Writing Personal Narratives
Overview for Lesson
The students will use knowledge of narratives from previous lessons to first tell a story
then write it.
Teacher Preparation and Materials Needed
The teacher will write one topic on each of eight index cards. Ideas for topics might be;
My Worst Vacation, A Broken Bone, My crazy Pet, A Scary Time, My weird
Brother/Sister, My Best Birthday, Learning to Do Something New, My Greatest
Performance. Then place each card in a different location around the room.
Chart Paper
Books by Cynthina Rylant and Patricia Polacco (See Resource List)
Index cards, writer’s notebooks or paper, pencils, thesaurus and dictionaries, rubric
Key Vocabulary/ Concepts
Student Vocabulary
narrative- Writing that tells a story and usually has contains a plot, setting, and
characters
characters – A figure in a literary work that either is a human being or possesses
human qualities and is portrayed in human terms. There are four basic types of
characters:
Dynamic- one who changes in a significant way during the course of the story
Static-one who remains the same
Round- one who is presented in a complex, three- dimensional portrait
Flat-one who is presented as having a single trait
setting- The time and place where the action in a literary work occurs.
Plot – The deliberate sequence of events or actions that presents and resolves a
conflict in a literary work.
Legends-A traditional, historical tale that is handed down from one generation to the
next, first orally and later in written form.
myths- A traditional story of anonymous origin that deals with gods, heroes, or
supernatural events. Myths explain a belief, custom, or force of nature.
Point of View- The perspective or vantage point from which a literary work is told.
 First person point of view- a story told by a character using the pronoun I or
sometimes we.
 Second person point of view- rarely used except in interactive fiction
 Omniscient point of view- a third –person narrator functioning as an allseeing, all-hearing, all-knowing speaker who reads the thoughts and feelings
of any and all characters
 Limited omniscient point of view- a story told by a third person narrator
whose omniscience is limited, or restricted, to a single character
Voice- The distinctive style or manner of expression used in writing.
Teacher Vocabulary
Mini –Lesson- a brief (10-15) lesson that addresses a specific instructional focus
Suggested Resources
A variety of Narrative texts :
Examples of Picture Books:
Picnic at Mudsock Meadow , Patrica Polacco
When Lightening Comes in a Jar, Patricia Polacco
The Hundred Penny Box, Sharon Bell Mathis
The Relatives Came, Cynthia Rylant
Miss Hunnicut’s Hat, Jeff Brumbeau and Gail deMarcken
Fairy Tales
Technology Connections
Publishing: Storytelling Festival
The students may choose written publication, audio recording, PowerPoint, or a
combination of media.
Teaching the Lesson
Part one –This lesson will take multiple days.
Mini –Lesson: Narratives as Personal Stories
The teacher will share the topics from the index cards with the class. The teacher will
then tell a personal story that relates to one of the topics. She will think aloud,
characteristics of a narrative that she has previously taught.
Authentic Writing Time: Telling as a form of Prewriting
Next, she will invite the students to move to a topic that they connect to. The students
take turns telling a story to their small group.
The teacher reminds the students that narratives like myths and legends started out as
oral stories. The personal stories that they shared in Part One were oral stories. The
teacher will explain that telling a story can be a form of prewriting and a great way to
organize your thoughts.
After everyone shares a personal story, the teacher invites the students to a meeting
place. She asks for a volunteer to share their story with the whole class. Then, the
students help as the teacher prompts them to analyze the characters (dynamic, static,
round, flat), the setting and its importance to the story and the plot.
Part Two
Mini-Lesson: Using Voice in your Narrative: Showing, Not Telling
The teacher reminds the students that narratives like myths and legends started out as
oral stories. The personal stories that they shared in Part One were oral stories. The
teacher will explain that telling a story can be a form of prewriting and a great way to
organize your thoughts. This is essentially why we use graphic organizers so
students can use them independently in their thought process (See
Remediation)
The teacher will Read-Aloud strong examples of narratives that have explicit voice.
Books written by Cynthia Rylant or Patricia Polacco are always a good choice for this
lesson. The teacher should stop after a few pages of reading aloud and have the
students talk about how the author uses the trait of voice in the story to show, not tell.
The teacher can make an anchor chart of the exact language that the author uses.
Voice is not what the characters say. It is how the author uses words and
phrases to make the reader feel as though they are part of the story.
Examples of how authors’ voice and word choice help readers infer and draw
conclusions when comprehending text:
“ Sandy, Lydia and I squealed and ran for the porch swing, just like we always did.We
held hands and pushed the swing with our bare feet.”
When Lightning Comes in a Jar, Patricia Polacco.
Teaching point: The author uses word choice as a way to express happiness. What
words give you a clue the girls are happy?
“It was different going to sleep with all the new breathing in the house.”
The Relatives Came, Cynthia Rylant
Teaching Points: What is the author inferring?
Independent Reading: Before students write, they need to have ample time to read
books to look for ways author’s word choice and voice help them infer. They can share
with the class good examples of authors showing not telling.
Writing Workshop: Writing a Personal Narrative
Students are asked to write their personal narrative from Part One.
Students share their narrative with someone in their storytelling group. Their partner
helps to insure that the author’s voice is present and that the characteristics of
narrative are clear.
Part Three
Publishing: Storytelling Festival
The students may choose written publication, audio recording, PowerPoint, or a
combination of media.
Assessing the Lesson Formative Assessment and Summative Assessment
In this document the teacher should use on-going assessment by using the examples
questions in the lessons. The teacher can document which students continue to need
help in understanding the elements of narrative.
Group Discussions
Character Traits Map
Setting Map with plot markings
Extensions (Differentiation, Enrichment, Intervention)
Students can create their own fairy tale by changing either the setting, characters or
plot. They can publish their version and share with the class their reasoning and
process.
For remediation…Students that continue to struggling with elements of narrative
can meet with the teacher in small groups or one on one. The teacher will use another
familiar fairy tale or story to help the students identify basic character traits, setting
and plot.
Differentiation can include…
These lessons can be differentiated by the teacher. Some ways the teacher can do this
are dividing students into groups or allowing students to act out stories instead of
writing or telling them. See resource section for more ideas.
Students can read different versions of Little Red Riding Hood and discover how
changes in characters or setting can change a story.
If students have trouble, allow them to work in small groups before they complete a
Settings Map independentl