“Languages differ not just in what its speakers can say, but in what they must say.”

Mark Abley in Spoken Here on the land claims process in Australia

• Literacy group members can give an oral presentation to the group explaining their story. You might create a guide to help people prepare their presentation:
  • First, retell the story.
  • Why did you choose the character?
  • What is the character’s perspective?
  • What helped you most in writing this story?
  • How did you work historical information into the story?
  • Are there any facts in your story that you wonder if they are historically accurate?
  • Is there any place where you really got stuck in your writing?
  • How did you get unstuck?
  • Did you appear anywhere in your story?
  • How did writing this story help you understand life in the time and place we are studying?

Literacy group members can take home their own stories to read to their children; or they can share stories and read other group members’ stories to their children. Or hold an after-school program for the children of the literacy group and other children. Invite them to your literacy group to read and talk about the stories.

Books about History Workshop

Connecting with the Past: History Workshop in Middle and High Schools, by Cynthia Stokes Brown, published by Heinemann, NH, 1994, ISBN: 0-435-08901-3

History Workshop: Reconstructing the Past with Elementary Students, by Karen L. Jorgensen, published by Heinemann, NH, 1993, ISBN: 0-435-08900-5

Keepsakes, Using Family Stories in Elementary Classrooms, by Linda Winston, published by Heinemann, 1997, ISBN: 0-435-07235-8