Pieces of us: Songwriting our stories in Harrisonburg, VA

Storytelling is a way in which humans communicate their lives as narratives and understand the world around them. Storytelling through composing music allows students not only a means of personal expression, but also enhanced literacy skills, social skills, and understandings of basic musical concepts (e.g., Barrett & Stauffer, 2012; Kaschub & Smith, 2009). This thesis contains a digital storybook of fifth grade students’ original songs that documents their processes of turning ideas into final products and examines their thoughts and words about songwriting and identity development. It also shares autoethnographic reflections on ways in which my identity as a musician and teacher (e.g., Dingfelder, 2011) has changed and developed by working with these students. My research adds to the existing literature on songwriting and composition by focusing on a more ethnically diverse group of students and examining the facet of identity