Okay so your students have their writer’s notebooks all full of topics and now you want them to write a personal narrative…seems like a big task to overcome? With the help of mentor texts, including your own as a teacher, you can guide students into developing a narrative story that has a lead that pulls a reader in, a bridged middle, and a catchy ending.
What makes a good personal narrative?
1. Write a little seed story; don’t write all about a giant watermelon topic.
2. Zoom in so you tell the most important parts of the story
3. Include true, exact details from the movie you have in your mind
4. Begin with a strong lead- maybe use setting action, dialogue, or a combination to create mood
5. Make a strong ending- maybe use action, dialogue, images, and whole story reminders to make a lasting impression
6. Relive the episode as you write it.
Calkins, L. & Martinelli, M. (2006). Launching the writing workshop grades 3-5. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Reflecting on chapter five from Mentor Text by Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli, personal narrative writing builds for students as they see their teacher model and use mentor texts to guide their own writing.
One of the first ideas that students have to grapple with is developing a lead that pulls the readers into a story. Lucy Calkins states the importance of using varying mentor texts for students to analyze how authors grab reader’s attentions in different ways. Along with this, she explains the importance of a teacher using their own or finding a student’s writing as an example for students to follow in developing their understanding of leads (Calkins, L.M., 2006). I think the inclusion of student sample work every other day in writer’s workshop is motivational for students. I believe that students sometimes are overwhelmed by mentor texts or their teacher’s writing thinking, “Well yes they can do that because they are older and are better writers.” I always believed this in elementary school which then sometimes made it more difficult to start the writing process. By demonstrating that students are using mentor texts as guides to their own writing, it also shows peer classmates that young writer’s like them can complete the same task.
In chapter five of Mentor Text, I love the possibility of making pages 123-124 into a handout of the variety of leads that a teacher had made from one of her own personal stories. It provides a reference to students that leads aren’t from a choice of one to two strategies to grab readers, but ideas that all sorts of mentor texts provide. This handout can also serve as a starter conversation for a writer’s workshop where students can spend time looking at a variety of leads of children’s books and decide how they lead the story.
Beginning
What is more important than the beginning of a story? How many times have you read a student’s first sentence being “On Thursday I woke up and….”? As educators, we need to build student understanding of the components of what makes a good beginning, good middle, and good ending.
“The common ingredients of a good beginning are creating the mood by establishing the setting; information about the main character that reveals his or her hops, thoughts and feelings; and at least a hint of the problem, goal, or direction of the story” (Dorfman, L., & Cappelli, R., pp. 117-118).
Mentor Texts: Owl Moon, The Promise, Amber on the Mountain, Amazing Grace, The Recess Queen, The Great Gracie Chase, Mr. George Baker, Yard Sale
By analyzing specific mentor texts, students can decide how the author was able to grab their attention in ways they describe the setting, character, or problem that arises in the first page or pages of a book. Students can then use these beginnings as an example of how to “borrow” author’s ideas in making the beginning of a story memorable.
Middle
I think the middle of a personal narrative is the most difficult to approach for students. BUT it is one of the most significant minilessons that a teacher can use in a writer’s workshop so that a student’s writing doesn’t go from: One day ____________ to THE END. I have to admit, I don’t ever remember learning how to write a middle of a story or personal narrative. It just came natural to me because writing something I knew a lot about was easier. Sometimes I had too much information.
The main idea from Mentor Texts chapter five for evolving student’s middle is by teaching them the importance of bridge paragraphs and sentences. By using mentor texts, teacher writing examples, or student examples, teachers can highlight how authors use information and events to build the beginning and ending together purposefully.
Mentor Texts: Crab Moon, Roller Coaster, Something Beautiful, Widget
End
THE END. Yes these words in first and second grade were at the end of all my writing. I learned it so I used it. As educators we need to begin phasing this “the end” component to make sure student writing is more meaningful and memorable. One way to build student endings is to have them analyze mentor texts and the ways authors have ended their stories. Below is an image of a table from Mentor Texts. This table represents how students can characterize different endings to stories that they can even build on. I love this idea! I think in my future classroom, I would have students pair off and read a minimum of one or two books from each category and be able to explain how the author ended each story and why it worked for the ending to be memorable. Then as a class, we would regroup and groups will explain what they learned about how endings can be different! Below the table, I included a highlighted portion that describes the importance of allowing students to come up with their own version of endings that they have noticed or want to try as well!
Possible ending techniques: memory that lingers, final action, lesson learned, hope or dream, thoughts or feelings, accomplishments, starts all over again, and bookends
Another key component that the readings had this week was to have time for revision of all these minilessons for students. Students aren’t going to write a perfect lead, middle paragraph, or end a personal narrative exactly how they want to. By having students reflect on their writing, it gives them an opportunity to reflect how their writing represents mentor texts they’ve become so familiar with in reading. One way to get students to communicating ideas between each other is to use the review system of CARE. Click here to access the document students can use to give feedback! Another option is to have students write feedback on sticky notes.
C: Compliment (Compliment the writer! Name one specific thing the writer did well and provide an example)
A: Ask a question (ASK a question that you have for the writer. This question could help the writer clarify or lift the level of their writing. Ask the writer about something that might be missing or something you don’t understand)
RE: Recommend (REcommend a suggestion for the writer to make their writing better. Give the writer a recommendation or suggestion to enhance their writing)
Your Turn Lessons
Below is a document full of your turn lessons that address minilessons for helping students find topics, narrow their topics, and revising their personal narratives!
My Six Word Memoir
If teaching students how to write a memoir in six words, first show them examples! View this teacher's prezi presentation of her fifth grade six word memoir's as an example!
Tired of being a student again.
Six word memoir resources:
References
Calkins, L.M. (2006). A guide to the writing workshop, grades 3-5. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Dorfman, L.M., & Cappelli, R. (2017). Mentor texts: Teaching writing through children's literature, k-6. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
I loved your six word memoir so much! I can easily relate to that. Can't wait to finally turn into teachers! Your blog post this week is so informative. I liked how you included the CARE acronym to help with feedback. That's so useful when trying to draft and improve on your writing!
Shannan, I loved how you started your blog this week! I started reading and I was hooked. I mean I know that I have read all the things you talked about in your blog, but the way you put it kind of made it seem like I was reading it for the first time almost. I really like how you laid out the beginning, middle and end the way you did, it was really nice to read and nice to see how you focused on that where in mine I think I focused more on just the lead in the text. But I think I did that because that is what I struggle with the most when writing, I can't…
I think your blog post this week is so informational and easy to navigate. I love how you broke down the beginning, middle, and end for teachers, what should be included in each, teaching ideas, and mentor texts for each. I think it makes it easier to read and understand as a teacher looking for ideas on how/what to teach. Also, with the 6 word memoirs, I love how you added in the prezi link of student examples. That is such a good idea for students and teachers visiting your page to see real life examples of them, showing that it is achievable for students.