Narratives

What is a narrative?

In language development this refers to the child’s ability to tell a fictional or non-fictional story in

sequence.

(Hulit, Howard & Fahey, 2011)

Narrative Development

Stage I: Heaps (2yrs)

A collection of unrelated ideas.

(Hutson-Nechkash, 2001)

Stage II: Sequences (2-3yrs)

Children begin to link story elements together. Stories have a central character, setting or idea.

(Hutson-Nechkash, 2001)

Stage III: Primitive Narratives (3-4yrs)

Similar to sequences but include the characters facial expressions or body postures.

(Hutson-Nechkash, 2001)

(Hutson-Nechkash, 2001)

Unfocused Chains (4-4 ½yrs)

A sequence of events that are linked logically or by a cause and effect

relationship. There is no central character.

(Hutson-Nechkash, 2001)

Focused Chains (5yrs)

Stories have a logical sequence of events and a central character.

(Hutson-Nechkash, 2001)

True Narrative (8yrs)

True narratives focus around the incident in a story. The story has a problem and a

resolution.

Expressive Elaboration

• Develops between ages 5-12.• Narrative length increases.• More sophisticated use of background information,

introductory information and emphasis and meaning.

(Hulit, Howard & Fahey, 2011)

Cultural differences in Narratives

What does this mean to the classroom teacher?

• “Research indicates that narrative skill is a robust indicator of school success.” (Gorman, B. K., Fiestas, C. E., Peña, E. D., & Clark, M. , 2011)

• Keep in mind your culture and your student's culture when assessing narratives.

• Narrative difference verses narrative impairment, know the difference.

Sources

Gorman, B. K., Fiestas, C. E., Peña, E. D., & Clark, M. (2011). Creative and Stylistic Devices Employed by Children During a Storybook Narrative Task: A Cross-Cultural Study. Language, Speech, And Hearing Services In Schools, 42(2), 167-181.

Hulit, L. M., Howard, M. R., & Fahey, K. R. (2011). Born to talk introduction to speech and language development. (5 ed., Vol. th). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

Hutson-Nechkash, Peg. (2001). Narrative Toolbox: Blueprints for Storybuilding. Eau Claire, WI: Thinking Publications. Retrieved from

http://www.speechtherapyct.com/whats_new/Child%20Narrative%2 0Development.pdf on April10, 2012.