“Hice Zoom Con Mi Abuelita”: What We Can Learn from First and Second Graders' Pandemic Narratives

Abstract

AbstractThis article details a classroom‐based study designed to provide agency and voice to first and second grade emergent bilinguals as they processed the COVID‐19 pandemic. Two California teachers created a narrative writing unit not only to teach specific writing skills, but also to challenge pervasive deficit assumptions that young children “could not handle” the details or scope of this global health crisis. Students' narratives illustrated a profound awareness of the cultural, social, psychological, and academic impacts of COVID‐19. This work demonstrates that children can indeed, understand and articulate complex lived experiences, while also confirming the value of writing and drawing as powerful invitations for children to communicate and process. This project highlights the resilience of children who have been living through the COVID‐19 pandemic and what adults in their lives can learn from their reflections.