Intel Teach Program

Essentials Course

Unit Plan Template

Unit Author
First and Last Name

Sarah Weatherby

District or Organization

Warsaw R-9

School or Location Name

North Elementary

City, State

Warsaw, Missouri

Unit Overview
Unit Title
Personal Narrative Writing
Unit Summary
In this unit, students will create a personal narrative writing piece. They will use examples of
literature through books, videos, and other web resources to help master the creation of a personal
narrative.
Subject Area
Writing
Grade Level or Target Audience
3rd Grade
Approximate Time Needed
10 60-minutes lessons
Unit Foundation
Targeted Content Standards and Benchmarks (Training/Organizational Benchmarks)

CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.3.3

Writenarrativestodeveloprealorimaginedexperiencesoreventsusing
effectivetechnique,descriptivedetails,andcleareventsequences.
CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.3.3.A

Establishasituationandintroduceanarratorand/orcharacters;organizean
eventsequencethatunfoldsnaturally.
CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.3.3.B

Usedialogueanddescriptionsofactions,thoughts,andfeelingstodevelop
experiencesandeventsorshowtheresponseofcharacterstosituations.
CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.3.3.C

Usetemporalwordsandphrasestosignaleventorder.
CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.3.3.D

Provideasenseofclosure.
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Student/Learner Objectives (Learning Outcomes)

The student will:
1. Write a personal narrative
2. Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings.
3. Use sequencing words to establish event order.
4. Provide closure to the writing.
Curriculum-Framing Questions
Essential
What details must be included in a Narrative Writing?
Question
Unit
Questions
Content
Questions

What is dialogue?
What are temporal words and phrases? Give examples.
Why is dialogue effective in a narrative?
What events can be used in a narrative?

Assessment Plan
Assessment Timeline
Before unit work begins

Have
students turn
and talk about
what they
believe a
personal
narrative is.
Students will
raise their
hands and
share their
thinking to the
teacher.

Students
will fill out
which book
worksheet on
books that are
personal
narratives and
not.

Students work on projects,

learning activities, and
complete tasks

Have
students
choose an
event based
off emotions
(happy, sad,
hilarious).
Write the
event down
on paper.

Have

students insert
dialogue into
into their rough
drafts of their
narratives.
Once they have
inserted their
dialogue, share
with their group
on
todaysmeet.co
m.

After project work /

learning activities are
completed

Record
their narrative
on either
vocaroo.com
or explain
everything app
on the Ipad.
Present the
recording in
front of the
class.

A final
rubric will be
used to grade
the personal
narratives the
students have
created. The
rubric will judge
whether the
students used
dialogue,
openings/closur
e, and actions.

Assessment Summary
The first assessment will be used to get the students thinking about the word narrative and get
ideas rolling in their heads about past experiences they may have had with writing narratives. I want
them to share their thinking aloud if they desire to get an idea of where some of the class stands with
narratives (have they done one before in 2nd grade?). The next assessment will tell me whether they
can distinguish between a book that is written like a narrative and one that is not.
The third assessment that occurs in the middle is having students choose a personal event that could
be described using the emotions of either happy, sad, or hilarious. Seeing that they can do this
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Intel Teach Program

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shows me they are on the right track to writing a narrative. The next is to have each student share
their dialogue they want to use in their story on todaysmeet.com. Dialogue is difficult for third
graders and typing it out will challenge them to show it correctly.
The last forms of assessment at the end of the ten days is to record their writing using an Ipad or
chromebook. From that, I will be able to grade their writing using a rubric that I can mark on as they
are playing their recording.
Unit Details
Prerequisite Skills
The students must know how to write a complete sentence and read simple text through books and
website articles on grade level. Basic knowledge of using a computer is needed as well.
Instructional Procedures
Day 1- Introduce the lesson by letting the kids know that today they will be beginning a writing unit
on writing personal narratives. Ask the students what they think a personal narrative is and what it
means. Have the students turn and talk to each other. Give them a chance to share their thinking
aloud. Group the students into groups of 3 and give them a stack of postit notes. Give each group a
stack of mentor text books for them to explore and make noticings of what those books have inside
them. Create an anchor chart with Personal Narrative Noticings at the top and list the findings the
students found on their sticky note.
Day 2- To change the activity up a bit, students will be finding noticings for a different reason.
Students will be given personal narratives and a book with a different style of writing. Students are
asked to decide which book is a personal narrative. For the book that is not, students work to
explain why it is not. Use the Which Book? recording sheet for students to neatly organize their
thoughts onto paper.
Day 3- As students feel more familiar with what a personal narrative is and how it is a story about a
real event that happened in their lives, it is time to move on. As an example, take a simple idea like
riding your first roller coaster and think about stretching it to be made into a story. Begin playing
the youtube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Ip5PnnvrE. Introduce the emotions that
we remember stories from (happy, sad, hysterical). Give a personal example for each emotion that
you have experienced. Then, have students brainstorms events that have happened for each
emotion for themselves.
Day 4- Review what a personal narrative is and how we write one. Ask the students to write their
responses on a white board and share with their partner. Have the students pull out their
brainstorming page about their emotions and events. They will need to choose one emotion that
they want to stretch into a story. Using the personal narrative writing packet, talk about introducing
a topic and have them choose the way that best suits their story. This can include either descbribing
a scene, asking a question, or reflecting back. Today, they will write their introduction to their
personal narrative.
Day 5- Have all students pull out their narrative writing packet. Today they will begin writing their
story into a beginning, middle, and end format. They have the option to use the Planning your
Story page to draw a picture of the beginning, middle, and end of the story or to write a sentence or
two describing each part. This part of the writing is crucial to ensure they have enough detail and
length for their story. Once they have separated their story into three parts, they can include details
of each section that they will create into three paragraphs.
Day 6- Spend the first part of the lesson finishing up writing beginning, middle, and end details for
their narratives. Then begin talking about temporal words and their use in personal narratives.
Create an anchor chart that lists time order words that an author may use. Before adding to the
chart, grab the book, My Rotten Red Headed Older Brother by Particia Polacco, or watch it from
Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogoEpqfdVaw. Use that book for students to
recognize any temporal words that author may use and create the anchor chart with the words given.
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Have students go back to their seats and begin writing temporal words into their story to make the
story flow smoothly.
Day 7- Today, students will work on writing dialogue into their story. Have students write down what
they know about the word dialogue and share with their partner. Dialogue is when people are talking
in a story and quotation marks are used. Have them brainstorm times when there would be talking
in their story and insert a carrot to show where they would add that dialogue. Have students use
their chromebooks to access learnzillion.com and put in the code LZ741. Have students raise their
hands to share one piece of information their learned from the video. Have them practice placing
their dialogue into their story. Walk around and monitor.
Day 8- As adding dialogue from yesterday should be finished up, have students begin thinking about
a closing for their narrative. Explain that not having a closing to a narrative is similar to not saying
goodby at the end of a phone conversationit doesnt feel complete. For narratives, I ask that my
students close their story by stating why that event was important to them and why it mattered.
They need to tell the reader how that story impacted them enough to write a story about it today.
Always begin by modeling your own story, and then have the students add their closing to their story.
Access todaysmeet.com to have students share with their group their closing.
Day 9- Today will be strictly for editing and revising their narratives. Have the students peer edit
each others narrative and look for capital letters at the beginning of a sentence, periods, dialogue,
temporal words, and a closing all in three paragraphs.
Day 10- Today, students will record their voice using the explain everything app on the ipad or on
vocaroo.com using the chromebooks and save them to share in front of the class. They will not type
their narratives just yet, only record what they have published on paper. I will be able to assess
their narrative using a rubric while they are playing their story in front of the class, listening for the
requirements.
Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction

Special Needs
Students

Students with special needs will need added support during independent
research time and collaboration periods on the computer. A para would
be the first choice to have help during this time, however, if that is not
available, a capable student can fill in to help a student find appropriate
research and help the special needs student complete work. Typing on
the computer is not a priority and can be modified to just writing. Any
goals and accomodations need to be followed for students with IEPs and
a 504.

Nonnative
Speakers

Research can be done using visual support through books and internet for
nonnative speakers. ESL teachers can often be used to help support this
instruction at appropriate times.

Gifted/Talented
Students

For gifted and talented students, I would want them to use a three paragraph
template for their narrative. This would include having a topic sentence, 3-4
instances of dialogue, action and a strong closure. They may need extra time
completing their story but should be organized and detailed.

Materials and Resources Required For Unit

Technology Hardware (Click boxes of all equipment needed)

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Smart Phone

Digital Camera

Response Devices

Computer(s)

Printer

Video Camera

Mobile Devices

Projection System

Video Conferencing Equip.

Chromebook/Laptop

Scanner

DVD Player

Internet Connection

Audio Tools
(microphone, headsets,
etc.)

Other

Technology Software (Click boxes of all software needed.)

Database/Spreadsheet

Video Tools

Web Page Development

Desktop Publishing

Internet Web Browser

Word Processing

E-mail Software

Multimedia

Presentation Software

Web 2.0 Tools

Image Editing

Audio Editing

Web 3.0 Tools

Other Online Tools

Computer Operating
System Required

Mobile Device OS Required

Compatible Web Browsers

Other
Technology
Integration

Technology will be integrated by having the use of the chromebooks and

Promethean Board. Chromebooks will be used for the students to listen to a
presentation and for recording their narratives on the last day.on and access
various web tools detailed in the lesson plans.
Mentor Text OptionsThose Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
Bigmamas by Donald Crews
When I Was Your Age by Amy Erlich
What You Know First by Patricia Maclachlin
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant
When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant Every Friday by Dan
Yaccarino

Printed Materials

Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco Shortcut by Donald Crews

Night Shift Daddy by Eileen Spinelli The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats Roller
Coaster by Marla Frazee
Salt Hands by Jane Chelsea Aragon Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems Shortcut by
Donald Crews Fireflies by Judy Brinckloe
The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson Saturday and Teacakes by Lester
Laminach The Leaving Morning by Angela Johnson Mrs. Mack by Patricia
Polacco
Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton

Supplies

Mentor Texts, chromebooks, Ipad

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Revised for WWU MED T&T Revised 10/23/2013

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Intel Teach Program

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Internet Resources
/ Online Tools /
Mobile Apps
/Specific Software
Needed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogoEpqfdVaw
, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Ip5PnnvrE
vocaroo.com
explaineverything app
todaysmeet.com

Other Resources

Additional Unit Information

2008 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission via eMints
Revised for WWU MED T&T Revised 10/23/2013

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