"I Don't Wanna Throw It Out the Window!" Dialogue as Cultural Strength in Preschool Narratives

• In Event: Culturally Responsive Literacy Education

Abstract

Dialogue use was examined in 150 personal narratives shared by 20 children (M= 62.35 months, SD= 4.5 months) who attended story-sharing circles implemented during a kindergarten readiness program serving a predominantly Black and high-poverty sample. Dialogue was used by 85% of the children in 69% of the stories. Descriptive analyses identified its three functions: to entertain and engage the audience, to represent and highlight multiple perspectives, and to appropriate a valued discursive style in the children’s cultural communities. We argue that these children's frequent and multifaceted use of dialogue, which they will not be formally taught until late elementary school, constitutes a narrative skill that should be recognized as a cultural strength that can serve as a springboard to literacy.

Authors

• Marsha D. Walton, Rhodes College

• Taylor Duncan, Rhodes College

• Meredith Schoel, Rhodes College

• Leticia Rosas, Rhodes College

• Eraine Eileen Leland, Rhodes College

• Kiren S. Khan, Rhodes College