One of the reasons I became a teacher was how much I loved the reading and writing process, and how excited I was to help young children develop as readers and writers. One day, I discovered a work of Vivian Paley, who developed a storytelling curriculum (课程) for young children, which involves writing down the contents of students' drawings and having their classmates act out these stories. I was immediately drawn to Paley's focus on drama.
One morning, as my students gathered in our classroom for our writing lesson, I told them that they could draw anything they'd like, imaginary or real. They discussed with one another what they liked to draw and some shared their ideas loud, which helped inspire those who weren't ready with their own ideas. For the next half hour or so, I observed that even my most hesitant and unwilling students were drawing with a sense of concentration and purpose.
Later, we sat in a circle and I explained that we would act out some of their stories. The writer would choose classmates to be the characters in the story, and I would tell the story. Then a student stood up to announce which characters she'd need. I watched as one student played a rabbit, another played a fairy, and another played a rainbow cloud. When the play was over, the actors and the "director" bowed, and the class clapped for them. The next "director" jumped to her feet, shouting, "My story is the next!"
After I taught in this way, my students began to write down their own stories, though I always provided aid in the writing process when they needed. The goal of these lessons is not to turn my students into fluent writers in kindergarten but to provide them with the chance to become writers, to see themselves as storytellers, and to experience the magical feeling when their ideas come to life.
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