Writing Personal Narratives

September 21, 2009

                 The children have been busy at work writing personal narratives. They are looking at their lives, searching for small moments that have meaning to them, and then turning them into stories. The focus of this first unit of study is to convince children that they have moments in their lives that are worth writing about, to give them the tools and strategies to craft concise, detailed stories, and to create a toolbox of strategies for generating personal narrative topics. The students in Room 11 have so much to tell about their lives, very few have had a difficult time coming up with small moments that inspire them to write.

                 I have read stories about watching a sunset atop a ferris wheel in London, getting knocked down by a wave and swallowing sea water, flying through the air on a Wave, the moments before going down a large drop of a rollercoaster, getting soaked by a super soaker, body surfing, and getting across a river without a bridge. I am asking children to live like writers, and be on the lookout for story ideas and notice them in their hiding places.

Tags: writer's workshop

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