The Personal Narrative

Watermelon vs Seed
Introduction: S.C.A.R.E.D.
Body:
Conclusion: DUH

June 10, 2017

Writing a Personal Narrative
Watermelon or Seed?
 Watermelon Stories
Include a series of events
Have many characters
and plot developments
Tell about an entire
experience in great detail
 Seed Stories
Are brief and focused
Tell about a small moment
within a larger story
Zoom in on
the most important
part(s) of an event
 Decide if the following are
Watermelon Topics or Seed Topics
Fun times Ive had with my dog
watermelon

When I spottedseed my cat at the pound and

realized he was the pet for me.
The very first time
seed
I met the person who is
now my best friend
Spending thewatermelon
summer with my best friend
The season we finally won the
watermelon
championship in soccer
Scoring my very first goal
seed
 When you write a Personal
Narrative on STAAR, make sure
you write a seed story,
not a watermelon story!
 Narrative
Introductions
Grab your readers
attention!
S R
C E
A D
setting
R
C E
A D
 setting
R
character
E
A D
 setting
R
character
E
action
D
 reflection/
setting thinking

character
E
action
D
 reflection/
setting thinking

character emotion

action
D
 Reflection/
setting thinking

character emotion

action dialogue
S
C
A
R
E
D
S Setting
C
A
R
E
D
S Setting
C Characters
A
R
E
D
S Setting
C Characters
A Action
R
E
D
S Setting
C Characters
A Action
R Reflection/ Thinking
E
D
S Setting
C Characters
A Action
R Reflection/ Thinking
E Emotion
D
S Setting
C Characters
A Action
R Reflection/ Thinking
E Emotion
D Dialogue/Talking
S
C
A
R
E
D
S Create a picture of the setting in the
readers mind.

C
A
R
E
D
 Describe the Reflection/
setting setting thinking

character emotion

action dialogue
S Create a picture of the setting in the
readers mind.

C Create a picture of an important

character.

A
R
E
D
 Describe the Reflection/
setting setting thinking

Describe an
character important emotion
character

action dialogue
S Create a picture of the setting in the
readers mind

C Create a picture of an important

character.

A Start with something interesting

happening.

R
E
D
 Describe the Reflection/
setting setting thinking

Describe an
character important emotion
character

Start with
something
action interesting dialogue
happening
S Create a picture of the setting in the
readers mind.

C Create a picture of an important

character.

A Start with something interesting

happening.

R Start with an interesting thought

inside your mind.

E
D
 Start with an
Describe the Reflection/
setting setting
interesting
thinking
thought

Describe an
character important emotion
character

Start with
something
action interesting dialogue
happening
S Create a picture of the setting in the
readers mind.

C Create a picture of an important

character.

A Start with something interesting

happening.

R Start with an interesting thought

inside your mind.
Create a picture of the strongest
E emotion you were feeling.

D
 Start with an
Describe the Reflection/
setting setting
interesting
thinking
thought

Describe an Start with a

character important strong emotion emotion
character you were feeling

Start with
something
action interesting dialogue
happening
S Create a picture of the setting in the
readers mind.

C Create a picture of an important

character.

A Start with something interesting

happening.

R Start with an interesting thought

inside your mind.
Create a picture of the strongest
E emotion you were feeling.

D Start with interesting dialogue.

 Start with an
Describe the Reflection/
setting setting
interesting
thinking
thought

Describe an
Start with a
character important
strong emotion emotion
character

Start with
Start with
something
action interesting
interesting dialogue
dialogue
happening
S: Setting/Snapshot
create a picture of the setting in the readers mind

It was a dark and stormy night. In her

attic bedroom Margaret Murry, wrapped in
an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of
her bed and watched the trees tossing in
the frenzied lashing of the wind.

from A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine LEngle
C: Character Description
create a picture of an important character
in the readers mind

Even though Im a big dude with a

face like the moon and ears that stick out
like radar scoops and humongous feet like
the abdominal snowman

from Max the Mighty

by Rodman Philbrick
A: Action
start with something interesting happening

I disappeared on the night before

my twelfth birthday, July 28, 1988.

from Kensukes Kingdom

by Michael Morpurgo
R: Reflection/Thinking
start with an interesting thought inside a
characters mind

He did not want to be a wringer.

This was one of the first things he
learned about himself.

from Wringer
by Jerry Spinelli
E: Emotion
create a picture of the strongest emotion
you were feeling

You were supposed to wake up from

nightmares. Thats what Nina kept telling
herself as she cowered on the floor of her
concrete cell.

from Among the Betrayed

by Margaret Peterson Haddix
D: Dialogue/Talking
start with interesting dialogue

Hey, Killer! Hows your boyfriend?

from Juliet Dove, Queen of Love

by Bruce Coville
 Typical:

It was a day at the end of June 2010. My whole

family (including my mom, dad, brother, and me) was at
our camp at Rangeley Lake. We arrived the night
before at 10:00, so it was dark when we got there and
we unpacked. The next morning when I was eating
breakfast, my dad started yelling for me from down at
the dock at the top of his lungs about a car in the lake.
 Action:
A character doing something
I ran down to our dock as fast as my legs could carry me,
my feet pounding away on the old wood, hurrying me
toward the sound of my dads panicked voice. Scott! he
hollered again.
Coming, Dad! I gasped, and picked up my speed.
 Dialogue:
A character (or characters) talking
Scott! Get down here on the double! my father
hollered.
Dad, I yelled back. Where are you? I was sitting at
the kitchen table eating breakfast our first morning at our
Rangeley Lake Camp, and from someplace outside my dad
was calling for me.
Scott! MOVE IT! Youre not going to believe this! Dads
voice urged me.
I gulped down my milk, pushed away from the table, and
bolted outside, slamming the broken screen door behind
me.
 Reflection/ thoughts:
A character thinking about something
I couldnt imagine what my father could be hollering about
already at 7:00 in the morning. I thought hard and fast about
what I might have done to get him so riled up. Had he found
out about the cigarettes Id hidden in my backpack? Or the
way Id talked to my mother the night before when we got to
camp and shed asked me to help unpack the car? Before I
could consider a third possibility, my dads voice shattered my
thoughts.
Scott! Move it! Youre not going to believe this!
Foot-see Thought
a way to write interesting sentences
 Problem:
Writer can see it,
but the reader cant.

Solution:
Foot -see Thought
Foot-see Thought
You want the writing in your personal
narrative to have more pizzazz,
so try writing a few of your sentences
with these three parts:

Where did you go?

What did you see?

What did you think?

 Foot-see Thought
When I went into the kitchen, I saw my
mom at the stove, stirring a pot.
Mmmmm, I thought. Chili!
 Foot-see Thought
Could you change the eye to other senses?
Did you use another word other than walked?
 Foot-see Thought
When I stepped out onto the stage, I could hear
the audience clapping. What was I so afraid
of? I thought. This is fun!
 Foot-see Thought
As I stood at the top of the stairs, I saw my
fathers suitcase by the front door, and I thought,
Hes going to be gone a long time.
 Narrative
Conclusions
Leave your reader
thinking!
D
U
H
D Dream/Plan
(future)

U
H
D Dream/Plan

U Universal Truth

H
D Dream/Plan

U Universal Truth

H Huh?
F Future
How will the experience impact your future?

U Universal Truth
Lesson
LL
Learned
 What are your dreams/plans

D for the future because of

what you learned from your
experience?

U
H
 What are your dreams/plans

D for the future because of

what you learned from your
experience?
What universal truth
U can be learned from
your experience?

H
 What are your dreams/plans

D for the future because of

what you learned from your
experience?
What universal truth
U can be learned from
your experience?
Whats the point of your
H story? Why was what
you learned important?
The Day I Got Electrocuted
(the short version)

My parents always told me not to stick

anything in the electric socket. When
I was five years old, I thought I knew
more than them, so I jammed a pin
into the socket in my bedroom. My
thumb was fried an ashy white. The
combination of pain and the smell of
my burnt flesh almost made me vomit.
conclusion 1
Being the oldest kid in my family, I
always learn things the hard way. My
younger sisters and brother learn the
easy way- by watching me mess up! I
am a better example to them now.

In the future, he will be a better example,

so this is D dreams/ plan (for the future).
conclusion 2
Listen to your parents. They really
do know what theyre talking about.
Sound familiar? I had heard this all
my life; I just never believed it until
that fateful day.

U Universal truth:
Kids should listen to their parents.
conclusion 3
I found out that adults are smart,
especially my parents. This was an
important thing to learn because now
I usually ask for and follow their
advice.

Huh?
What did he learn? His parents are smart.
Expository
 Expository
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.
 Expository
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.

Body:
Example 1
Example 2
 Expository
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.

Body:
Example 1
Example 2

Conclusion:
Restate (say it in
different words) your
thesis.

Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
the material, but it is just as important
for them to care about their students.
 Expository
Introduction:
Ho.T.T.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.)
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about
their students.

Body:
Example 1
Example 2

Conclusion:
Restate (say it in
different words) your
thesis.

Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
the material, but it is just as important
for them to care about their students.
 Expository Narrative
Narrative
Introduction: Introduction:
Ho.T.T. S.C.A.R.E.D.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.) Body:
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about First, (beginning)
their students.
Then, (middle)
Body: Finally, (end)
Example 1 Remember the plot outline from
Example 2 Prices class.

Conclusion:
Conclusion: D.U.H.
Restate (say it in How will this
different words) your experience affect your
thesis. future?
What important
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
lesson should
the material, but it is just as important everyone learn?
for them to care about their students.
What did YOU learn?
 Expository Narrative
Narrative
Introduction: Introduction:
Introduction:
Ho.T.T. S.C.A.R.E.D.
S.C.A.R.E.D.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.) Body:
Thesis: Good teachers know more than
just how to teach; they also care about First, (beginning)
their students.
Then, (middle)
Body: Finally, (end)
Example 1 Remember the plot outline from
Example 2 Prices class.

Conclusion:
Conclusion: D.U.H.
Restate (say it in How will this
different words) your experience affect your
thesis. future?
What important
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
lesson should
the material, but it is just as important everyone learn?
for them to care about their students.
What did YOU learn?
 Expository Narrative
Narrative
Introduction: Introduction:
Introduction:
Ho.T.T. S.C.A.R.E.D.
S.C.A.R.E.D.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.) Body:
Thesis: Good teachers know more than Body:
just how to teach; they also care about First, (beginning)
their students. First, (beginning)
Then, (middle)
Then, (middle)
Body: Finally, (end)
Finally, (end)
Example 1 Remember the plot outline from
Example 2 Remember the plot outline from
Prices class.
Prices class.
Conclusion:
Conclusion: D.U.H.
Restate (say it in How will this
different words) your experience affect your
thesis. future?
What important
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
lesson should
the material, but it is just as important everyone learn?
for them to care about their students.
What did YOU learn?
 Expository Narrative
Narrative
Introduction: Introduction:
Introduction:
Ho.T.T. S.C.A.R.E.D.
S.C.A.R.E.D.
(hook=quote, dialogue)
(thesis= S.O.R.) Body:
Thesis: Good teachers know more than Body:
just how to teach; they also care about First, (beginning)
their students. First, (beginning)
Then, (middle)
Then, (middle)
Body: Finally, (end)
Finally, (end)
Example 1 Remember the plot outline from
Example 2 Remember the plot outline from
Prices class.
Prices class.
Conclusion:
Conclusion: Conclusion:
D.U.H.
Restate (say it in HowD.U.H.
will this
different words) your How will this experience
experience affect your
affect your future?
thesis. future?
Whatimportant
What important
lesson
Conclusion:
It is important for teachers to know
lesson
should shouldlearn?
everyone
the material, but it is just as important everyone learn?
for them to care about their students. What did YOU learn?
What did YOU learn?
Real STAAR answers to look at

Personal Narratives
Expository