1. Begin the lesson with a lecture on the components of a narrative story. Use this lecture as an opportunity for students to practice their note taking skills. The parts of a narrative story are:
- Introduction or Orientation
- The who, what, where and why of the story
- Introduces the main character
- Sets the scene—time and place
- Presents a dramatic incident
- Body of the story—the problem or complication
- Develops conflict
- Develops tension
- The height of the tension
- Resolution or conclusion
- Provides a solution to the problem
2. Pass out examples of a narrative story. Examples of a narrative story can be found at the provided link. The teacher may want to use other examples that they deem necessary.
3. Read through each example with the students. Have students refer to their lecture notes and identify the parts of the narratives they have just read. It might be helpful to look at one specific story.
- Ask students to identify the introduction and what information is given to the reader.
- Who is the main character?
- Where does this story take place?
- Ask students to identify the parts of the body
- What is the problem or main conflict of this story?
- Ask students to identify the climax
- What is the height of tension?
- Ask students to identify the resolution
- How is the problem resolved?
4. Review the writing process with the students. This is the same process they went through when composing their analysis of a Sandburg poem.
- Rough Draft
- Final Draft
Introduce the next lesson. The students will take what they have learned in this lesson and create a narrative story of their own.