Guess who’s back!…and here to talk all about narrative writing this time around. In my last post I talked all about opinion writing and how it’s definitely one of the most important areas of teaching classroom writing. Well…narrative writing is one of the most difficult to teach in my first grade classroom. Let’s be real kids are definitely great storytellers and they go on and on and on UNTIL you ask them to write it down. Sound familiar? Storytelling is hard work and it’s even harder when we ask our students to write it in an organized way. I am here to help you with some tips and ways to implement in your classroom to make writing a bit easier for you and your students, us teachers have enough on our plate so I’m here to help you out!
I mentioned Writer’s Workshop in my last post and the importance of increasing exposure of everyday writing to aid in student success. Definitely check this out if you need a refresher on how to go about this! I am here to dive into narrative writing with tips and activities to use in the classroom. Narrative writing tells us a story within a setting, there is an event or problem with a character’s experience which is typically exciting, captivating, or entertaining. When it comes to teaching writing we also need to have a clear and organized sequence on how to implement it, where to start, and what resources we can use to best help our students. It’s important that our students understand the basic components of personal and fictional narrative writing .
Using Mentor Text
Gives our students concrete examples and a real perspective of how an author captured a moment to tell us a story. Mentor texts are engaging and an excellent resource for a student to reflect on to help them with their own writing. Here are 3 of my favorites to use in the classroom- Rollercoaster, Fireflies and Jabari Jumps.
Teach Transition Words
When it comes to narrative writing transition words are so important to understanding the order of events and helping our students organize their thoughts. Transition words signal what is happening first, second, third and so on. There are a ton that we can use but we have to teach our students the importance of how and when to use them. Without transition words we cannot teach our students how to sequence events and without event sequencing we don’t have an organized narrative.
Small Moments
We need to start small to grow big right? That is the idea behind a small moment…big ideas are made up of small moments. The watermelon analogy helps put into perspective that the watermelon is the big event and it’s made up of a bunch of seeds which are the small moments. Grab this resource to put this into action, I love bringing in a watermelon to class for an extra visual….but be sure to get a watermelon with seeds! Understanding the seeds helps my students understand the importance of adding detail to their stories.
Introductions and Conclusions
After your students have the foundation of understanding narrative writing you can begin to focus on what draws a reader into their story, practicing with beginning, middle and end activities will help them get a clear cut understanding on how to organize their piece of writing. With exposure to different types of introductions and conclusions they can begin to practice. Spend some time reading mentor tasks and have your students pay extra attention to what draws them in and how they feel when the story ends.
And now let’s get rolling!
You’ve taught your students the different pieces that play into a narrative writing story but now it takes practice to make it perfect. Choose fun and interesting topics, use visuals and prompts, write with your students! One of my favorite ways to practice writing is utilizing these journal prompts, it’s such an excellent tool for tracking student progress, and WHOA what a difference from the beginning to the end of the year. Narrative writing has so many layers to it and a one size fits all approach doesn’t work. Writing isn’t a strength for everyone but it is an important skill that we all need. This is a simple guide to helping you gain some technique for your classroom, make sure you check out my narrative writing bundle because it will give you a variety of ways to teach your kiddos!
We often think personal narratives are easy- but even as adults we struggle when we are asked to write about ourselves. So try to remember that when it comes to teaching writing in your classroom! It’s tough stuff but we can do it!!!! Be sure to check back for my post on informational writing.
