Personal narrative: Tell your story
Personal narrative 本人の事実・経験に基づく話、物語、体験談。印象的な出来事(event)が起こるまでを時間に沿って古いものから順番に書く(chronological order)。出来事が起こった時間や場所（setting）、登場人物(character)を読み手（reader）に書き手(author)の気持ちの変化が伝わるように書く。
A personal narrative is a way of sharing a particularly memorable event or of telling about important feelings. It tells the reader how the writer felt about an experience.
Making an outline will help you create a well-organized piece of writing containing main topics, subtopics, and details.
Visual organizer will help your writing.
Writing sample “Ann”
https://k12.thoughtfullearning.com/studentmodels/ann
Choose a Topic
Begin by brainstorming a list of memorable events from your life. Think about which event would be most interesting to your readers. Also, think about which event you remember the most vividly.
題材は身の回りのことで印象的なできごとをリストにしてその中から選ぶ。その中から読み手が面白いと思うような題材はどれか考える。気持ちや感情が変化して思い出に残っているできごとがよい。
Topic 題材
For example （参考例）:
My first day of school.
My most exciting day of school.
A field trip that my class took.
My favorite summer vacation.
A trip that included something unexpected or surprising.
A time that I experienced something spooky.
A time that I experienced something truly frightening.
A time that I learned something new that changed me in some way.
The moment when I met someone who changed my life.
The day that I got my first pet.
Organize Sequence
話の流れを整理する
Describe Event
Pre-writing: Write the most important event in the order that they happened.
As later adding details in each happening, in this stage keep simple but make clear beginning, middle, and end.
Details: Descriptive words and sentence
下書き：First Next Last で、できごとの重要な点を時間の経過とともに書く。
あとで詳しい内容を付け加えてそれぞれの具体的にする。
| Transition words |
Event, happening |
Zoom in detail |
First,
Beginning
2nd paragraph |
she was sick. |
She invited me to go swimming every summer. But she could not get in the water. |
Next,
Middle
3rd paragraph |
She was always there for me always listened to me when I had a problem. |
She would let me come in her house, and she would give me something to eat. |
Last,
End
4th paragraph |
she died. |
My mom did not let me go to the visitation at the funeral home or to the funeral ceremony. |
Transition words and Time-Order words （つなぎ言葉）
They help move the story forward and show the order of events.
話の流れを助ける言葉
First
Then
Next
After
Last
Finally
yesterday
tomorrow
before one day later
as soon as … more
In the story “Ann”
Last summer
Two weeks after
not too long after that
Now, it’s been a year since Ann’s death
Introduction（イントロ）: The first paragraph
ストーリーの最初の２−３文で読者を掴む
Readerが先を続けて読みたいと思うような書き方にする。
Write main idea of personal narrative
First few sentences of your story
Opening or lead
Hook the reader
How to “Hook” the reader （つかみ）
Question: Have you ever been late to school?
Talking: “Wake up!” my mom shouted.
Sound: Onomatopoeia, “Breeeeing” rang the alarm.
In the story “Ann”
Do you have a friend who loves you? Well, I did.
Setting: Where and When (place and time)
Where did it happen?
Night? day? winter? summer?
When did it happen?
in the house, in the city? park?
Characters
Describe the characters（登場人物）
Trait （性格・人柄）and Emotion:
What does your character do to show his/her personality?
What does your character look like on the outside?
What does your character say to show his/her personality?
How does your character change or what lesson does your character learn?
In the story “Ann”
Name: Ann
Relationship: very close friend
Appearance: bright blue eyes and curly gray hair
Trait: kind
| Trait |
Detail |
| Ann was very kind. |
She was always there for me when I needed help on homework or had problems at school. |
How characters feel
love
miss
Show, don’t tell, how characters feel
Write with more sensory detail, allowing your reader to hear, see, taste, touch, and smell the same things your characters are experiencing.
気持ちを書くときには、行動や様子をいっしょに書いたり、たとえを使って表すとよい。
I was so excited. I jumped up in the air!
I couldn’t wait! I smiled the whole way there.
In the story “Ann”
We had a lot of fun all those summers.
My heart broke.
Other things to find out details
What characters do, step by step?
What characters say?
What characters are thinking?
Write closing (5th paragraph)
まとめ 最も言いたいことを言葉を変えて言う（パラフレーズ）
Ending, conclusion
Wrap up your story
Remind the reader of your main idea
Rephrase your opening （自分の考え、主張）
Say it with different words （イントロの言い換え）
Feelings （感情）
Lesson learned （学んだこと）
Hope about future （どうしたいか）
Update （後日談、近況）
Revise 見直しCheck
Revising: to make significant changes to the content of their writing
Organization
Make sense? （話のつながりはおかしくないか？）
Is it important? （余計な話が入ってないか？）
Add word? Adjective, adverb, add detail
Remove words?
Word choice
Change boring words
Use vivid verbs
Check Thesaurus https://kidthesaurus.com
Sentence structure
Check verb tense
Editing (Fixing mistake)
Spelling
Punctuation 文の最後にピリオドを付けているか？
Capitalization ”I” 文の最初 名前 地名
Sight words
Grammar (i.e. subject-verb agreement)
Check S V O 誰が(S)何を(O)どうする(V)
Make Title of your story
Title represent the main idea of your story.
Publish
If you want to make a book, you can make a cover and add illustration.
Type out or write in your best handwriting your story. Make a neat final copy of your narrative writing.
Illustration: Neat and details
Cover: Title and author (your name) and detailed picture
Title is the biggest words on the cover.
Writing sample “Ann”
https://k12.thoughtfullearning.com/studentmodels/ann
