18 Writing Personal Narratives

Page
131
from

Writing Personal Narratives

Start-Up Activity

Ask your students to think of an object that is important to them. They might mention a souvenir from a vacation, a baseball from a winning game, or a bike that they ride to school. Write down students' suggestions. Then ask your students to think of why that object is important to them. Ask them to tell the story of how that object became so valuable. Tell your students that they can write narratives about the important things in their lives.

Think About It

“It’s not easy to travel back into your memory and gather details. But it’s worth it. They help your reader understand what happened. And they help you remember the very important chapters in the story of your life.”

—Sandy Asher

Page 132 from Writers Express

Sample Personal Narrative

Have student volunteers read each paragraph of the sample essay. After each student reads, point out the features in the text using the side notes.

Once the students have read the whole narrative, ask them to skim back through, looking for words that show sights. Write the words on the board. Then have them look for words that create sounds. Write those as well. Then have them look for words with touch sensations. Point out that these sensory details help the reader see, hear, and feel what is happening in the narrative.

You can also have students read additional personal narrative models.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Theme:
English Language Arts:

Page 133 from Writers Express

Gathering Story Ideas

Use this page to help your students think about the many narrative topics they can draw from their own experiences. Ask the four questions on this page, and take responses from the class. Discuss how these experiences could make excellent narratives.

Also, you can direct your student to these narrative topic ideas.

 

LAFS Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Theme:

Page 134 from Writers Express

Writing Personal Narratives

Turn to this page to guide students through the process of writing a personal narrative. Also, use the sample personal narrative on the next page to inspire students and help them see how narratives can grab the reader's attention, establish a setting and situation, introduce characters, use dialogue and action, and bring the story to a thoughtful close.

 

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Theme:

Page 135 from Writers Express

Sample Personal Narrative

Ask student volunteers to read parts of this narrative out loud.

Note how the writer establishes the setting, the conflict, and the situation at the beginning.

Also, point out how the writer creates a new paragraph every time someone different speaks. (In narratives and stories, it's okay to have single-sentence paragraphs.)

Show how the ending tells what the writer learned from the experience.

You can also have students read additional personal narrative models.

LAFS Standard:
TEKS Standard:
NE ELA Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Theme:
English Language Arts:

Page 136 from Writers Express

Writing Family Stories

Use this page to help your students think about stories of family and friends. Students could tell about their names or the names of others close to them, the day someone was born, or special events such as holidays. Your students can also check out these family story ideas. The minilesson provides another activity to inspire students.

LAFS Standard:

Related Resource Tags

Click to view a list of tags that tie into other resources on our site

Theme: