Lindsey Vande WallPersonal Narrative Writing Unit

Title: Learning about Personal NarrativesGrade Level: 4Purpose: After the personal narrative writing unit, students will be able to identify the parts of a personal narrative and what they include. They will apply that knowledge to write a personal narrative of their own using the steps of the writing process to publish a final draft at the conclusion of the unit. Common Core Standards: W.4.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences:

Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.

Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events. Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

CCL Goals: Note specific examples of the writer’s craft Show how the text is organized Use notes as a basis for discussion or later writing Critique the quality or accuracy of a text, citing evidence for opinions

Genres: Memoir Learn how to craft memoir by studying mentor texts Understand a personal narrative as a type of memoir that tells a story from the writer’s life Understand memoir as a brief, often intense, memory of an event or a person with reflection Write a personal narrative as a “small moment” show a character trying to do something, add

details and a setting as significant, show how character develops Use dialogue as appropriate to add to the meaning of a story Use words to show the passage of time Reveal something important about self or about life Use only the important parts of the narrative, eliminating unnecessary information Write an ending that fits the piece

MentorTexts: Saying Goodbye to Lulu by Corinne Demas Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco http://thewritesource.com/studentmodels Show Me a Story by Nancy Loewen Ten Rules you Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus by John Grandits

Look at My Book by Loreen Leedy

Writing Unit:Part 1:Topic: What is a personal narrative?Resources: Saying Goodbye to Lulu by Corinne Demas; http://thewritesource.com/studentmodels/we-speech.htm; http://thewritesource.com/studentmodels/we-jetbike.htm; http://thewritesource.com/studentmodels/we-indy.htm;Teacher Actions:

Have you ever written a story about yourself? That is what a personal narrative is writing that tells a story or gives an account of something that has happened. The purpose is to retell a story based on personal experience of the writer’s imagination. (Write on the board.) Like in all good writing a personal narrative story should include both an introduction beginning, middle with sequencing details, and an end.

Read picture book Saying Goodbye to Lulu personal narrative to class. Pause after the beginning, middle, and end sections of the story to point them out. Write parts of the story on chart paper.

Discuss what the book was about and what was in the beginning, middle, and end. Read examples of other student examples of a personal narrative for students to hear to get

them thinking about what theirs might sound like. Ask them to see if they can identify the beginning, middle, and end with a partner and write them on sticky notes.

Help students brainstorm ideas to write their personal narratives on. Can be anything that they were a part of or experienced in their life like a best friend, people you’ve met, a snow day, a special adventure, a summer activity, a childhood event, something bad that turned good, helping someone, first day of school, a day of vacation, etc. Hand out the Time for Kids brainstorming sheet to help.

Student Actions: Discuss with the whole class what a personal narrative is and what some basic parts are. Listen to the read aloud and identify basic components of a personal narrative With a partner identify parts of student examples from a personal narrative. Write on a sticky

note and sticking them to the chart that is labeled with the different parts. Each student should write something that happened in the beginning, middle, and end from one example.

After reading and discussing have students brainstorm an event that they would like to write about using the Personal Narrative Organizer from Time for Kids. Have them write the event, what they heard, saw, felt, and/or learned from it.

Part 2:Topic: Important Parts of a Personal Narrative StoryResources: Show Me a Story by Nancy Loewen; Saying Goodbye to Lulu by Corinne Demas Teacher Actions:

Read Show Me A Story by Nancy Loewen Stop to discuss the different parts of a story which students need to keep in mind when they

write their personal narratives and why they are important.

Create a chart and list all of these elements: beginning, character, problem, setting, problem solving, dialogue, details/descriptions, middle, plot, suspense, climax, ending.

Ask students to think about the story they read the previous day. Fill in these sections on a chart paper to see if they can identify different parts of the story.

Talk about why a good story needs all of these parts to help readers understand what is going on and feel like the story is real.

Help students generate ideas and start to form their own outline.

Student Actions: Students will listen to story and participate in class discussion to fill out the chart with all of the

story elements from the previous days read aloud. Students will go back to seats and begin to fill out the rest of an outline listing characters, the

problem, setting, any details, etc that happened at their event on the back of the Time for Kids Personal Narrative Organizer.

Part 3 Detailed Lesson Plan

Topic: The Introduction of a Personal NarrativeResources: Ten Rules you Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus by John Grandits

Introduction:Today we are going to talk about and write our own introductions to a personal narrative. The

introduction to a personal narrative is really important because it lets the reader know what they are going to read about and it makes them want to keep reading to find out what happens in the story. What else do you think we should put in the introduction? We also need to include at least 3 supporting details about the topic of our story so readers know what happened. We can start our story by asking a question, describe a feeling or a vivid scene, show action, present a problem or mystery, use dialogue, or throw the reader into the middle of an interesting situation.

Focus Lesson (I Do):I will start reading the book Ten Rules you Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the

School Bus by John Grandits. I am just going to read the introduction today. When I read a part that gets me ready for the story like detail or dialogue that I think is important I am going to pause and we are going to talk about them. (Read the introduction of the book up to the point where it starts going over the rules from the brother.) While I am reading I want you to look for what makes you want to keep reading, what makes you want to find out what happens, and details that the author uses to tell us about the topic. Talk about what parts get you ready to read, how the details help you understand, etc. (Write what a good introduction does and includes on a piece of chart paper prior to the lesson.)

After reading the first couple sentences I realize that the character is really nervous about riding the bus. He knows that his older brother has been through it already so he asks him for advice. When I keep reading I see that there is dialogue here to help us understand just how nervous the little brother is and how big of a deal the big brother is making it. Here is where I know what he is feeling He tells his little brother about his rules, “Ten Rules you Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus.” He is going to follow every one of them so he can survive. I think that this tells us that we are about ready to read the ten rules soon. The introduction keeps going up until the point where the little brother actually gets on the bus. He gave details here about the really scary dog that he wanted to stay back from, and how he was so nervous that he had to ride the bus all by himself surrounded by kids he didn’t know… This is where I can hear what he is thinking. That is the end to this introduction, but now we are going to practice writing one together after we have heard an example.

Guided Practice (We Do):Tell kids aloud a story of a time I got stitches. Tell them that you are now going to write this

story as a personal narrative and start with the introduction today with their help. Then write a starter sentence using the student’s Narrative Graphic Organizer. Crash! I fell down on the cement. Do I need to add to this or is it an okay introduction? (No not long enough, need more details) What other details can I add to this? (How you felt, what you thought, how it looked) Take ideas from the students to finish

your introduction. I felt my chin and knee hurting really bad. I thought oh no I broke the bowl and this really hurts. I couldn’t believe it when I couldn’t move because it hurt so bad so I yelled for my mom. Ask students is this a better introduction now? Why?

Collaborative Practice (You Do Together):Have students review examples of student narratives from the first day of the unit with a group

or partner whatever works best for numbers. Have students read the examples together to find just the introduction. Write what they need to look for on the board: Where is it? What does it do to help us get ready to read the rest of the story? Does it give details? Is it about the same topic? They should identify with sticky notes where the introduction is and answers to questions on the board. Give students plenty of time to look at examples and discuss the introduction. Bring the class back together to talk about examples. What they did and didn’t do, how they did it, what made them good, what made them bad.

Tell them they are now going to use what they brainstormed the previous day about an event and what we have talked about today to start their own introduction. Hand each student a Narrative Graphic Organizer and a Writing Rubric.

Independent Practice (You Do):I want you to find your brainstorming Time for Kids Personal Narrative Organizer sheet that you

have already filled out about an event you want to write about. I want you to use what you have thought about and take the ideas you have written down to help you start your introduction. I want you to write your narrative down on the Narrative Graphic Organizer I gave to you. It gives you starter sentences that you can use, then gives you room to write two more sentences for your introduction, and one more sentence for “I couldn’t believe it when.”

If you have any questions please come ask me. If you are stuck look back at what you have already written down for ideas and use those to help you get unstuck. If none of that works you can come ask me.

Closing:Review with students what an introduction does, what it includes, and why it is important. If

time allows ask for students to share about what they are writing about and to share their introductions. Tomorrow we will build off of our introductions to write the next part of our personal narratives the middle and ending. So I want you to keep thinking about what you can add to your story for those parts.

Assessment:Collect all student introductions and read them. Read student work to help to understand if

students are grasping the concept and understood what you talked about. If certain students need help put them in a group together and meet during free reading time or any other part of the day where time allows.

Part 4:Topic: The Middle and The EndResources: Ten Rules you Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus by John GranditsTeacher Actions:

In the middle of the story it is important to write the events of the story in order so the reader knows what is happening. To do this we use sequencing words of first, then, after, next, finally, last (Write down so students can see). These will help you stay on the topic of the story.

It is also really important to add details in your story to make it real. It can be to describe what is happening, what you thought or are feeling during the event so the reader can feel like they are experiencing it with you. You can also use dialogue to tell what was said between you and others in the story.

Read the middle and end of Ten Rules you Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus by John Grandits. Discuss what happened in the middle and stop to identify major parts and what they do for the reader.

The ending is the final part that should wrap everything up. You don’t want it to be too long, but not too short either. The ending will sum up what happened, solve the problem, let the reader know what happened, or anyway that you think your story should be done with.

Read the ending to of Ten Rules you Absolutely Must Not Break if You Want to Survive the School Bus by John Grandits. Talk about what happened and what part of the story was a good way to end the book.

Have students help write the middle and end of their own class personal narrative on chart paper. Start a sentence on your own then have students help you think of sequencing words, or details that you can add. After the middle is complete, finish the story to let students see and hear what it would be like.

Student Actions: Listen to the read aloud and participate in class discussion about the middle and endings of a

personal narrative. Help teacher finish writing the class personal narrative. Write the middle of personal narrative being sure to remember to use sequencing words along

with a lot of details to tell about feelings, thoughts, happenings, etc. After all of that is written finish the story with the ending.

Part 5:Topic: Revising/EditingResources: Look at My Book by Loreen Leedy; Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco Teacher Actions:

Read Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco. Talk about sentence fluency with word choice and notice how the author didn’t use all the same sentences, they didn’t all begin the same, all different lengths, they were all complete sentences too. Having different types of sentences that

are complete make it easier to read a story. They should all connect, and be smooth like you would talk.

Discuss with students what revising is. Show students what revising looks like from Look At My Book by Loreen Leedy page 18. Ask what parts they think are involved in it? Why is it so important? It is adding or taking out words, switching words around, using better words, adding details, taking out parts, adding different parts, do what you need to make your story just right. Write the parts of the revision process on the board for students to see. Revise the personal narrative story that has been written as a class about the teacher’s event.

Ask students to look at the rubric. Point to where it says, “I made 3 or more meaningful changes to my story.” These changes can be adding more details, taking out unnecessary ones, adding more sequencing words, or anything that makes the story better.

Tell students they should look for all of these parts and make sure their sentences are fluent and they are all complete and different too.

Revise the class personal narrative that the class has been working on together for students to see what revising is and the steps to take.

Discuss with students what editing is. Show students what editing looks like from Look At My Book by Loreen Leedy page 19. Ask students what they think is included in these steps? It means to fix mistakes check spelling, capital letters, and punctuation.

Edit the class personal narrative to show students what editing looks like. Point out the editing part of the writing rubric. “My sentences start with a capital letter and end

with a variety of punctuation marks. The names of characters, places, holidays and dates are capitalized. All of my paragraphs are indented.”

Student Actions: Students should take part in the discussion of what revision and editing is. They should also help

give ideas of how to revise and edit the class personal narrative. At their own seat students should revise their own work taking ideas of what to do from the

discussion and the list provided on the board and the rubric. After revision they should edit/proofread their personal narrative. Give to a partner to peer edit. Turn in for the okay from the teacher to show that all of the steps have been completed.

Part 6:Topic: Final Draft and PublishingResources: Look at My Book by Loreen LeedyTeacher Actions:

Tell students they have now completed the brainstorming, rough draft, revising, and editing of their own personal narrative. After all these stages are complete and they think they have done everything they can to write a good story it is now time for the final draft to be published.

Start to write the final draft of the class personal narrative to show students that they should make all the changes they noted from revising and editing to make their final copy like they planned and worked hard for.

Answer student questions. Read over stories to make sure they have all components that you have talked about as a class before they write their final draft.

After students write the final draft collect final draft, rough draft, and Time for Kids organizer to summatively assess student work using the Personal Narrative Writing Rubric.

Student Actions: Students should write their final draft to be published in the hallway. Once they are done writing their final draft, they can draw a picture to go along with their

personal narrative.

Unit Differentiation: Students who need more of a challenge can write a longer personal narrative. Students who are

having trouble can write a shorter one. Teacher should observe and do formative assessments of students and look for those who might

need some extra support or aren’t getting a certain part of the writing process. These students can meet in a small group with the teacher for extra help. If applicable, one or two students may be identified as needing a writing intervention during this time period. At this point, the group will become very small, if not individualized to get that student the help that they need.

Students who might have some trouble getting started can pick from a list of set ideas/topics from the teacher.

Name:________________

Personal Narrative Writing RubricExcellent (3) Good (2) Fair (1) Poor(0)

Brainstorming

I made a plan for my writing by

writing what I saw, felt, heard, learned, characters, setting,

problem, and details

I made a plan for my writing but was missing some

sections.

I made a plan for my writing but it was missing most

sections

I made no plan for my writing.

Introduction

I have a good introduction that

introduces the topic with at least 3 supporting details

about the topic

I have an introduction that

introduces the topic with 2 supporting

details

I have an introduction with 1 supporting detail.

I have no introduction or I

have an introduction with

no details

Word choice

I use details to describe all of the following: action,

thoughts, and feelings

I use details to describe two of the following: action,

thoughts, or feelings

I use details to describe one of the following: action,

thoughts or feelings

I did not use details to describe the

action, thoughts, or feelings

Sequencing

The reader can clearly follow the

story because I have use many

sequencing words

The reader can mostly follow my

story because I use some sequencing

words

The reader can somewhat follow

my story because I use a few

sequencing words

The reader cannot follow my story

because I have not used any

sequencing words

Ending

I have a strong conclusion that

shares the lesson learned and why

the event was important to me

I have a conclusion that shares either the lesson or why

the event was important to me

I have a conclusion but it does not

include the lesson or why the event was important to

me

I have no conclusion

Revising

I made 3 or more meaningful

changes to my story

I made 2 meaningful changes to my story

I made 1 meaningful change

to my story

I made no changes to my story

Editing

My sentences start with a capital letter

and end with a variety of

punctuation marks. The names of

characters, places, holidays, dates are

capitalized. All paragraphs are

indented.

My sentences start with a capital letter and end with all the same punctuation.

The names of characters, places, holidays, or dates

are capitalized (not all 4). Some

paragraphs are indented.

Some sentences start with a capital letter and end with punctuation. The

names of characters, places, holidays, and dates are not capitalized. Paragraphs are not

indented.

No sentences start with a capital letter

and end with punctuation. The

names of characters, places, holidays, and dates are not capitalized. Paragraphs are not

indented.

Works Cited

Demas, Corinne. Saying Goodbye to Lulu. Boston: Little, Brown, 2004. Print.

Grandits, John, and Michael Austin. Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want to Survive the

School Bus. New York: Clarion, 2011. Print.

"Homework Helper." Personal Narrative Organizer. Time for Kids. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.

<http://www.timeforkids.com/files/homework_helper/aplus_papers/PersonalNarrativeorg

anizer.pdf>.

Leedy, Loreen. Look at My Book: How Kids Can Write & Illustrate Terrific Books. New York: Holiday

House, 2004. Print.

Loewen, Nancy, and Christopher Lyles. Show Me a Story. Minneapolis, MN: Picture Window, 2009. Print.

Polacco, Patricia. Thank You, Mr. Falker. New York: Philomel, 1998. Print.

"Student Writing Models." Write Source. Houghton Mifflin Company. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.

<http://thewritesource.com/studentmodels>.