Personal Writing

A Workshop for 4th Grade

Writing Skills

L. Rozelle, Winter 2010

With a focus on Personal Narratives

What is Personal Writing?

1. Personal writing is when you write about yourself and express your own thoughts and opinions.

2. Personal writing depends very much on your connection to your subject, so choose a topic that you know a lot about and one that allows you to express yourself freely!

Forms of Personal Writing

1. Narrative story – fictional or true (personal narrative)

2. Poetry

3. Letter writing

4. Journal writing – writing is a personal expression of the author’s innermost thoughts, often recorded with privacy in mind.

Why personal writing?

1. Writers/authors show others what they think about the world. YOU are an author!

2. Authors express themselves by sharing personal thoughts either for only themselves in a journal … or to share with others.

3. To entertain or give pleasure to the reader. Why do we read?

Why personal writing?

What is a Personal Narrative

1. A personal narrative is one way to tell a story about something you feel strongly about – in chronological order with a plot and story line.

2. Do not just list the events: We did this, and then we did this, and next we did this, and last we did this. Boring …

3. A story is more interesting to the reader!

4. Topics revolve around things you have enjoyed, such as some type of event that happened in your own life.

For a Personal Narrative

1. Focus on moments in which everyone of your senses were alive – something that made you feel something or notice something:

1. A special memory of a birthday party or celebration

2. Your first meeting with someone

3. An especially scary experience of spending the night alone in a strange place

Freely jot down ideas! Brainstorm means write down each and every idea that comes to your mind!

Personal Narratives have …

1. A story that is written about YOU in chronological order, which has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

2. The story has a plot line.

3. A setting is described.

4. Characters and dialogue included

5. Problem and solution

6. Descriptive writing & figurative language in your story. Create an image in the reader’s mind.

Mountain Flow Map

The Beginning1. Good lead that introduces the main idea and draws the reader in.2. Setting: Time and place3. Characters: introduced

BEGINNING

Climax/Turning PointThe point in the story when the tension is at the highest level, or when the solution to the problem is just about to be revealed, or shown, to the reader.

MIDDLE / Turning Point

Resolution/EndingThe end of the story, which tells how the story ends. It may reveal the solution or what was learned.

ENDING

Rising Action/MiddleThe central part of a story which includes a problem or problems or some kind of built up tension in the story.

MIDDLE

Rising Action/MiddleThe middle part of your story will be MOST of the story … including dialogue sensory details and amazing word choice!

MIDDLE

Author’s weave their message or a “big idea” into

the plot of their story.

This is a “skeleton” or brief sketch of your story, not the actual rough draft.

A story that you read or write has a plot. A plot is all of the action in the story in chronological (sequential) order.

How to find a good topic?

Sometimes the topic is given to you and you must brainstorm to come up with a great personal narrative …

Other times you are given some choices on what you will write about. In this case, always write something that excites you; something you feel passionate about; something you have a lot to say about. You may make up some details that you do not remember well. Details draw your reader in!!!

Steps to Prewriting/Brainstorming!

If you have to come up with your own topic, these are some things you can do to brainstorm:

1.Brainstorm possible topics in a circle thinking map.

2.Then select the topic you will write about.

3.In a circle map you may write down your ideas or draw pictures for your ideas!

Circle Map Brainstorm Ideas!

Story Ideas

Saving money to buy a present for my mom.

Flying to Hawaii

My Hawaii Vacation

Trip to the farmer’s market

A day at the Santa Monica pier and beach

A day in the snow

My time on the computer

My trip to Paris, France

Going to pick out my first puppy

The first memory of Christmas

My first day of 1st grade

My first best friend

My favorite backpack

My favorite lunch box

Waiting for my baby sister to be born

Circle Map Brainstorm Ideas!

Story Ideas

More Steps to Brainstorming

1. Brainstorm the details of your setting and your characters and what they are like.

2. Brainstorm your topic in a sensory chart.

3. Brainstorm the events in a cluster chart -- the things that happen that are important to the main idea.

4. You may also complete a mountain flow map.

Bring your topic into FOCUS!

Answer the 5Ws:Who, What, Where, When, Why?

What kind of a story will it be? Funny story, an adventure, a mysterious story, or simply an entertaining story?

• Brainstorm all the details of your setting.

• Describe the character traits of your characters.

• Describe the situation of your story; the background of your story.

Excellent tips for brainstorming:

1. Choose a topic that allows you to express yourself in detail!

2. For a personal narrative, this includes any event about you!

3. Focus on moments in which all of your senses were alive! This event extremely activated your senses. You may organize your thoughts in a sensory chart, based around the experience you will write about. Feel, Touch, Taste, See, Smell …

Sensory Chart

See Hear Taste Smell Touch Feel

5 Ws Chart – an example

Who What Where When Why

Characters& their traits

Characters Setting Setting

You may want to use the cluster chart to brain-storm the events that are import-ant to your main topic.

What happens?

Purpose or lesson learnedYou are the author. What was the big idea or author’s message in your story?Weave it into your story!

What are your characters like? Timid, fearful, brave, funny?What do they like and dislike? What are you like? What are you thinking/ feeling?

Purpose

When I was seven, …

Hawaii?Santa Monica beach?A stormy day at school in the winter 2009?

Me

Mom

Dad

Little brother, Sam

Grandma

5 Ws Chart – an example

Topic: “My flight to visit my uncle”

Who: Me, Mom, Miss Hughes (flight attendant)

What: I was flying on an airplane

When: Over the holidays

Where: Going to Puerto Rico

Why: To visit my uncle

This is a good way to organize your topic.

Cluster Chart – Brainstorm some details

I ate grilled cheese sandwiches in the cafeteria.

The hallways were decorated with paintings or flowers.

I kept snapping my rubber watchband.

I looked at the new babies sleeping and wiggling.

It seems like we were there forever watching people run around.

Grandma’s fuzzy yellow sweater smelled good and felt soft.

Setting: Hospital, springtime

Characters: Grandma, meTopic: Waiting for my baby sister to be born

Mountain Flow Map

The Beginning1. Good lead that introduces the main idea and draws the reader in.2. Setting: Time and place3. Characters: introduced

BEGINNING

Climax/Turning PointThe point in the story when the tension is at the highest level, or when the solution to the problem is just about to be revealed, or shown, to the reader.

MIDDLE / Turning Point

Resolution/EndingThe end of the story, which tells how the story ends. It may reveal the solution or what was learned.

ENDING

Rising Action/MiddleThe central part of a story which includes a problem or problems or some kind of built up tension in the story.

MIDDLE

Rising Action/MiddleThe middle part of your story will be MOST of the story … including dialogue sensory details and amazing word choice!

MIDDLE

Author’s weave their message or a “big idea” into

the plot of their story.

This is a “skeleton” or brief sketch of your story, not the actual rough draft.

A story that you read or write has a plot. A plot is all of the action in the story in chronological (sequential) order.

The more focused you are on one topic (one moment), the more details, and the more creative you are with your writing …

then the more engaged your reader will be and the more interesting your story will be! Hurray!!!

Make your story interesting!

details

Keep your reader interested with your amazing word choice:

1.Be specific! Specific nouns and specific and active verbs and adjective and adverbs.

2.Descriptive and figurative language

3.Dialogue – speaking partsthat add life to your story and tell us about your characters.

4.Show what you’re thinking and feeling!

Make your story interesting!

Personal Narratives: A Review1. Personal narratives are written in the first

person (using “I”).

2. Personal narratives are written in the past tense. Use PAST TENSE verbs because it already happened.

3. It is a retelling of an event using story elements: setting, character, plot (this is not a just listing what happened).

4. You highlight only one specific moment.

Writing your rough draft• As you write your draft, pretend you are telling a friend. Your personal voice will come out more.• Writing details that are connected to your main topic will give richness to your writing.

Engage your reader! What does that mean?

Create images in reader’s heads with your details.

Drafting your beginning1. Muy Importante! As the writer you must

address the writing prompt at the beginning of the story so that your reader knows the topic of your story.

2. Hook the reader with a good beginning: 1. Describe the setting and situation, 2. Show action and dialogue

3. Remember that you must introduce the topic at the beginning of your rough draft and thentake your reader on a journey! Vroom!!!

Review all of your brainstorming notes

I ate grilled cheese sandwiches in the cafeteria.

The hallways were decorated with paintings or flowers.

I kept snapping my rubber watchband.

I looked at the new babies sleeping and wiggling.

It seems like we were there forever watching people run around.

Grandma’s fuzzy yellow sweater smelled good and felt soft.

Setting: Hospital, springtime

Characters: Grandma, meTopic: Waiting for my baby sister to be born

Draft your beginning

They were behind the glass window, wiggling and crying. I’d never seen so many babies in one place! I was standing there because I’d gotten up to take a walk down the hallway of the hospital after my grandmother had asked me to stop making so much noise. I had been nervously snapping my rubber watchband against my wrist for the last hour. I really didn’t notice I had been doing this, but we were both impatiently waiting for my baby sister to be born. It seemed like we’d been waiting forever!

Introducing the topic!… but we were both impatiently waiting for my baby sister to be born.

This line at the end of the first paragraph introduced the topic of the personal narrative story. Muy importante!!!!

In this story, the author grabs the reader’s attention describing the action in the middle of the story … and then in the 2nd paragraph the author goes back to the beginning of the story … and later writes the ending.

Draft your beginning

We arrived at the hospital aroundtwo o’clock that morning and now it was five a.m. We knew that everything was fine because a nurse had come and told us so, but we were still worried. It was strangely quiet in hallways, which were decorated with paintings of huge flowers in bright colors like incredibly blue blues and extra-orange oranges.

I was glad that my grandmother had worn her fuzzy sweater because it felt so nice when I put my head down on her shoulder. The only time we’d moved out

Draft your beginning

of our seats was when we’d gone to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. Since they didn’t have the kind of cereal I liked, I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich.

Finally, after I’d looked at the newborn infants for awhile, I returned to find my grandmother speaking with a nurse. My baby sister had just been born! Wow! I wasnow a big brother and life was going to be much, much different.

Rules for Writing

1. The best way to write better is to write more!

2. The best way to write better is to write more!

3. The best way to write better is to write more!

4. The best way to write more is to write even when you only have 5 minutes or whenever you find a chair and a pen or paper or a computer.

Rules for Writing

5. Read! Reading books shows you how to write stories.

6. There’s nothing wrong with rereading a book you love over and over. When you do, the words get inside you, become a part of you, in a way that only reading a book once cannot.

7. Save everything you write, even if you don’t like it, even if you hate it! The writing is a piece of you that you can come back to later in your life!

Writer’s Oath

I promise solemnly:1. To write as often and as much as I can

2. To respect my writing self, and

3. To nurture the writing of others.

I accept these responsibilities and shall honor them always.