Personal Narrative Writing Teaching Resources
Explore personal narrative writing in your ELA classes this year with graphic organizers, writing prompts and more activities created by teachers for teachers like you!
Aligned with both TEKS and the Common Core ELA curriculum, this collection of printable and digital resources is stocked with everything you need to plan lessons on writing personal narrative essays this school year. Explore prompts designed to help students get started writing their personal stories, graphic organizers that can help them prepare their thoughts and plenty more.
Whether it's your first year teaching about personal narratives or you're just looking for some handy tips and tools for your lesson plans, our teacher team has you covered! Read on for a personal narrative definition, examples of this type of writing and more.
What Is a Personal Narrative? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Let's start with a simple personal narrative definition you can use to introduce this writing type to your students!
A personal narrative is a story about something that happened to us. It is a way we can use our writing skills to share our experiences and our feelings about things that have happened with others.
How to Start a Personal Narrative — Tips for Students to Get Started
Like many other forms of writing, personal narratives are made up of three main parts:
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion
But what does that introduction to a personal story or personal essay actually look like? Personal narratives typically start with the writer sharing an interesting fact in the form of a catchy opening sentence.
The goal of the personal narrative introduction is to hook your reader with something so engaging that they want to keep reading and learn all about your experience!
For example, a writer might grab the reader's attention by sharing a surprising element of their personal story right in the very first sentence.
- Free Plan
Weekend Narrative Writing Worksheet
Practice writing personal narratives with your young students with this writing template.
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Grandparents' Day Writing Prompt - The Very Best Day
Surprise Grandma and Grandpa with a special story telling about the Best Day Ever with a Grandparents’ Day writing prompt.
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Patriot Day Writing Craftivity
Celebrate important heroes with this Patriot Day writing prompt and craft.
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Playground Narrative Writing Worksheet
Practice writing personal narratives with your young students with this writing template.
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My Monster Story Template
Use this simple story template to get your students writing simple narratives based on a sequence of events.
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Recycling Writing Prompts - Earth Day Worksheets
Differentiate writing instruction in primary grades with informational writing prompts about recycling and conservation.
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Easter Writing Prompts - Differentiated Worksheets
Inspire your students to get writing with these easy-to-use Easter writing worksheets.
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April Fools' Day Writing Prompts
Celebrate April Fools' Day in the classroom with these fun writing prompt worksheets.
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St. Patrick's Day Writing Prompt Worksheets
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and write imaginative stories using a collection of narrative writing prompts.
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Spring Writing Prompts for Beginning Writers
Celebrate a new season with Spring writing worksheets for primary grades.
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Presidents' Day Writing Prompts
Celebrate Presidents’ Day and your growing writers with writing worksheets for Kindergarten and first grade.
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Presidents' Day Craft - If I Were President
Learn about Presidents’ Day with an “If I Were President” writing and craft activity.
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Groundhog Day Writing Craftivity
Celebrate Groundhog Day in the classroom and show off your predictions with a printable Groundhog Day Craft.
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Winter Writing Prompts for Beginning Writers
Celebrate winter and your growing writers with Winter writing worksheets for Kindergarten and first grade.
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Write About It! I Am Thankful
Differentiate writing instruction this Thanksgiving with a group of “I Am Thankful” writing prompts for second grade and under.
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Thanksgiving Writing Craftivity
Celebrate and decorate for Thanksgiving with a turkey-themed Thanksgiving craft and writing activity.
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My Reading Favorites Template
Create a mini-book filled with your students' favorite things about reading with a printable template.