"Hice Zoom con Mi Abuelita": Children's Pandemic Experiences as Revealed in Their Writing

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Research in a Pandemic

Abstract

This exploratory study aims to provide agency and voice to first- and second- grade emergent bilinguals as they process 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 “cannot handle” the details or scope of this global health crisis. Students’ narratives illustrated a profound awareness of the cultural, social, psychological, and academic impacts of covid-19. This paper demonstrates that children can, indeed, understand and articulate complex lived experiences, while also confirming the value of writing and drawing as powerful invitations for children to communicate and process. This project highlights the resilience of children who have been living through the covid-19 pandemic.

Authors

• Rhianna Henry Casesa, Sonoma State University

• Aja E. LaDuke, Sonoma State University