which mix natural and fantasy worlds where delicate lines of "blooming frost" are "winter elves who come at dusk with magical brushes to sketch on glass their silvery hue." All scenes end with a repeated refrain "And Grandpa never lies, so I know it's true" until midway through the book. Then there's a startling shift, marked by short surprising sentences that demand attention as we learn, "Then Grandma died. Suddenly." The tone of their relationship brings comfort as the child and grandfather ice fish at night and the story's rhythms also reappear; only now there are changes in language patterns and imagery that reflect a new depth in their relationship. All this in a book with under fifty words a page. There's power in letting children know that the few words they're allowed on a test can create a strong story.