Melissa Burch 0:00
Have you ever started a narrative writing unit with your students; thinking that you have everything perfectly planned and crafted to unleash your student's imagination and creativity; have them writing about personal experiences, and telling amazing stories. I've had that only to have my students then stare at blank papers and not be able to think about what to write even with a prompt, which led me to changing everything around to help my students get to a place where they can tell stories that are enjoyable to read, and for them to write. If this has happened to you, I am so glad you're joining me today. Welcome to Annotated ELA where we are diving headfirst into teaching narrative writing to your middle schoolers.
Melissa Burch 0:43
Before we get into the episode, be sure to download my free narrative scope and sequence at annotated ela.com/episode7, the link will be in the show notes.
Melissa Burch 0:55
When we start a narrative unit, I know that I often want to just start with writing. But number one in our narrative unit is don't start with the writing. I know that it can sound counterintuitive, but having students jump into writing a full-blown narrative is challenging and not productive. It feels overwhelming to sit down and write out the entire story without having any idea of what makes a good story and how to weave it all together. So don't start with the writing. Start with what students know; get students talking about and thinking about what makes a good story. And before you even get into the unit, you can provide prompts that get students thinking about stories and telling stories. Ask students to write about a time they overcame a fear, a time they were embarrassed, had the best or worst birthday party. Not all stories are personal. But starting with what students know puts the focus on the storytelling and not the story, which is key to getting students writing. Having students write can be as simple as just a bell ringer, or a quickwrite just providing the time to tell the story and talking about elements of a good story are what's important at this point in the narrative writing unit. When you're having them write these stories, even spending some time having them tell them and then pointing out these elements that make a good story before diving into teaching them and how to use them will prime students and get them ready for what's to come. Make it simple, make it quick, but be intentional in this first phase of your narrative writing unit. You may not even be fully writing yet. I know that for me, we read before getting into the writing. We do a lot of narrative and fiction reading and looking at elements of a good story. While we're reading some of my bell ringers on certain days will be prompts to get the students writing and then talking about their own writing and how they are using this structure of a story and elements of plot. Make it simple, but make it intentional.
Melissa Burch 3:01
Next up is the structure of a story and having a basic foundational knowledge of the structure of a story. The elements of the plot here are where the students may be taking notes, or I will give a reference sheet for them to keep in their binder or their notebook, depending on what you use. But this is necessary for students to understand the elements of a good story and what that entails. The elements of a good story are plot, characters setting, conflict, and theme. The students need to understand what each of these are and why they are used in a story. They'll have to dig deeper into the plot with exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. Make sure that students have a reference at this point. Students also need to understand that stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. That setting creates a context for time in place. Writers control time and pacing in a story, writers have complete control, and that's a powerful place to be and not something that students always fully understand. Conflict moves the plot forward and is an opportunity for a character or characters to learn a lesson and or make a change. Conflict really is the crux of their entire story. Point of View impacts a reader's experience. I'm going to take a minute and go off topic here. Have you ever read a story where you thought it was true? You thought it was the writer's or the author's personal experience? The entire novel is written in first person and you somehow got it in your head that it was a personal narrative? Only to find out that it was fiction the entire time. You as the reader suddenly have a different experience. It is a powerful moment for students to understand that point of view impacts the reader's experience. They are in control of what that experience is. Finally, that leads to the theme, which is the universal message that reveals what the story is really about. Theme should be in the first stages of planning so that the writer knows what the story is really going to be about and can lead the reader to that universal message through the basic elements of plot and the story structure. So many things to think about when writing; this is why it's so important for students to have a basic understanding of the structure of a story and these elements of plot. Providing them with a tool or a reference sheet, or a way to come back and be reminded of what each of these things are, is very beneficial.
Melissa Burch 5:47
The third step, strong mentor text. So now that students have that foundational information on plot and story structure, it's time to read these mentor texts, and unpack it all. Short stories, and even picture books make perfect mentor texts for narrative writing, because it allows you and them to spend time analyzing plot, character's point of view, conflict, and theme to provide context for what the students have been learning. They've been looking at all of the pieces as pieces. And now with the mentor text, they can see how all of these pieces come together to create the whole, which is good storytelling. You can even have students complete plot diagrams as they analyze the story structure. Don't stop there, though. Even if the plot diagram you're using has a space for theme, and characters, and conflict, and point of view, don't stop with just having them fill in plot diagrams. Guide students through activities and discussions to analyze a notice other elements of the structure of a story and how all of those elements are working together to make a good story. It's possible for students to do all of this, you're going to want to spend the time to do it.
Melissa Burch 7:04
Let's recap the first three elements of a good narrative writing unit. Don't start with the writing; don't have students jump right into writing a full-blown narrative. Next, analyze and evaluate the structure of a story and the elements of plot so that students have a toolkit or a reference to go to when they need a reminder of what these are and how they work. And, strong mentor text. This will provide a context for everything the students have been learning and put all of those pieces together to show them the whole.
Melissa Burch 7:36
Stay tuned for episode eight, where I will hit three more elements of an effective narrative writing unit. I hope you found this helpful today. If you want more information or want to talk about all things narrative writing, you can find me on Instagram at annotatedela; send me a DM, and let's talk about it. Until next time, bye for now.
