UNIT 1
Personal Narrative: Crafting Powerful Life Stories

BEND I: Launching Independent Writing Lives and Generating Personal Narratives

Session 1 — Setting Up to Write

FIG. 1-1 Personal narrative excerpt from Ai's notebook

Session 4 — Telling the Story from the Narrator's Point of View

FIG. 4-1 Kei's personal narrative, before revision

FIG. 4-2 Kei's revised personal narrative

Checklist: Questions to ask yourself as you edit

Session 5 — Reading Closely to Learn from Other Authors

Mentor text: "Everything Will Be Okay"

Session 6 — Taking Stock: Pausing to Assess and Set Goals

Narrative Writing Checklist, Grades 5 and 6

Student writing exemplar: "Look Up and Watch the Show"

BEND II: Moving through the Writing Process and Toward Our Goals

Session 9 — Using Writer's Notebooks for Mindful, Goal-Driven Work

Mentor text: "Everything Will Be Okay"

Session 10 — Re-Angling and Rewriting to Convey What a Story Is Really About

FIG. 10-1 Gracie's external-internal story arc

FIG. 10-2 Gracie's first draft

Session 11 — Elaborating on Important Scenes and Adding New Ones from the Past

Mentor text: "Everything Will Be Okay"

 

BEND III: Writing a Second Personal Narrative with New Independence

Session 13 — Taking Charge of the Writing Process: Deciding Where to Begin and How to Revise from the Get-Go

Narrative Writing Checklist, Grade 6

Mentor text: "Everything Will Be Okay"

Session 14 — Slowing Down and Stretching Out the Story's Problem

Mentor text: "Everything Will Be Okay"

Narrative Writing Checklist, Grade 6

Session 15 — Ending Stories in Meaningful Ways

Anchor chart: How to Write Powerful Personal Narratives

Session 17 — Publishing and Celebrating as a Community of Writers

FIG. 17-1 "Needing to Be Heard" by Shayna

FIG. 17-2 "The Catfish" by Cale

FIG. 17-3 "The Unexpected Brother" by Gracie

FIG. 17-4 "Hard Work Beats Talent" by Austin