DANCING WITH THE WIND: UNDERSTANDING NARRATIVE TEXT STRUCTURE THROUGH RESPONSE TO MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN'S LITERATURE (With an Assist from HyperCard)

Abstract

Abstract Multicultural children's literature is an important resource for teaching the concept of story and encouraging children to respond to cultural diversity. This article describes a model procedure for integrating direct instruction in story structure with reader response to literature in two settings: traditional storybook read‐aloud sessions and non‐traditional HyperCard computer sessions. Twenty‐eight midwestern fifth graders participated in weekly read‐aloud sessions during which they engaged in discussions stimulated by open‐ended questions in response to multicultural children's literature. They were also taught a simple story structure, which was reinforced during oral and written responses to the literature and oral responses to HyperCard stories. The children wrote and illustrated original narratives in response to the multicultural children's literature. Their illustrations were electronically scanned into HyperCard stacks and shared with the whole class. The results of this project suggest the following: A child's concept of story can be enhanced through reader response to multicultural children's literature; encouraging oral and written responses to multicultural children's literature helps students to talk and write freely and openly about the diverse world in which we live; HyperCard computer programs are important tools for reinforcing and challenging students' concept of story.