ABSTRACT
Danita Kelley-Brewster is teaching writing. She is teaching her kindergartners that we all have stories to tell, that we tell stories about what we know, and that the most engaging stories are often about ordinary, everyday things. She is surrounding them with the sound and the language of story through the books she reads aloud and the stories she tells, language they'll be able to draw on as they craft their own stories on paper. She is setting the stage for the writers in this classroom to be known to each other and to themselves. And she does it by first making herself known to them. In this kindergarten, and in so many kindergartens across Boston and beyond, writing begins with the oral telling of stories. Children learn to tell stories that are personally significant, include specific details that evoke emotion, and reveal feelings when they hear stories that do those things.
