what is a personal narrative essay 4th grade

• Food & Dining
• Coronavirus
• Real Estate
• Seattle History
• PNW Politics

Teaching Narrative Writing in 4th Grade Elementary

Related articles, teaching reading comprehension to 6th graders, how to teach note-taking skills in the fifth & sixth grades, differences in narrative vs. exposition in a story.

• Activities to Improve Reading in Primary School Students
• Expository vs. Reflective Essays

By fourth grade, most student can organize their thoughts into coherent sentences and maintain focus on one main topic. Narrative writing provides students with an opportunity to refine and practice these skills, as well as build on these skills by requiring them to coordinate multiple events based on one idea. Foster your student’s creativity and further their writing abilities through narrative lesson plans.

What is a Narrative?

Before you begin writing, teach your fourth graders the definition of a narrative, which is a story. Many students have probably told their parents what they did at school one day or listed animals they saw at the zoo, but a narrative is more than just a retelling of events -- it generally focuses on one overarching idea, usually resolves a conflict or problem, and may show a change in a main character, according to Windham Southeast Supervisory Union.

Providing Examples

Read some examples of narrative writing with your fourth-grade students. The book “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst is one classic example of a narrative story. The book recounts the unfortunate events throughout one day and ends with Alexander’s mother comforting him, telling him that everyone has bad days. The structure of the book reaffirms that narratives emphasize one main idea and often resolve at the end.

Personal Narrative

Many fourth-grade students will find it easier to write a story about themselves than to make up a plot, so provide prompts for students to write a personal narrative. Students can write about a vacation, their favorite day, a birthday party or a time they were in trouble. Start with brainstorming and ask students to answer the questions about what happened, where and when it occurred, and who else was present. Fourth graders can jot down ideas for the beginning, middle and end of their stories, followed by writing the complete narrative based on their notes.

Fictional Narrative

You can also allow students to get creative and write fictional narratives. Similar to writing a personal narrative, start with brainstorming ideas for a character and situations that person might get into. If students have a hard time creating a character, give prompts, such as asking students to imagine they are their pet or what would happen if they went into a dark cave. Once students have an idea and an outline of their story, they can write the narrative. Alternatively, students can base a story on research. Fourth graders can take information they learned from another subject, such as history, and create stories about historical figures or events.

• Utah Education Network: Fourth Grade Writing Lesson #1/Narrative Prompt
• Teacher Vision: Writing a Personal Narrative
• The Kennedy Center: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
• Portland Public Schools: Narrative Writing: Personal Narrative

Cara Batema is a musician, teacher and writer who specializes in early childhood, special needs and psychology. Since 2010, Batema has been an active writer in the fields of education, parenting, science and health. She holds a bachelor's degree in music therapy and creative writing.

Reading Improvement Activities for College Students

Point of view activities for third grade, creative writing activities for sixth graders, what is the difference between a memoir and personal narrative, teaching elementary students to identify the speaker of a poem, how to develop narrative skills for preschool, teaching haiku poems to first-graders, creative ways for students to demonstrate reading comprehension, 5 step writing process for kids, most popular.

• 1 Reading Improvement Activities for College Students
• 2 Point of View Activities for Third Grade
• 3 Creative Writing Activities for Sixth Graders
• 4 What Is the Difference Between a Memoir and Personal Narrative?

Personal Narrative Writing Guide

WHAT IS A PERSONAL NARRATIVE?

A Personal Narrative recounts an event or experience from the writer’s life in story form and often in intimate detail. This text type not only relates to the events happening around the author but also often reveals the writer’s inner thoughts and emotions also.

A personal narrative can be understood as nonfiction storytelling based on the writer’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Told in the first person, the writer draws on their life events to construct a story.

Combining elements of nonfiction recount writing with introspection and the frequent use of literary devices more commonly associated with fiction and poetry, a personal narrative can be best understood as a type of creative nonfiction .

PERSONAL NARRATIVE VERSUS A PERSONAL RECOUNT: SO WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Personal narratives are also frequently referred to as personal recounts. They share much in common but are unique text types, so let’s explore how they compare and contrast.

When we first instruct our students to write stories based on the events of their own lives, they will inevitably write simple recounts. These recounts are based on retelling personal incidents of their lives but lack the depth we can typically expect to find in a personal narrative.

While personal narratives also recount events from the writer’s life, with greater emphasis placed on exploring the writer’s thoughts and feelings on these events rather than just what happened.

A personal narrative is a means for the writer to explore the meaning of the events in their life. It is, at its core, an introspective and creative endeavor that focuses as much on the interior life of the writer as it does on external events.

While the conclusion of a traditional recount usually provides some of the writer’s insights, in a personal narrative, these are woven throughout the text.

STRUCTURE AND FEATURES OF A PERSONAL NARRATIVE

Personal narrative structure.

ORIENTATION Explain the who, what, when, and where of the experience in your introduction to your audience.

FOCUS Mainly focus on meaningful events.

CHRONOLOGY Events are described in the sequence in which they occurred.

ORGANIZATION Relevant information is organized into paragraphs

INSIGHT & MEANING Include personal comments, opinions or interpretations of the experience or event in your personal narrative.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES

TENSE The first and third person are used most frequently and recall is always written in the past tense. Present tense can be used for analysis and opinion.

NOUNS Use proper nouns to refer to specific people, places times and events

VOICE Both active and passive voice are used in recounts. Use these to express your emotions and thinking clearly.

CONNECTIVES Use conjunctions and connectives to link events and indicate time sequence in your personal narrative.

A COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING

Teach your students to write AMAZING PERSONAL NARRATIVES using a proven model of research skills, writing strategies and engaging content. ALL CONTENT, RESOURCES AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS INCLUDED covering.

Download this COMPLETE 85 PAGE UNIT today. NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

HOW LONG SHOULD A PERSONAL NARRATIVE BE?

The personal narrative is a modern text type and therefore has no traditionally defined optimum length, and we can find texts ranging from a couple of hundred words to a multi-volume series in this genre. 

However, for our students, this text type can be thought of in terms of length as similar to an essay. Like an essay, the text needs to be long enough to comprehensively answer the question, prompt, or the event/experience the student is retelling.

David Sedaris, the American writer and one of the best-known writers of humorous personal narratives, has written many books that could accurately be classified in this genre.

While these full-length books are often built around a loose theme, each chapter could stand alone as a personal narrative essay in its own right, each built around a single identifiable experience or event. 

As with an essay, the length of a personal narrative can be based on a variety of factors, including:

• Age and ability of the students
• Specifics of the question or writing prompt
• Any limitation imposed by a word count
• The complexity of the event/experience being written about.

Regardless of length, given its structural similarity with the essay, personal narratives usually follow a basic three-part structure.

HOW TO WRITE A PERSONAL NARRATIVE STEP-BY-STEP

We mentioned previously that this text type is relatively modern, so there aren’t many fixed rules concerning structure. That said, we can usually identify three distinct parts of a personal narrative corresponding to the three parts outlined in the hamburger essay or the 5-paragraph essay format. These are:

• The introduction
• The body paragraphs
• The conclusion

If you want an in-depth guide to this format, check out our comprehensive article here . But, for now, let’s take a brief look at the purpose of each section as it relates to a personal narrative.

WRITING THE INTRODUCTION OF A PERSONAL NARRATIVE

The introduction of a personal narrative performs several functions. 

1: It hooks the Reader

The first job of the introduction is to ‘hook’ the reader. If we can’t catch the reader’s interest initially, there will be no middle or end for the reader. A strong hook is needed at the very outset, and it can take several forms. 

Some effective hooks to open a personal narrative with include:

• A bold claim
• An interesting anecdote
• A fascinating fact or revealing statistic
• A compelling quotation

Whichever technique the student chooses to open their narrative with, they should ensure it is relevant to the subject matter explored, whether it focuses on external or internal events or experiences or a mixture of both. 

2: It orients the Reader

Like many other nonfiction and fiction text types, the opening paragraph (or paragraphs) will also orient the reader by answering some basic questions such as:

• What is the text about?
• Who is in this story?
• Where is it set?
• When do the events or experiences occur?

While it may also hint at why these events or experiences matter, a detailed answer to the why of a personal narrative may be saved for the text’s conclusion.

This section of the personal narrative can also be thought of as The Exposition .

3: It Sets the Tone

The introduction reveals not only what the text will be about but also how the writer (and, by extension, the reader) will treat the topic. This is the tone.

For example, a more sombre tone has been established where the language used is serious and formal. In this instance, the reader will adopt a more serious approach to the work.

On the other hand, if the treatment of the event or experience is humorous, this will be apparent in the language choices the writer makes and the mood they establish. Going forward, the reader can reasonably expect to be amused by what’s to come in the text.

THE BODY PARAGRAPHS OF A PERSONAL NARRATIVE

The body paragraphs of a personal narrative comprise the bulk of the text. 

As with any type of recount, this section will generally focus on the chronological retelling of an event or experience. 

However, there is another significant difference between this type of recount and the other types.’ The root of this difference can be found in the word ‘narrative’.

While the body paragraphs of a personal narrative can make use of some of the defining characteristics of more traditional types of recount, if the introduction acts as the exposition of the setting and character of the story, the body paragraphs move the text along its story arc.

Though we will cover the main elements briefly, structuring a story is an art in itself and if you want to find out more about it, check out our detailed article on the subject here.

Also, if you want to learn more about the structure of general recounts, find out more here .

While we’ve seen that the introduction of a personal narrative corresponds to a story’s exposition, the following elements of a story arc can be found in the text’s body.

1: The Problem

The problem or conflict is an essential ingredient in any story worth the name. It creates the story’s focal point, ignites the reader’s interest, and drives the story forward. In a personal narrative, this problem can be internal or external, however, there is often an emphasis placed on how the issues affect the writer psychologically.  2: The Rising Action  

As the narrative develops, the dramatic tension will tend to increase. The main problem will intensify, or the writer may introduce additional more minor problems to amp things up. 3: The Climax

This is where the story reaches its dramatic high point. In the case of a personal narrative where the conflict or problem is psychological, this drama and its climax may play out internally.

WRITING THE CONCLUSION OF YOUR PERSONAL NARRATIVE ESSAY

This third and final section of the personal narrative performs a slightly different function to a regular essay’s conclusion. 

While the conclusions of most nonfiction text types focus on restating a central thesis and/or providing a summary of arguments, the conclusion in a personal narrative follows a story’s final section more closely. 

That is, it usually contains the story’s falling action and resolution.

Let’s take a quick look at each.

1: The Falling Action

The story arc dips in dramatic tension after the dramatic high point of the climax. As personal narratives often focus on ‘internal’ events, this ‘action’ can also occur internally. 2: Resolution

The resolution marks the end of the story, and in this text type, it usually involves some personal change in circumstances or transformation. It can also take the form of a lesson learned or new knowledge attained.

TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT PERSONAL NARRATIVE ESSAY

• Begin with a clear and compelling story: Your personal narrative essay should focus on a significant event or experience in your life that you want to share with the reader.
• Write in the first person perspective: Use “I” statements to describe your experiences and thoughts and take us inside your mind.
• Be descriptive: To bring your story to life, use descriptive language to paint a picture of the sights, sounds, and emotions of your experience.
• Focus on what matters the most: Tell a powerful story with just a few key details. When writing your personal narrative, focus on the most impactful events and thoughts that help convey your message.
• Emphasize the impact the experience had upon you: Leave the reader with a clear understanding of the impact that the experience had on your life.
• Be true to yourself: Ensure your personal narrative essay is honest and genuine in your descriptions and reflections.
• Deliver a powerful ending: The conclusion should summarize the major points of your essay and leave the reader with a lasting impression.
• Review and Revise: Don’t be afraid to proofread your essay several times to ensure it is the best it can be.

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

PERSONAL NARRATIVE PRACTICE EXERCISE: ACTIVITY 1

• Organise your students into small groups of four or five
• Provide each group with a selection of personal recounts
• Can the students identify how each sample text attempts to hook the reader in the opening paragraph?
• How effectively does the introduction of each text orient the reader?
• What is the tone of the text? How has this tone been created?

PERSONAL NARRATIVE PRACTICE EXERCISE: ACTIVITY 2

In their groups, with their sample personal narrative texts, ask students to identify how the writer deals with each element as listed below and discuss how effectively they have done so.

• The Problem
• The Rising Action

PERSONAL NARRATIVE PRACTICE EXERCISE: ACTIVITY 3

Now students understand how to structure and write each stage of their personal narrative, encourage them to spend some time brainstorming events and experiences from their lives that could serve as the topic for their writing.

When they have chosen a suitable topic, instruct them to begin planning the writing of their text using the categories listed above. They might even wish to create a simple graphic organizer to help. 

For example:

Introduction

• What is the opening hook?

Body Paragraphs

• What is the central problem?
• What happens in the rising action?
• How does the climax play out?
• What happens in the falling action?
• What is the resolution of the story?

Once students have their narrative adequately planned, it’s time to get them writing earnestly to put all that theory into practice.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING TEMPLATE / GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING EXAMPLES

VIDEO TUTORIAL ON PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING

NARRATIVE WRITING CHECKLIST BUNDLE

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (92 Reviews)

RELEVANT ARTICLES

How to Write a Recount Text (And Improve your Writing Skills)

How to Write a Historical Recount Text

5 Easy Recount Writing Lesson Plans students love.

15 Awesome Recount & Personal Narrative Topics

Explore our Teaching Unit on PERSONAL NARRATIVES

Writing a Personal Narrative (Gr. 4)

Help your students tell their own stories!

Scott Foresman, an imprint of Pearson

Featured 4th grade resources.

Related Resources

Narrative Writing | Student Writing Samples

Personal Experience Narrative Sample- Grade 4- Snowed

Read Time 3 mins | Dec 8, 2021 3:30:06 PM | Written by: Toolbox

Personal Experience Narrative Grade 4 Sample Snowed

Summarizing Framework

This is a story about Danny and me. The experience was playing in the snow . The experience concluded when the boys were so cold they went inside .  

What worked:

• Organization: There is a sense of story with a beginning, middle, and end.
• Entertaining Beginning:   There is a good action beginning statement.

Feedback with Prescriptive Feedback:

CHOOSE a Focus Skill: One skill that will make the biggest impact

For this student, genre and organization needs to be the focus.

Genre and Author’s Purpose:   This story was difficult to summarize because it is a classic list of actions rather than a fully elaborated main event.  What is the main event from the list of actions in the middle of your story?  The story does not begin as close to the main event as possible because the main event is unclear.

• Section 1 Lesson 1: Introducing Graphic Organizers - Summarizing Framework
• Section 1 Lesson 8: Annotating Narrative Stories - the organizational structure and features of narrative 
• Section 1 Lesson 10: Givens and Variables - practice planning focused narrative stories

Elaborative Detail: This student needs modeled lessons in description of setting and feelings.  Elaborative detail is a critical foundational skill that builds the essential parts of the narrative story. 

• Section 3 Lesson 3: General or Specific?  The awareness level for elaborative detail.
• Section 3 Lesson 5: Creating Elaborative Segments (modeling is crucial)

Entertaining Beginnings:  

• Section 2 Lesson 1: Starting Off on the Right Foot
• Section 2 Lesson 2: Analyze the Beginning
• Section 2 Lesson 3: Revising Story Beginnings

Main Event:  What is the main event?  Student needs to establish a single, significant event.  Is it the snowball fight?  Is it going sledding?  Is it building an igloo?  Once that is established then add a balanced mix of action, description, thoughts/feeling, dialogue, and sound.

• Section 5 Lesson 1: Comparing Summaries and Fully Elaborated Main Events
• Section 5 Lesson 2: Main Event: apply the productive questioning techniques

Recommended Resources

• Empowering Writer's Methodology
• Narrative Writing Guide for Grade 4  

• Skip to main content
• Writing Masterclass
• Math Masterclass
• Course Login
• Lesson Genie
• Search this website

Not So Wimpy Teacher

The Not So WImpy Teacher creates resources for busy teachers in grades 2-5 who are looking to deliver engaging and meaningful lessons without overwhelm and chaos.

Get my FREE Editing & Revising Centers

Get my free editing & revising centers.

Help your students master tricky writing skills with these FREE Editing and Revising Centers. Students in grades 2-5 will love this fun, collaborative way to practice editing and revising. Perfect for test prep and review.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

Last updated on October 20, 2023 by Not So Wimpy Teacher

8 Must-Do Tips for Teaching Personal Narrative

When I was in the classroom, I organized my writing instruction into units of study. Focusing on one unit at a time helps students become better writers. Rather than skipping around from topic to topic, students get to dig into one genre for eight weeks. This helps them truly master the skills and strategies of each genre. You can read more about teaching writing in units  here .

My favorite genre to teach at the beginning of the year is personal narrative.

A personal narrative is a true story based on personal experiences. All students have personal experiences that they can write about it (although you may have to help them realize this), so this makes it an easy genre to use when you introduce writing. Students enjoy writing about themselves. They get excited to write narratives. Personal narratives also help you get to know the students at the beginning of the year.

Here are some tips for teaching personal narratives

1. start with a pre-assessment.

It’s important to start each writing unit with a pre-assessment. This allows you to see what students know before you teach the unit. A pre-assessment helps you plan lessons and form conference groups. It also gives you a baseline from which to measure student growth at the end of the unit. 

Keep the pre-assessment assignment super simple. Give students a prompt so you can be sure they are using the right type of writing. And offer some suggestions for how to answer that prompt. For example: “Tell me about a time you visited a new place, such as a new school, a new friend’s house, a new playground, or a new city.” These suggestions help get students thinking about how to answer the prompt. Allow one writing period, between 30-45 minutes, to respond to it the best they can. Then use a simple rubric to score the sample, but don’t add the grade to the grade book. 

Expect your students to struggle. Remember you haven’t taught this material yet. But make sure you let them work independently without commenting on their work.

2. Make sure students know what a personal narrative is

If you want your students to be able to successfully write a personal narrative, you need to explicitly teach them what that is. Spend a day or two looking at examples of personal narratives. Use lots of mentor text passages and books. My writing units include the relevant mentor texts, but your classroom or school library also has many examples.

After you’ve provided several examples, give students a chance to apply what they learned. A task card scoot is a great way to check for understanding.

3. Teach students how to generate a personal narrative topic

When students are permitted to choose their own topic, they are more excited about writing. Selecting a topic that is interesting to them gives them ownership over their writing and makes it more meaningful. So rather than directing all your students to write about “A Time I Felt Proud,” allow them to select their own topic.

But, and this is so important, you need to teach them how to do this. Otherwise, you’ll be faced with a lot of blank pages and “I don’t know what to write about” complaints. Plan to spend a couple of days demonstrating strategies for generating topics. My writing units include these lessons.

4. Let them write right away

One of the biggest mistakes teachers make when teaching writing is waiting too long to let kids start drafting. If you try to teach every skill related to personal narrative before letting students write, they will get bored. 

Let them start drafting early. As soon as you’ve taught students how to generate a topic, let them get their ideas on paper. The first draft won’t be perfect, but it’s not supposed to be. They are just getting started.

5. Don’t get discouraged

Their first drafts are not going to be very good. This is true of all first drafts. But especially at the beginning of the year. Students might be a little rusty after summer vacation. Or they may have never learned how to write before.

Don’t get discouraged. You haven’t even started teaching writing yet. Over the next several weeks, you will teach them lots of strategies to improve their writing. And they will have many opportunities to revise that first draft. Between mini lessons, writing conferences, and independent practice their writing will get better.

6. Teach one skill at a time

After students have completed their first draft it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty lessons of what makes a good personal narrative. Plan to focus on just one skill at a time. And take your time teaching that skill.

Some important skills to teach during personal narrative are strong leads, dialogue, paragraphs, and show don’t tell. But you can’t teach any of these topics in one day.

Instead of introducing the topic of interesting leads and giving students three or four examples at once, you might teach the skill over three days. Each day you can introduce just one interesting type of lead and have students go back to their draft and revise it to reflect what they just learned. This means they’ll write three interesting leads for one story. At the end of the topic, they can choose the one they like best. But they will have had practice experimenting with all three and will have three new tools in their writing toolbox.

Curious about what other skills you should teach in the personal narrative unit? Check out my FREE What to Teach in Writing Guide for a complete list.

7. Break down the editing process

It’s important that you teach kids how to edit. If you just tell them to edit their work, chances are they will spend two minutes skimming it and tell you it’s good. And you will see ten errors in two seconds.

Rather than just giving them the task of editing, break down the process and have them focus on one specific item. Maybe you want your students to make sure all their sentences start with a capital letter or end with a punctuation mark. Or maybe you want them to focus on indenting their paragraphs. 

You can choose any skill you want to emphasize, but don’t expect them to edit everything all at once. And once they are finished editing, resist the urge to point out all the other mistakes. Remember, the purpose of writing is communicating ideas, not perfecting spelling or grammar. 

8. Celebrate student writing

This is the best part! Once students have finished their masterpieces, find a fun way to publish them. You can create class books or blogs. Or let students write their final copy on fancy paper. 

Make sure to allow time for students to share with one another. Authors write so that they can share their stories with others. And kids really enjoy the opportunity to share their writing.

Try an author celebration. There are many ways to do this in the classroom. You might turn your classroom into Camp Share-a-Story.  Bring in sleeping bags, flashlights, and simple s’mores and allow students to share their stories in small groups while a campfire plays on YouTube on the whiteboard. 

Or invite parents to visit for a “book launch.” Let the students read their stories to their adult visitors while sipping punch. The key is to make it fun so that students look forward to their next writing piece.

Personal Narrative Writing Units

If you’d like even more help teaching personal narrative, my writing units may be just what you are looking for.

These units are available for grades 2-5 and come with EVERYTHING  you need to teach personal narrative writing for 8 weeks. I’ve even included all the mentor texts you need. You don’t have to purchase any additional books or spend hours hunting in the library!

The lesson plans are simple. All you have to do is print and teach.

Students will learn all the skills necessary for a small moment story with dialogue, a strong lead, interesting word choice, paragraphs, and so much more. There are digital anchor charts you can just project onto your whiteboard to save time.

Finally, these units make writing fun for your students. You may even find that your students moan and groan when writing time is over. And when students enjoy writing and get lots of practice, they perform better on standardized tests. 

Shop This Post

Personal Narrative Writing Unit – 2nd Grade

Personal Narrative Writing Unit – 3rd Grade

Personal Narrative Writing Unit – 4th Grade

Personal Narrative Writing Unit – 5th Grade

Or, save money and buy a bundle of all 4 writing units: personal narrative, informational essay, opinion, and fiction narrative. You’ll have everything you need to teach writing for the entire year!

Work With Me

I created the Not So Wimpy Writing Masterclass , an online professional development course specifically for teachers in grades 2-5 . The tips and strategies inside the course will help you ditch the overwhelm and become a more confident writing teacher who inspires students and transforms them into kids who love to write.

When you enroll in the Masterclass, you’ll learn tried and true strategies for how to teach writing , including how to:

• Teach writing in units
• Create manageable mini-lessons  
• Keep students on task during independent writing time
• Implement a successful writing workshop without chaos and confusion
• Transform ALL your students into eager and excited writers who have the skills needed to perform well on standardized tests

This course will make teaching writing easier, more effective, and a heck of a lot more fun! And this professional development is easy! The course is completely online and self-paced. So you are in complete control of your schedule.

​​ Registration for the Not So Wimpy Writing Masterclass is currently closed. Be sure to sign up for the Waitlist so you will be the first to know when we open it again. Sign up now so you don’t miss out!

Have a Not So Wimpy day,

You may also enjoy these posts

Reader Interactions

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

More than 400 helpful resources available in my shop!

Not So Wimpy Writing Masterclass

Do you struggle to find time to teach writing? Do you find it a challenge to deliver lessons that help all of your writers? Would you like to learn a simple and effective way to teach writing? The Not So Wimpy Writing Masterclass is an online professional development course for grades 2-5. In this course, you will go from feeling overwhelmed to feeling confident and excited about teaching writing.

Check out these recent podcast episodes:

• Connecting with Students Online with Jennifer Serravallo
• A Simple Problem-Solving Strategy That Works Every Time
• Giving Students Feedback About Their Writing
• Virtual and Socially Distant Valentine’s Day Activities for the Classroom
• How to Use Project-Based Learning in the Classroom

Grab a snack and join the discussion over on Facebook!

We have four separate groups for grades 2-5

Get even more great tips and tricks on my YouTube channel!

We LOVE and recommend these products!

Check out the books, supplies, and other products that we use in our own classrooms. We only recommend those things that we absolutely love and swear by!

Hello! I’m Jamie

• I believe that students need to be the leaders of the classroom. Even third graders are old enough to be held accountable and to take responsibility for their learning.
• I do not believe that kids were made to sit in seats. They need to get up and move around.
• Differentiated instruction is a must. I use guided reading and guided math groups to meet the individual needs of my students.
• Helping a student to discover their love for reading is a privilege that I never get tired of.
• School should be fun! We party in my class!

Follow Me Here

Personal Narratives with Strong Leads

“Hook your Readers!”

This is what we tell our student in order to help them understand the importance of a strong lead when composing personal narratives (small moment stories).  We want our students to learn how to capture the readers’ attention, making them want to read the rest of our piece.  Strategies and examples can help your students choose that “just right” bold beginning to hook their readers and make them want to read more.

Anchor Chart

To familiarize students with options for bold beginnings, it’s always helpful to start with an anchor chart.  When I taught fourth grade, I wrote out examples for each lead.  However, I found that made the anchor chart too cluttered for my second graders.  Instead, I use a picture to illustrate each strategy.  Pictures are helpful for young students to have access to a visual representation of each strategy.  Students will also see plenty of examples through mentor texts, modeling, and examples of personal narratives from their peers.

Mentor Texts

After introducing students to the different types of leads, you can dive into some favorite mentor texts for examples.  I always read the book to students in its entirety before referring back to it for a specific craft lesson.  (The read aloud does not always take place during writing time.)  Three of my favorite mentor texts for narrative leads are Jabari Jumps , Thundercake , and Shortcut .

Dialogue for a Strong Lead

” ‘I’m jumping off the diving board today,’ Jabari told his dad.”

Jabari Jumps is an excellent example of a personal narrative that focuses on a small moment where Jabari overcomes his fear of jumping off the diving board.

Setting Description for a Strong Lead

“One sultry summer days at my grandma’s farm in Michigan, the air gets damp and heavy.  Storm clouds drift low over the fields.”

Thundercake is a wonderful small moment story about a woman helping her grandchild overcome her fear of thunderstorms my baking thundercake.

Short Sentences for a Strong Lead

We looked… We listened… We decided to take the shortcut home.

There is definitely a lesson to be learned in Shortcut .  In this small moment story, children learn that taking a shortcut is not always the best decision.  

Let the Students Choose...

In order to provide additional examples, I compose three possible leads for my own personal narrative (used as a model).  To the right are my three lead ideas for my personal narrative about getting my dog, Millie, from the shelter.  I use Pear Deck to have my students vote for which lead they liked best.  However, voting by raising hands works just as well.

***My students chose the first one.

Small Group & Conference Reference

As you know, there will be some students who will take these writing strategies and run with with them.  There will also be those who will need further guidance.  Whenever I am conferring with students or meeting with a small group to discuss leads, I have mentor texts and my writing handy.  In addition, I have a list of sample leads from other mentor texts.  The isolated examples below are helpful to inspire students who may need a little more guidance.  I often have them choose a lead they like and help them model their own lead after an example that they like.

***Keep reading to find out how you can download this list, plus an engaging Lead Scavenger Hunt.

Students Inspiring Each Other

One final way to inspire bold beginnings is by having students share with each other.  There are a couple of ways to do this.  During writing workshop, I sometimes call attention to a student who has composed a particularly strong lead.  Alternatively,  students could share at the end of writing workshop, either through a whole group share or by sharing with a writing partner.  Students are often inspired by their peers, so this usually works out well.

***If you would like to read more about writing personal narratives , check out this post which shares three wonderful mentor texts and how to use them for several different lessons.  You can also find ways to help your students find small moments here .

I designed a freebie to make lead strategies more accessible and more engaging.  By filling out the form below, you can have a lead scavenger hunt and interactive notebook resources sent straight to your inbox.  I hope your students have as much fun finding all the different leads as mine do!  Let me know how it goes with your class.

Related Posts

Metaphor Magic: 5 Fun Ways to Practice Figurative Language

Embrace Productive Struggle in Math with these 4 Powerful Strategies

Writing Workshop: Six Helpful Ways to Improve Student Motivation

Please share your thoughts. cancel reply, let's connect.

Mary Wingert, licensed educator (K-12 Special Ed. & 1-8 General Ed)

I started teaching in 1993.   I have taught special education, fifth grade, and fourth grade.  I moved to second grade in 2015, and I am still there today.  

I believe in teaching strategies that are effective, differentiated, and engaging. I am looking forward to building a community of teachers who feels the same!   Read more here.

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

NEW: Classroom Clean-Up/Set-Up Email Course! 🧽

101 Exciting 4th Grade Writing Prompts for 2023 (Free Printable!)

Use them for journal writing, essay topics, and more!

Fourth grade is a time for students to continue to hone their writing chops as they put to use the skills they’ve learned and gain confidence in their abilities. We’ve collected this list of fourth grade writing prompts—including opinion, persuasive, informational, and narrative—to spur your students’ imaginations and get them writing!

You can get 50 of these fourth grade writing prompts in a free PowerPoint slideshow bundle! They make it easy to share these writing ideas with your students.  Grab your free PowerPoint bundle by submitting your email here .

• Persuasive and Opinion Writing Prompts
• Descriptive and Expository Writing Prompts
• Narrative and Personal Writing Prompts
• Creative Writing Prompts
• Current Events Writing Prompts

Persuasive and Opinion 4th Grade Writing Prompts

Would you rather be good at sports or good in school? Why?

Would you rather have lots of money or lots of friends? Why?

What is your favorite subject in school? Why?

Are fourth graders ready to stay home alone? Why or why not?

Name two characters from different books that you think might be good friends. Why?

Which is more important for success, skill or luck?

Should kids be paid an allowance to do chores around the house? Why or why not?

Why are classroom rules important?

If you had a time machine, what era of history would you visit?

Why is math important?

Why is science important?

Should fourth graders have cell phones? Why or why not?

If you could open a store, what type of store would it be and why?

Which would you rather read: a scary story that gives you goosebumps or a funny story that cracks you up? Why?

What is the hardest thing about being a fourth grader?

If I were the ruler of the world, the first law I would pass would be … because …

If you found a backpack filled with dollar bills, what would you do?

Is it ever OK to tell secrets? Why or why not?

What animal makes the best pet? Why?

Is it better to spend an hour a day reading or an hour a day exercising? Why?

Descriptive and Expository 4th Grade Writing Prompts

If you had a YouTube channel, what would you talk about?

What’s the best book you’ve read recently? What was it all about?

If you won a million dollars, how would you spend the money?

Describe what you think of as perfect weather.

Describe how to build a birdhouse step by step.

Write five rules for staying organized.

What is the worst book you ever read?

Describe the physical appearance of someone in your family in detail.

Imagine you are in a hot-air balloon above your house. Describe everything you can see.

Describe how to play your favorite board game.

There’s an old saying: “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” What do you think this saying means?

Describe your perfect day.

One of your little cousins is very nervous about starting kindergarten. What would you tell them to make them feel better?

Imagine you are an adult and describe your dream job.

Explain your morning routine in detail, from waking up to arriving at school.

Describe the perfect meal, including what you’d eat and where you’d dine.

Share what you do on a typical non-school day.

Explain the right way to do one of your household chores, like making your bed or cleaning your room.

Describe your favorite room at home in detail.

How do you prepare for a big test? Describe the ways you study or practice.

Narrative and Personal 4th Grade Writing Prompts

Share one of the stories your family has told you about when you were a baby.

What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?

Write about an adult you look up to.

What’s the nicest thing anybody has ever done for you?

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Write about a time you felt like quitting but didn’t. How did you keep yourself going?

Do you like nonfiction books or fiction books better? Why?

What makes your family unique?

What would you say is your greatest strength? Greatest weakness?

Are you a patient person? Why or why not?

What is something you’ve never done that you would like to try?

What is the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you?

Write about a time you tried something new and how you felt before, during, and after.

What is your earliest memory?

What’s your favorite holiday? What makes it so special?

Write about a time when you felt proud of yourself.

Tell the story of your favorite field trip of all time.

If you could relive any day in your life, what would it be? Would you want it to be the same or different?

What holiday is important to your family? Describe how you celebrate it together.

What’s the best gift you’ve ever gotten? How did it make you feel?

Creative 4th Grade Writing Prompts

If you met an alien, what three questions would you ask them?

Pretend you drank a magic potion that made you as tiny as an ant. Where would you go and what would you do?

Pretend you ate a magic pill that made you as tall as a redwood tree. Where would you go and what would you do?

Write a story that includes these five words: keys, spaghetti, uncle, jellyfish, spaceship.

What would the world be like if dinosaurs still existed?

If you could invent something new the world really needs, what would it be? How would it work?

Retell a classic story, making the villain the hero instead.

Imagine that one day you woke up and found everyone in the world could no longer talk. What would happen next?

Write a new chapter of your favorite book, with yourself as a new character.

Imagine you woke up one morning with a superpower, like invisibility or the ability to fly. Describe your experiences learning how to use that power.

Use these words to start a story: “When I opened the box that came in the mail, I never expected to find …”

Describe a world where it rains fruit juice and snows M&Ms.

Come up with the most ridiculous excuse possible for why you are unable to turn in your homework today.

Describe a world where all the adults are robots, but kids are still human kids.

Imagine a conversation between yourself and a talking animal.

Describe the kind of creature you’d create if you were a mad scientist. Would it be scary and mean? Nice and friendly?

Invent a new kind of candy. Give it a name, and write a commercial jingle for it.

Write about a day where kids are in charge instead of grown-ups.

Imagine you’re lost in a haunted wood, and tell the story of your escape.

Tell a story that ends with these words: “… and that’s how we all learned to fly.”

Describe a night in the life of the tooth fairy.

Current Events 4th Grade Writing Prompts

If you made a time capsule for this year, what would you put in it?

Describe something that you saw in the news recently and how it made you feel.

Tell about an event that happened recently at your school or in your town.

What do you think is one of the world’s biggest problems right now, and how would you solve it?

Read a news story about something happening in another country and summarize it.

Write a news article about something important that happened to you this week.

Create a poem about something in the local news right now.

Write a letter to the editor about a current issue, explaining your opinion.

Find a “good news” story, and share why it makes you happy.

What living famous person do you most admire and why?

What do you think kids today can do about climate change and global warming?

Learn about an endangered animal, and describe what we can do to help it.

What does the word “racism” mean to you?

What is one thing you would do to make your school or town a better place?

Choose an upcoming sports event, and explain who you think will win.

Describe a current fashion trend or something that’s very popular in your school right now, and how you feel about it.

What can we do to help people with different opinions get along with one another better?

Interview a grown-up you know, and write a news article about them.

What do you think is the best new song right now? The worst? Why?

Describe an event that’s happening in the world right now that you don’t understand. What questions would you ask a grown-up about it?

How do you use writing prompts with your students? Come share your ideas and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Also check out 57 awesome 4th grade books you’ll want to share with students ..

You Might Also Like

75 Creative Fifth Grade Writing Prompts (Free Slides!)

Get them excited to write every day! Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

50 Narrative Essay Topics

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a narrative essay can also tell an exciting story and create vivid pictures in the reader’s mind! We’ve got 50 narrative essay topics designed to prompt students to craft memorable written narratives. These can be modified for students in elementary, middle and high school. Feel free to print the entire narrative essay topics list for plenty of inspiration for your next narrative essay assignment!

Narrative Essay Topics

• Your first day of school.
• Your most exciting day of school
• A field trip that your class took.
• Your favorite summer vacation.
• A trip that included something unexpected or surprising.
• A time that you experienced something spooky.
• A time that you experienced something truly frightening.
• A time that you learned something new that changed you in some way.
• The moment when you met someone who changed your life.
• The day that you got your first pet.
• A move from one place to another.
• Something funny that happened to you.
• Something funny that happened to one of your family members or friends.
• Something embarrassing that happened to you.
• Your favorite birthday party.
• A birthday that was disappointing.
• A big storm (rain, snow or even a tornado!).
• A time that the power went out.
• A summer day when the temperature got much higher than expected.
• A time when you went to an amusement park.
• A time when you got lost somewhere.
• A memorable experience with a favorite family member.
• A sad experience with someone about whom you care.
• Your most exciting moment playing sports.
• Your most exciting moment performing in a play, singing, playing music or dancing.
• An experience that left you feeling frustrated.
• An experience that was hard but ended up being worth it.
• A time that you experienced rejection.
• A weird encounter with a stranger.
• A random act of kindness.
• A time that you took a stand for someone or for an issue that you care about.
• A moment when you thought you might get hurt but didn’t.
• Breaking a bone (or otherwise suffering an injury).
• Your first time away from home for the night (or longer).
• A time when you experienced a historic event.
• Where you were when a major event happened. (Note: You don’t need to have been at the site of the event; this prompt is about where you were when you found out about the event and how you reacted.)
• A time when you rebelled against your parents or teacher.
• A dangerous experience.
• A misunderstanding between yourself and someone else.
• A difficult decision that you had to make.
• The end of a friendship or relationship.
• The beginning of a friendship or relationship.
• A time when you judged someone first and then realized that you were wrong about the person.
• A time when someone judged you first and then realized that he or she was wrong about you.
• A moment when you felt that you were starting to grow up.
• A time when you saw one or both of your parents in a different light.
• A time when you looked up to your older sibling.
• A time when your younger sibling looked up to you.
• A time when you were grateful to be an only child.
• An experience that you think has only ever happened to you!

Looking for more essay topics? Compare and Contrast Essay Topics Descriptive Essay Topics Cause and Effect Essay Topics Persuasive Essay and Speech Topics

Reading & Math for K-5

• Kindergarten
• Learning numbers
• Comparing numbers
• Place Value
• Roman numerals
• Subtraction
• Multiplication
• Order of operations
• Drills & practice
• Measurement
• Factoring & prime factors
• Proportions
• Shape & geometry
• Data & graphing
• Word problems
• Children's stories
• Leveled Stories
• Context clues
• Cause & effect
• Compare & contrast
• Fact vs. fiction
• Fact vs. opinion
• Main idea & details
• Story elements
• Conclusions & inferences
• Sounds & phonics
• Words & vocabulary
• Reading comprehension
• Early writing
• Numbers & counting
• Simple math
• Social skills
• Other activities
• Dolch sight words
• Fry sight words
• Multiple meaning words
• Prefixes & suffixes
• Vocabulary cards
• Other parts of speech
• Punctuation
• Capitalization
• Narrative writing
• Opinion writing
• Informative writing
• Cursive alphabet
• Cursive letters
• Cursive letter joins
• Cursive words
• Cursive sentences
• Cursive passages
• Grammar & Writing

Breadcrumbs

Narrative Writing Worksheets for Grade 4 Students

Narrative writing worksheets

In our grade 4 grammar and writing section, we have created a new section covering narrative writing to help students develop creative and effective story writing.

Writing hooks

In these worksheets, students practice writing the one or more sentences at the beginning of a story that captures the reader’s attention.

Plot structure

In these worksheets, students outline a story plot using the five stages of a story.

Practice creating settings

These worksheets encourage students to think through the settings of their story .

Character traits worksheets

Next, we have worksheets for students to think through the characters’ personalities .

Prompts to show and don’t tell

These “show, don’t tell” worksheets has students involve the reader through actions.

Practice describing sensory details

Students practice what the characters see, hear, smell, taste and feel in these worksheets.

Descriptive writing prompts

Student practice writing detailed and vivid description of the scene of their story using these worksheets.

Small moments writing practice

Following from the previous descriptive writing worksheets, these ones ask student to practice writing descriptively about the small moments in their lives.

Practice point of view

These worksheets has students focus on writing in the first, second and third person .

Personal narrative writing

These worksheets are graphic organizers for students to use in writing a personal narrative .

Narrative writing practice

These graphic organizers help students to plan their characters, setting and plot .

Narrative writing prompts

The last section covers writing prompts for popular topics for students to practice writing a story.

This content is available to members only.

Join K5 to save time, skip ads and access more content. Learn More

• Forgot Password?