Teaching Kids to Write a Narrative Piece

Narratives are savvy at testing the skills of students in multiple grades. This is because the term "narrative" can apply to a simple story about a toy, or to a story about how space shuttles are able to fly to the moon. Either way, the narrative must be written as a story. English can be the most challenging topic to master because of the many different elements of language that need to be taught, whether it is spelling, fragments, subordinate clauses, supporting details or predicates.

 

Young Students

Students who are in the lower grades often have a favorite toy that they know intricately. This makes a prime subject for the student's first narrative piece that could be titled "My Favorite Toy." The goal of the piece is to write a story that contains some detail and that flows logically. For example, the words should be arranged so that the reader understands what is happening, rather than random words compiled to create for a narrative that doesn't make sense. The students should write a draft and then check their spelling and grammar before completing a final copy.

 

Middle Grades

Students who are about halfway through their 12 years of grade school can write an advertisement for a new food product. Students should direct their narrative to a specific audience. For example, if they are writing an advertisement for paper towel, they might describe a situation when a father comes home to see that his 12-year-old son just spilled an entire glass of soda on the carpet. The father then proceeds to soak up the mess with paper towels.

 

Higher Grades

Students in the higher grades are more able to write longer piece about a topic that doesn't necessarily involve themselves. For example, the students can write about a process, such as how a paper towel is made. These kids can incorporate more abstract ideas in their writing and they can use literary techniques such as similes and metaphors. At this stage, the students should be using strong adjectives and descriptions.

 

All Grades

No matter what grade your student is in, he needs direction and practice at everything he does. This means assigning the next exercise immediately after he finishes the first assignment. Each student will need to know the intended outcome of the assignment. For example, if you are teaching a Grade 4 class how to spell, ensure the students pay special attention to spelling and put special weight on this aspect when marking.

 

References

• Ministry of Education and Training: Writings [http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/writing18ex.pdf]
• Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute: Effective Methods for Teaching Paragraph Development [http://yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1978/1/78.01.08.x.html]
• University of Illinois: Expository Writing [http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Expository_writing]