DEVELOPING THE LITERACY
NARRATIVE
Memory Jogs
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Did anyone in your home write/text/play sports/listen to music, etc…?
Who were the people who had a role in your development as a
writer/texter/athlete/musician: parents, teacher, coaches, mentors, friends?
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Who taught you the most about your activity/literacy?
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What was the effect of feedback from others on your development?
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What did you learn about your activity/literacy at various points in your
life?
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What was your biggest success? Biggest failure?
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What motivates you? What gives you confidence? What causes anxiety?
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Is your attitude toward your literacy/activity different now from what it
used to be?
Strategies for Getting Started
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Several small events
One major event
Several Small Events
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Start with the impact that your literacy has had on
you.
 Example
 Impact:
Writing helped me overcome my shyness
 Autobiographical events:
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Being too shy to participate in class discussion but agreeing to
read my writing to the class
Writing letters to my boy/girlfriend to express my feelings
Becoming editor of my high school newspaper and meeting
friends
Asking questions and participating in online discussions
One major event
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Pull out a single event in the development of your
literacy and answer the six questions of journalists:
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Event: In 11th grade, we had this assignment to
write a college admissions essay. The teacher put
my essay on the overhead projector and tore it to
pieces as he read it to the class.
Impact: To this day, I freak out when teachers
criticize my writing.
One Major Event
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Who: Mr. Farr. He was a big guy, probably in his 40s, with a gray crew cut.
He always wore khaki pants and a sport shirt, even in winter. He made a lot
of wise cracks. Some students hated him because he picked on kids.
What: The topic for the admissions essay was “ an accomplishment your are
proud of.” I wrote about my band. We’d been playing together for 2 years,
and everyone said we rocked.
When: Spring of my junior year
Where: Lansing High School-Long Island, NY
Why: Farr was using my essay as an example of what NOT to write in
college admissions essay. I was an A student, so maybe he thought I could
take the abuse.
How: He put my essay on the screen and read it out loud. The he
pretended he was a college admissions person reading the essay, and he
got really sarcastic. He said the college didn’t give a rat’s ass about rock
bands.
Your turn
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Think about the topic you’ve chosen. Now, think
about the effect that kind of literacy has had on
your life.
Were there several small events that led up to your
development as a writer/athlete/musician/spiritual
person, etc..? If so, list them here.
Was there one major event that really helped
shape your love, fear, or hatred of the topic you’ve
chosen. If so, answer the who, what, where, why,
and how questions in regards to that event.