The reading clinic at the University of Virginia continues to refine its test battery every year: a new refinement involves collection of more naturalistic language samples and writing samples to add depth to the understanding of children's developing language structures. The "tell a story to get a story" protocol provides a method for new reflection as the teacher or diagnostician tells a personal narrative and then passes the story turn to the child. Twenty-five teachers enrolled in a graduate introductory reading diagnosis course were introduced to the protocol: 21 completed an assignment to try out the protocol. The protocols, oral transcriptions, and written personal narratives of 8 children (in grades K-5) were analyzed. Analysis indicated that the teachers were using neutral sub-prompts and were careful to listen to children as they told their narratives. Teachers in the class were surprised and delighted with the comparisons that could be made between the two forms of narratives. The graduate students also learned how important it is for teachers to instruct children in spelling. By placing the oral transcription next to the written narrative, teachers can see the strengths of a child's own language. The two forms show a child's ability to transfer thought from one sphere to another and the confidence s/he has in the act of writing. (Contains 7 references and 4 figures of data; an appendix contains each child's diagnostic summary, transcribed personal narratives, and written narrative.) (NKA)