Grade 5: Personal Narrative

Does your narrative wander? Is it hard to follow? Check out these pointers.

Tell events in the order they happened. Highlight sentences in your draft that tell what happened, and make sure that they're in the correct time order.

Stick to your topic. Take out details that tell about things that aren't really important to your narrative.

As I rounded third base, I realized that my right shoe was untied. My left shoe was dirty, but the laces were tight. Then the unthinkable happened. I stepped on one of the laces.

Use time-clue words. They'll help readers know what happened when.

After Mom and I had washed the walls, we painted them with sizing, which helps the wallpaper stick. Next, we spread special paste on the prepasted wallpaper strips, just to make sure the paper stayed on the wall. Then we started the hard part.

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