ABSTRACT
Although teachers intuitively view personal narrative as a foundation for advancing from oracy to literacy (Phillips, 1999), they seldom think about how children develop their narrative ability or the kinds of narratives children use. Furthermore, they seldom consider whether narratives are a sophisticated form of play and social interaction that children use to make sense of print. Because many teachers are aware of the importance of children’s narratives, they provide opportunities for children to tell stories in their classrooms. As a result, children begin to explore and develop their narrative voice. They also experiment with ways of using their narrative voice to make their stories credible. When teachers begin to question how children are developing their storytelling abilities, they realize that children are actively constructing ways to make listeners attend to their stories. Shared Journal is a specific strategy that teachers can use to help children develop their storytelling abilities. It provides children with the opportunity to develop and use narrative voice as they share stories from their lives. This chapter documents how children’s opportunities for social interaction and sharing oral and written narratives during Shared Journal help them begin to develop that narrative voice. It explains how children hypothesize about what makes a credible story that their classmates and friends will value and enjoy.
