Teaching context

The classroom itself was situated in a large elementary school in an urban district in Northern California . The children who participated with me in the study were five- and six-year old African American students and English Language Learners. I am a white woman who had at this point taught at this school for six years. Although the narrative itself was a complete piece of writing, it was not meant to stand alone. It was rather an attempt to help make some sense of our inquiry that year. The narrative was also not meant to be read independently, but performed in a group and then engaged through conversation.