First-grade Brazilian children’s oral stories about learning to read were analyzed. Thirty-eight children enrolled in a state school located in a residential area of low socioeconomic status families in Rio de Janeiro. The analysis revealed that most of the children with reading difficulties produced stories which only comprised a brief description of a child’s daily school routine or of a reading related task with no evaluation of the character’s performance. On the other hand, successful children produced a significant number of stories related to a child’s successful performance in reading. Very few stories about children’s literacy difficulties were produced by either group. Results were discussed in terms of children’s representation of their success and failure in learning to read and write.
Narratives; children; literacy
