Unit of Study: Personal Narratives
Date: 2013
Focus (What one thing will you teach and why?):
I will teach them about personal narratives; what makes a good one, what personal
narratives are written about, and how to write a good one. I will do this because this is
an important writing technique for them to know.
Connection (What will you say to the students about why you are teaching this?):
I will connect this to their lives. A personal narrative is a personal story, so I will tell
them that it is a good way to express how you are feeling or how you felt during a
certain time in their lives. Personal connections will help them understand why learning
about personal narratives is important.
Give Info (How will you teach this? What exactly do you want to say?):
I will use the Genre Workshop, readers’ and writers’ to assist with teaching this. The
book is a good way of showing examples of personal narratives that were written by
kids around their age. Also in the book it shows the features that should be in a personal
narrative at the beginning of the book, and then at the end it points out parts of the
personal narratives that were read that made them good personal narratives. After
reading the book and having them read one of the personal narratives, I will have them
pick out the parts they thought made it good. Then they will pick a time that they want
to write about and they will make sure to put all of the details in their writers’
notebooks. I will then look over what they are writing about and make sure that they
know what details will make this a good story to write. After all of that I will just give
them time to write. I want them to realize what makes a good narrative, and I want them
to be able to write a good one.
Active Involvement (How will students “try-it” before they go off to work
independently?):
They will “try-it” by brainstorming while we are still in the small group. They need to
have details ready so when they start writing it is easier for them. I will then send them
off to write, but once I feel they are comfortable and fully understand personal
narratives, and what goes into them.
Link (What is the relationship between what you taught and what you expect them
to do during workshop time?):
The relationship between what was taught and what they will do during workshop time
is a pretty simple one. They will use what they learned about personal narratives to write
their own.
Share (How will students share the work they did with each other to further
develop TP?):
Students will share their work by hanging them up around the room. I think it would be
good to have an illustration that went with their writing, and then other students can read
it if they wish to.
Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3a: Orient the reader by establishing a situation and
introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds
naturally.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3b: Use dialogue and description to develop experiences
and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3d: Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details
to convey experiences and events precisely.
Reflection for Lesson:
This was a lesson where students read from a book that had examples of personal
narratives, and some pages that talked about what makes a good personal narrative and what
features a personal narrative has. They broke off into small groups and read a personal narrative
to themselves first, and then after they discussed what the personal narrative they read was about.
We then as a small group discussed why a publishing company would choose the personal
narratives that they did to put in their book. What features that a personal narrative were in the
one you read? What made it a good narrative? Questions such as those are what we discussed as
a group. Once everyone felt comfortable about what makes a good personal narrative, and what
they should include in theirs there was some individual work done. Each person sat and
brainstormed what they would want to write about and then began brainstorming what details
they would put into it. After everyone has an idea they shared as a group and we reviewed one
more time what should be put into a personal narrative, and what they should make sure they
include in theirs. This was successful lesson because of the repetitiveness during the small
groups. It might have seemed like a lot for them to take in, and might have been boring at times
but when I would ask them about everything a personal narrative should have they knew the
answer without hesitation. Since they knew the information as boring as repetition may have
been it worked. I think that doing the lesson like this would be successful for any class, and I
don’t think I would change anything at the time. Maybe if I used it in the future and saw that the
particular class I had didn’t respond I would switch things up, but at the time I think it is a pretty
solid way of doing a lesson on personal narratives.