Fairy tales: an experience in the literacy process with lower class children and teachers

Abstract

This works investigation is about the period from 1984 to 1996, when the Literacy Basic Cycle and Unique Journey were implanted in Sao Paulo. It focuses the problem of childrens access and permanence in school. It is also focuses the problem of lower class childrens evasion. The purpose of this study is to propose new forms to teach children to write and read. This research was born of the preoccupation with the high number of excluded children from the literacy process and with the unsatisfactory results obtained by many children who study in our schools. In order to investigate the problem, 38 Literacy Basic Classes and their teachers, besides 1200 children (which did not attend kindergarten classes or failed) took part of a constructivist literacy proposal for lower class children. This study was based on the theories of Jean Piaget, Emília Ferreiro, Ana Teberosky, among others. They were used to establish discussions, reflections and analysis of the activities made in the classroom. The first result of these activities concerns to help us to rethink about the practices used by the teachers in the classroom. The teachers were analyzed and evaluated and they had our support to develop new strategies to help children to learn how to write and read. The results showed us that children could not only acquire the writing but also use it in outside school situations. We also paid attention to the past schools situation in order to explain how it is nowadays and to show our experience, based on a constructivist theory, which presented some positive results.