Narrative Writing Teaching Resources
Teach narrative writing this school year with writing prompts, printable worksheets, storyboards and story maps and more teaching resources created by teachers for elementary teachers like you.
This collection of TEKS and Common Core curriculum-aligned teaching resources has been carefully curated by our expert teacher team. That means not only is every resource teacher-created, but each one has undergone our review process to ensure it's ready for your lesson plan and your students!
Is this your first year teaching students about writing narratives? Or maybe you're just looking for some fresh ideas to tackle the topic? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is Narrative Writing?
Narrative writing is the act of writing a story, and those stories can be fictional or non-fiction accounts of something the student has experienced or learned about.
This type of writing is often popular with students as it allows them to use their imagination and creativity.
Which Elements Does Strong Narrative Writing Always Contain?
To make their narrative writing engaging and strong, there are certain key elements students need to understand and include, so we've compiled this quick refresher for you.
Plot
The plot of strong narrative writing is crucial — without it, there's no narrative! Keeping the reader interested from the start of a story involves developing the characters well and including conflict.
Structure
Structure of the text is just as important as the plot when writing a strong narrative. Students should be writing texts that include a beginning, middle and end. This can include a clear introduction that sets up the main conflict, a rising action that builds tension and excitement and a resolution that provides closure and ties up loose ends.
Descriptive Language
Teaching students to go beyond overused words like "said" or "nice" and using more descriptive language can help them make their narrative writing stronger. This graphic element of writing works with imagery and figurative language to help readers visualize the story.
Descriptive language helps the reader to visualize the setting and the characters. Sensory details can help kids set the scene in their essay or story.
Point of View
Whether it is written in the first-person, the third-person or flips back and forth, a piece of strong narrative writing has a clear point of view. This helps the reader better understand the narrator or protagonist.
What Is a Hook in Narrative Writing?
One feature of narrative writing you may want to focus on with your students this school year is the art of writing a "hook" to capture the reader's attention and draw them into the story. This is a compelling introduction that will engage the reader and make them want to keep reading!
There is no one kind of hook! It can be anything from an interesting fact or question to a dramatic opening scene or dialogue.
8 Narrative Writing Examples and Assignments to Get Students Writing
Are you looking for some different examples of narrative writing assignments that will engage your students and inspire them to write? Try these ideas from our teacher team!
- A personal narrative about a special day the student will never forget
- A fictional narrative about a group of friends going on an adventure
- A descriptive narrative that uses sensory details and describing words to create a vivid image of riding a rollercoaster
- A historical narrative that tells the story of their favorite president
- A reflective narrative that explores the writer's thoughts and feelings about going to high school one day
- A fantastical narrative that includes magical or imaginary elements, like the arrival of a magic hat in the classroom
- A humorous narrative that uses comedic elements to entertain the reader about a time their gym teacher was replaced by an alien
- A collaborative narrative that involves students writing a chapter book in small groups
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Acrostic Poems Poster
A poster providing a definition and example of an acrostic poem.
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Rhyming Poems Poster
A poster providing a definition and example of a rhyming poem.
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New Year's Flip Book Template
Celebrate the coming of a new year by creating this flipbook with your students.
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What Could It Be? - Sensory Poem Template
Use this template when teaching students how to write sensory poems.
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Color Rhyming and Poetry Worksheet
A worksheet to help students form rhyming words and create a rhyming poem.
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Acrostic Poem Template - PLANET
An acrostic poem template for the word ‘planet’ to use for Earth Day, during National Poetry Month, and when learning about the solar system.
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My Reading Favorites Template
Create a mini-book filled with your students' favorite things about reading with a printable template.
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Narrative Setting Craft Templates
A set of circular diorama templates that combine to create three scenes.
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Writing Template - Primary Grades
A blank template to use for a variety of writing pieces in the primary grades.
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My Ideal World – Writing Template
A template for students to use when writing about their ideal world.
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Valentine's Day Flip Book Template
A flip book template to use around Valentine's Day.
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April Writing Prompts - Lower Grades
20 writing prompts for April with corresponding writing sheets.
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Narrative Text Structure - PowerPoint
A 20-slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the text structure and language features of narrative texts.
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Writing Prompt Jar – Cut and Assemble Kit
A set of labels and prompts to create a writing prompt jar.
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March Writing Prompts - Lower Grades
20 writing prompts for March with corresponding writing sheets.
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February Writing Prompts - Lower Elementary
20 writing prompts for February with corresponding writing sheets.
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Story Leads To Hook Your Readers
How to hook your reader: 11 techniques to open your story with a bang and grab your reader's attention!
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Introduction to Personal Recounts PowerPoint
An 18 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching younger students about the structure and language features of personal recounts.
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Assorted Writing Prompts Calendar - Lower Elementary
Monthly writing calendar with 240 writing prompts for the year.
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Assorted Writing Prompts Calendar – Upper Grades
Monthly writing calendar with 240 writing prompts for the year.
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Writing a Color Poem Worksheet
Learn how to write a color poem with this two-page worksheet.
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Narrative Structure Sorting Task
A sorting task to help students learn about narrative structure.
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Narrative Writing Checklist - Structure, Language and Features
A checklist for students to use when proofreading and editing their narrative writing.
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November Writing Prompts - Lower Elementary
20 writing prompts for November with corresponding writing sheets.
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October Writing Prompts - Lower Elementary
20 writing prompts for October with corresponding writing sheets.
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When I Grow Up...
Explore your students future ambitions with this When I Grow Up worksheet.
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The 5 Ws and 1 H Questions for Narrative Writing Poster
A 5 Ws and 1 H poster to display in the classroom.
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May Writing Prompts - Lower Elementary
20 writing prompts for May with corresponding writing sheets.
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Narrative Plot Structure Diagram
A plot diagram for students to refer to when planning narrative writing.
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Introduction to Narrative Features PowerPoint - Grade 3 and Grade 4
A 23 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the features of narrative texts.
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What If? Materials Template
A set of 6 templates to use when investigating the properties of materials.
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Plan Your Own Adventure - Writing Template
Students use a template to help them plan stories with alternative pathways for their friends to read.
- Narrative Writing Templates
- Narrative Writing Posters
- Narrative Writing Worksheets
- Narrative Writing Games
- Narrative Writing for Kindergarten
- Narrative Writing for 1st Grade
- Narrative Writing for 2nd Grade
- Narrative Writing for 3rd Grade
- Narrative Writing for 4th Grade
- Narrative Writing for 5th Grade
- Narrative Writing for 6th Grade
- Narrative Writing for 7th Grade