WRITING A NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH

Lead
Sentenc e
Supporting
Sentences
Closing
Sentence
Indent
My first try at making pizza was like a wrestling match. First, the dough attacked . It stuck to the rolling pin, to my fingers, and to the counter. Then the tomato sauce spilled under my feet and nearly make me slip. The cheese grater scraped my finger along with the mozzarella. Finally, I shoved the messy pizza into the oven. Twenty minutes later, I took my first bite. Mmmmmm. I knew I’d won the match!

THE LEAD SENTENCE
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The Lead Sentence introduces the topic and may give you a hint about the main idea of the story. The lead sentence should also get the reader interested in the story.
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My first try at making pizza was like a wrestling match.
Topic Main Idea

Make your own lead sentence for this narrative paragraph.
Lead Sentence. After breakfast, we tried cooling off in the sprinkler, but Dad squashed that plan. “You’ll ruin the new grass!” he said. Then we tried reading in front of the fan, but we still felt sweaty. After lunch, Bill invited us for a swim in her new pool. We swam until our lips turned blue! At least we couldn’t complain about being too hot anymore.

SUPPORTING SENTENCES
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Supporting Sentences follow the lead sentence.
They support the main idea by telling details about it. They answer one or more of the questions WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHY? And
HOW? In our first paragraph, the supporting sentences described why making pizza was like a wrestling match.

Making Pizza = Wrestling Match
Dough stuck To everything .
Spilled tomato sauce nearly tripped me.
Cheese grater scraped my finger.

WHAT IS THE MAIN IDEA? WHICH SENTENCE
DOES NOT KEEP THE MAIN IDEA?
The minute the dentist clipped up my x-ray, I suspected trouble. First, Dr Scholten squinted at it. Then she frowned. As she examined my x-ray more closely, she mumbled something about a retainer. My friend just got a new dog. Finally, Dr.
Scholten snapped off the light and informed me, You need braces.”

ORDERING DETAILS
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Events in a narrative paragraph are usually told in the order they happened. Time-clue words and phrases, such as first, next, and in the morning , help signal when events take place.
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Can you think of any other Time-clue words

THE CLOSING SENTENSE
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The closing sentence in a narrative paragraph can tell the last event in the story, something learned form the story, or the writer thought or felt about the experience. In the pizza paragraph, the concluding sentence tells how the “struggle” turned out.

Mmmmmm. I knew I’d won the match!

We never know what’s going to happen when we take our Labrador retriever, Phil, on a trip.
Last year Mom, Dad, my sister Bridget, and I were camping in a park. We set up our tent close by a stream so that we could hear the water gurgling over the rocks. In the middle of the night, I woke up and looked around for Phil. He was gone! I woke up everybody else, and we crawled out of the tent and started calling for him. Splash, splash! Phil was in the stream, soaking wet. __________
Closing Sentence

CHECKLIST FOR MY PARAGRAPH
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My lead sentence introduces the main idea

Every supporting sentence tells details about the main idea.
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My supporting sentences tell what happened in order. Time-clue words and phrases make the order clear.
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My closing sentence sums up what happened or tells what I thought or felt.