In this paper I analyze the role of hindsight in narrative configuration. Configuration means the grasping together of disparate elements into a coherent whole. I argue that hindsight, importantly, brings the temporal constraints on what we can know to the fore, but is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, hindsight is an indispensable tool both…

Content is related to other aspects of writing, but exactly how they are related has remained unclear or has not received sufficient critical attention. Consequently, in most writing assessments, content has been treated as just one among several relatively distinct but equal elements. However, in this study, the authors have quantified these…

In contemporary contexts, young people are accustomed to life story; indeed, their lives are saturated with constructions of their stories and those of others, whether created by themselves or their "friends" on social networks. Multimedia outlets convey often detailed stories of more-famous others, whether celebrities or those experiencing…

Examines beginning readers' story dictation processes and products over a 16-month period. Investigates level of story structure, conventional expressions, internal responses, spatial-temporal setting, verb tenses, variety of tenses, connectives, anaphora, and dictation process adapting to a scribe. Finds overall development in ability to…

Describes the benefits that storytelling can have on the development of listening and reading comprehension and the enhancement of oral and written expression. Presents an example of how storytelling was used to realize these benefits in a third-grade classroom. (MG)

Students at Hauppauge Middle School are writing original children's stories and then telling these stories to preschool children. Before middle school students begin writing their stories, they participate in activities to help them develop a sense of their intended audience. As students write their stories, they work in small groups to discuss…

Surveys forms of narrative inquiry in educational studies. Outlines certain criteria, methods, and writing forms. Describes them in terms of beginning the story, living the story, and selecting stories to construct and reconstruct narrative plots. Describes two-part research agenda for curriculum and studies flowing from stories of experience and…