January 12, 2016 CG Writing Lessons 9-12, CG Writing Lessons K-5, CG Writing Lessons 6-8, ELA K-5, ELA 6-8, ELA Focus - Writing, ELA 9-12, ELA PD - Grammar Writing, ELA Resources - Charts/Posters, Core Grammar
By: Tiffany Rehbein
Students love stories. Whether they are telling a story or they are listening to a story, students become engaged with the plot line and interested in the characters. Students begin to relate to the events and make connections between their own lives and those lives in the story. Teaching narrative writing is a great way to tap into those stories that students love.
Purpose of Narrative Writing
The purpose of narrative writing is to tell a story. When writing a narrative essay however you do not simply retell an event or experience. A narrative essay needs to have clear intent or reason for telling a particular story. For instance, the story may illustrate some truth or give insight.
A narrative essay can also be a fictional story that is made-up. Whether the story is fact or fiction, the ultimate purpose of narrative writing is to relay a series of events in a way that captivates readers and engages them emotionally.
Elements of a Narrative Essay
Using the anagram NARRATE, teachers and students can easily remember the elements of a narrative essay.
Teaching Narrative Writing
When teaching narratives, tell students to describe an experience, event, or a sequence of events in the form of a story.
When writing a story, students can tell the following:
- Who
- What
- When
- Where
- Why
- How
To choose a topic, students can focus on a small moment from their life. When teaching narrative writing, have student list their ideas. Students can use transition words such as first, then, next, and finally as they write their story.
The holidays are a great time to share stories. A great way to bring those stories into the classroom is to teach narrative writing!
Narrative writing is a low-risk assignment that allows teachers to get to know their students.