The First graders recently completed their first personal narrative. They learned what a personal narrative is, and then chose their topic. Finally, the children wrote their draft, edited and proofread their story.
The students began the project by exploring what a personal narrative is, a story about a person. They examined a personal narrative and identified the parts. They also studied an example, and learned they should use pronouns like: I, me, and my.
They then turned to their parents for help in choosing a topic. For example, going out to dinner, going to Six Flags, or a favorite birthday. Parents also helped their child complete a graphic organizer, which served as their outline. With that in hand, the children began adding details as they wrote their draft at school.
Prior to peer editing, the class discussed how to critique their classmates’ writing, by using words that are helpful, such as: “you could make your story better by . . .“ or “I liked __, but you could change __.” Peers checked for places where a reader may get confused and checked for a beginning, middle and end of the story. After editing their papers, students proofread their work, watching for correct spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
Finally, their work was published! The first graders used their best handwriting to produce their final copy, complete with an illustration. They enjoyed sharing their work by first reading it to classmates, then displaying it on our “First Grade Hall of Fame.”
The process was involved, and sometime frustrating, but the final product was amazing! First graders were proud of their work and are building confidence as writers.