Our lives are made of stories. The taste of a mother’s two-day slow-cooked nihari tells the story of her efforts to nourish her family’s spirit while filling their stomachs. A plumber’s strong will to saw, dig, and jet a clogged sewage narrates the tale of his passion for the profession. A child murmurs words and gestures with tiny hands while she goes about her day at school. These are all stories worth sharing.
We tell stories to express ourselves, our interactions, relationships, and adventures as this is how we understand the world. We are all natural storytellers.
It is in our nature to tell stories and interpret everything we perceive through them. Crafting a story from scratch, reading, and exchanging anecdotes is an intrinsic human characteristic that begins at an early age. Since the late 1970s, emergent literacy (a term coined by eminent literacy researcher Marie Clay) has been the leading theoretical perspective on early reading and writing. The emergent literacy theory supports writing development in a social context, where children can learn reading and writing by observing and interacting with their surroundings.
Every day, young children experience new events, learn new words, and eventually develop a creative and curious mind. These new experiences help mold their ideas, developing their movement from the literal to the imaginative, from the factual to the fantastical. Gradually, they naturally learn to delineate the techniques of characterization, detail, language, and revision.
In short, the art of writing.
When children put pen to paper, they can express their feelings and communicate better. Writing down the ideas and transforming them into stories develops a range of critical skills. Although toddlers and preschoolers may not be able to write conventionally, they demonstrate their storytelling abilities in various ways, such as drawing, scribbling, colouring, and making letter-like forms.
How adults respond to children’s first writing attempts can nurture their natural desire to write. Therefore, it is imperative for parents, educators, and community stakeholders to understand the important writing development stages and encourage positive attitudes toward writing.
To assist in nurturing a writing identity and a sense of audience in order to build future writers, International School Dhaka (ISD) recently organized a few thoughtful events. Titled ‘Writing Celebration,’ the event took part in two groups: “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” and “Where the Wild Things Are” for KG to Grade 2 students and Grade 3 to 5 students, respectively. In these events, students read stories aloud, which they composed and prepared themselves. Crafting and telling stories amongst each other helped the young students to bridge their oral and written communication abilities.
It is said that children are like wet clay, and that we can shape them into wonderful and creative human beings. Language development happens very rapidly in early childhood. Children who grow up in a creative environment are enriched with soft skills and can share new ideas, explore new experiences, and advocate for a better society. In a world as fractured as ours, stories can bring people together and create a sense of community. Hence, encouraging children to pick up every bit from their surroundings and letting their imaginations roam free is very important.
By encouraging emergent literacy and creating opportunities, both academically and culturally, we can finally look forward to a future generation that does not shy away from expressing themselves to the fullest and build a more humane world for us all.
Nuzhat Hayat Khan is a writer and a communications professional.