Lesson plan
Write Me a Story
In this lesson plan, Write Me a Story, kindergarteners and first graders learn how using transition words and writing a strong ending to their narratives can make a big impact on their story writing. First, budding writers will be guided through the process of recounting their day using transition words like “first,” “next,” “then,” and “finally” to help give order to their story. Then, they will practice coming up with interesting endings to their stories. Finally, learners will apply what they’ve learned about the writing process by drafting a personal narrative describing what they did after school.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to recognize and use transition words.
Students will be able to write strong endings to their narratives.
Introduction
(5 minutes)
- Ask students to tell you about what has happened since they entered the classroom (depending on the time of the lesson, this could be since they entered the classroom in the morning, after recess, or after lunch).
- As they tell you each step, write their responses on the board. Prompt them to use transition words like, first, next, then, after, and finally.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling
(5 minutes)- Tell students that transition words help stories make sense by telling you the order in which events happen.
- Explain that you are going to write a story about what happened to you after school yesterday. In addition to using transition words, share that you are going to try to make your story have a strong ending.
- Tell students that sometimes stories end with “The End,” but that isn’t a very interesting ending. Share that you are going to try and make the ending of your story as interesting as possible.
- Give an example of an interesting ending to the story that was written in the introduction.
Guided Practice
(5 minutes)- Review transition words and write them on the board or chart paper for reference.
- Write a quick story on the board, detailing what happened to you after school yesterday. Use at least two transition words and end with a statement like, “I can’t wait to see what happens to me tomorrow!”
Independent working time
(20 minutes)- Hand out the After School Story worksheet to each student. Have students write about what happened to them yesterday after school.
- When students finish, they can work on the Trace the Transitions or Strong Endings worksheets.
Differentiation
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Enrichment: Have students revise their stories to include interesting introductions.
- Support: Dictate what students would like their stories to say instead of having them write independently.
Assessment
(5 minutes)- Assess students’ understanding by noticing how they are using transition words and writing strong endings to their stories.
Review and closing
(5 minutes)- Have students share their writing with a partner. If time permits, ask for a few students to share their work with the entire class.
Related learning resources
