Personal Narrative Writing Using the Writing Process

Get ready to tell your story!  In this 4-week class, students will write a personal narrative. Topics of discussion include brainstorming, using dialogue, good word choice, outlining with a graphic organizer, writing and editing rough drafts, and of course producing a final finished product. The teacher will send activities and exercises to do in each class that will sharpen students' narrative writing skills. Students can expect to ask questions and get feedback on their writing during and in between classes. In the last class, students will be given the opportunity to share their stories.

Week 1

Day 1- We will discuss what a personal narrative is, how we pick a topic and the story elements (setting, character, sequence of events, voice, details) that will drive our writing.

Day 2- Students will learn about narrowing their personal narrative topics to a small moment instead of a big broad topic.They will outline the who, when, where, what and how of their story. 

Week 2

Day 3-Students will work on adding sensory details and dialogue to their personal narratives so they can draw their audience into the story.

Day 4-Students will learn how to write a good lead that will hook their reader as well as a reflective ending.

Week 3

Day 5-We will discuss transition words and students will start writing their rough drafts for the beginning, middle, and end parts of their personal narrative. Students will be able to get guidance during class to validate their ideas. 

Day 6-We will discuss word choice and replace some of our weak, overused words with strong, unique words to liven up our writing. Students will be able to ask for help revising their narratives and go through a checklist to see if their rough drafts follow all capitalization, punctuation, organization and spelling rules. Students will be able to ask any final questions they have about their final drafts. 

Week 4

Day 7-Students will write their final drafts for the next class and ask for more help and guidance during this class. We will go over the writing rubric so students will know what criteria I will be using to score their writing.

Day 8-Students will be given the opportunity to share their final drafts.

***This is a basic outline that could vary depending on the class size and writing experience level.