This article details a classroom-based study designed to provide agency and voice to first and second grade emergent bilinguals as they processed the COVID-19 pandemic. Two California teachers created a narrative writing unit not only to teach specific writing skills, but also to challenge pervasive deficit assumptions that young children…

Purpose: This exploratory study investigates the development of oral narrative retell proficiency among Spanish-English emergent bilingual children longitudinally from kindergarten to second grade in Spanish and English as they learned literacy in the 2 languages concurrently. Method: Oral narrative retell assessments were conducted with children…

This qualitative study examines Mexican-American emerging bilingual children's depictions of their lives in the form of written narratives and drawings as a window into their own understandings and interpretations of social contexts and life experiences. Narratives that include drawings were collected once a month in a first grade classroom during…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the home literacy environment (HLE) on the English narrative development of Spanish-English bilingual children from low-income backgrounds. Method: Longitudinal data were collected on 81 bilingual children from preschool through 1st grade. English narrative skills were assessed in the…

This qualitative policy study focuses on the implementation and perceived effect of a recent language policy making English a compulsory subject in primary Cycle One (grades 1-2) in Francophone public schools in the province of Quebec. Based on the analysis of narratives from interviews with four teachers, three resource teachers, and two…

The rationale for using critical autobiography projects in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction is discussed, and procedures for implementation are outlined. Writing a critical autobiography involves the student's presenting a personal narrative while exploring external factors influencing his life. Critical experiences in life provide…