Designing the Message

The instructional  message  of  the narrative writing unit is designed  according  to Morrison et al. (1998); the design process is in three sections:

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a. First  is  the pre-instructional  strategy - we identify the characteristics of good narrative writing (D.A.D.):

     - Descriptive Writing

     - Dialogue

     - Action (or pacing)

     - Character Reflection

The data collected in this pre-assessment (usually a story written by students) will inform the instruction to follow.

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b. Second  are  strategies  for  writing narrative

     - How to write descriptions 

     - How to write effective dialogue

     - How to pace a story through storyboarding

     - How to insert character reflection

Follow-Up Plan: As students work through the different skills, their progress -- identified through monitoring and formative assessment -- will direct the teacher to move on or remediate.

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c.Third  is  discussion  of  the  use  of  pictures  and  graphics  in  your  instruction.  For example:

 - Graphic Organizers used for 

• descriptive writing

• pacing

The use of Graphic Organizers has been proven effective, whether on paper or digitally. This PLU provides several graphic organziers that can be downloaded or replicated easily. Be sure to add them to your toolbox.

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Ultimately, you should see improvement in your students' narrative writing. In many cases repetition is the most effective strategy, so dedicate enough time and enough practice to learning these skills and then passing them on to your students.

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And remember, story-writing should be fun. More than anything, foster an atmosphere of creativity and mistakes-are-okay in your classroom environment. Students will thrive as writers if they are given the freedom to try, to fail, and to try again.