"Cuando Tenía Siete Años ...": Family Storytelling in Early-Years Online Bilingual Classrooms

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: The Power of Storytelling: Exploring Representations and (Re)Narrating Experiences Across Racialized and Marginalized Communities (Table 2)

Abstract

This paper presents findings from an ongoing ethnographic study that explores the ways three elementary teachers on the West Coast use humanizing family engagement practices to facilitate family literacy projects that place families and children at the center. The teachers were part of a 2020-2021 National Writing Project Fellowship for early career educators. The NWP believes sustained communities of practice are key to teacher growth and professional development. These three teachers invited parents into the (online) classroom to share stories of their lives as central texts. Dialogue between children and families created learning opportunities that resonate beyond the (metaphorical) school walls. Themes that emerge include a deep respect for families, questioning dominant forms of literacy, and joy.

Author

• Liz Murray, Bay Area Writing Project
  Presenting Author