I am a literacy coach for a K-5 elementary school -- George Washington Elementary School in Alsip, Illinois. My career in education began more than twenty years ago. My first teaching assignment was in Spain. I taught English to several wonderful groups of young Spanish children. Still, I remember my classroom- my window looked out onto the blue waters of the Mediterrean Sea.

When I first entered college I wanted to work abroad helping other countries to develop their own community resources. Yet, after living abroad, I realized the way to do this was to provide the best education for all people.

I believe every child deserves an excellent education. In my work as a literacy coach, I am privileged to share many conversations with students and teachers about thinking, reading, and writing. Teaching children to write narrative stories of their own life events is a very important and powerful experience. I am fortunate to be able to use the collections of the Library of Congress and the oral history interviews from StoryCorps. These audio recordings illustrate the essential elements of narrative writing for my students.