Teaching students to write personal narratives is usually the first genre of writing we begin with in the primary grades. For students, writing stories about themselves and their daily activities can be easier than making up a story entirely! The term “personal narrative” is a lot for kiddos to get their heads around. I encourage my second graders to write “small moment” stories. This means that instead of skimming the surface of an entire day with their writing, kiddos should choose a small moment and dig into it with details. This allows them to include sensory details or internal details (feelings). Before students start to write their own personal narratives, they need to be exposed to a strong examples. We read a multitude of wonderful personal narrative mentor texts. Here are some examples:
During reading, we discuss important characteristics of a personal narrative. It’s a story from the author’s life. The story has a beginning, middle and end. The author zooms in on a small moment and stretches it out with details that allows the reader to visualize and relate to what is happening. Writing our story in sequence (from beginning to end) helps students stay focused on the story at hand. Students don’t immediately know how to write a personal narrative. They need a great deal of support. We share examples, I model stories for them, we write class personal narratives and have a great deal of discussion. There are so many skills that need to be used when writing! Using transition words, writing a strong lead and strong ending, thinking about sensory details and interesting words, along with writing conventions, it’s a lot for a child who’s only been reading for a few years! Students are very excited about their writing. Sharing with classmates, teachers and family is a fun way to celebrate their writing accomplishments. Encourage your child to share their writing.
