WRITING PROMPT When did you make a difference in the world? When did you help someone? Write a personal narrative to tell your class what you did. Tell how you felt about it, too.
Prewrite
When you prewrite, you gather ideas and choose your topic. You also make a plan for what you will write. Follow these steps.
1 COLLECT IDEAS
Think of ways you have helped. Maybe you helped someone at school, someone younger than you, or even a stranger. Maybe you helped a little. Maybe you helped a lot.
2 CHOOSE A TOPIC
Put your ideas in a chart. Think about which idea is best. Remember why you are writing. Remember who will read your personal narrative. Then choose an idea.
Here is Johanna’s chart. She circled her topic.
What I Saw What I Did and How I Felt My sister didn’t know math. I taught her subtraction.
I felt proud.Mom wanted to speak to the clerk at the store. She didn’t know the English words. I spoke to the clerk for Mom. I felt happy to help. 3 ORGANIZE YOUR IDEAS
You will tell your story in the order it happened. Get your plan down on paper. You do not need to write sentences. Write the events in a list. Put your list in order. Add numbers.
Story Plan