The document provides guidance on writing narrative stories. It explains that narrative writing tells a story about an event by including important details about who, what, when, where, and why. A good narrative story is focused on one main idea and organized with a beginning, middle, and end. Transitions help the story flow logically between parts. The document also provides an example of a 5-sentence narrative story about a bicycle accident and discusses how adding more descriptive details can improve the story.

1. Narrative Writing
Adding Details to Your Writing

2. What is Narrative
Writing?
■ “So, what happened?” When someone asks you
that, what do you say? You respond by telling a
story- when it happened, where it happened,
how and why it happened. This is what we call
narration.
■ Narrative writing tells a story about an event
that happened.

3. What should a good
narrative story include?
■ Good narrative stories use details to describe all the
important elements of an event (Who, what, when,
where, and why.)
■ The story should be focused and stick to one main
idea.
■ Unimportant details should be left out of the story.
■ Narrative stories should be organized in a logical
way (Beginning, Middle, and End)
■ Transitions should be used to move from part of the
story to the next.
■ The story should make a point or lead to a
conclusion.

4. 5-sentence Narrative
Stories
■ So far this year we have been working on writing five sentence narrative
stories.
■ Here is how these stories were organized:
Sentence 1- Topic Sentence introducing the main idea
Sentence 2- Beginning
Sentence 3- Middle
Sentence 4 -End
Sentence 5- Concluding Sentence
■ Transition words like first, next, and last help the story flow smoothly
from beginning, to middle, to end.

5. Let’s look at an example
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were riding
our bikes down the steep hill at the end of our
street. I was going so fast that I hit a bump in
the road and flipped over my handlebars. I hit
my head hard on the pavement and had to be
taken to the hospital by my mother. I am lucky
that only fractured my skull and got a
concussion that day, it could have been much
worse.

6. Here are all the parts:
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were
riding our bikes down the steep hill at the
end of our street. I was going so fast that I hit
a bump in the road and flipped over my
handlebars. I hit my head hard on the
pavement and had to be taken to the
hospital by my mother. I am lucky that only
fractured my skull and got a concussion that
day, it could have been much worse.
Topic Sentence

7. Here are all the parts:
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were
riding our bikes down the steep hill at the
end of our street. I was going so fast that I hit
a bump in the road and flipped over my
handlebars. I hit my head hard on the
pavement and had to be taken to the
hospital by my mother. I am lucky that only
fractured my skull and got a concussion that
day, it could have been much worse.
Topic Sentence
Beginning

8. Here are all the parts:
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were
riding our bikes down the steep hill at the
end of our street. I was going so fast that I hit
a bump in the road and flipped over my
handlebars. I hit my head hard on the
pavement and had to be taken to the
hospital by my mother. I am lucky that only
fractured my skull and got a concussion that
day, it could have been much worse.
Topic Sentence
Beginning
Middle

9. Here are all the parts:
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were
riding our bikes down the steep hill at the
end of our street. I was going so fast that I hit
a bump in the road and flipped over my
handlebars. I hit my head hard on the
pavement and had to be taken to the
hospital by my mother. I am lucky that only
fractured my skull and got a concussion that
day, it could have been much worse.
Topic Sentence
Beginning
Middle
End

10. Here are all the parts:
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were
riding our bikes down the steep hill at the
end of our street. I was going so fast that I hit
a bump in the road and flipped over my
handlebars. I hit my head hard on the
pavement and had to be taken to the
hospital by my mother. I am lucky that only
fractured my skull and got a concussion that
day, it could have been much worse.
Topic Sentence
Beginning
Middle
End
Concluding
Sentence

11. So, how does my story measure up?
■ This narrative story tells about a true event that
happened in my life.

12. So, how does my story measure up?
■ It uses details to describe all the important
elements of my event:
■ Who- my brother and myself
■ What- had a bike accident
■ When- in third grade
■ Where- on the hill at the end of my street
■ Why- I was going very fast and hit a bump

13. So, how does my story measure up?
■ The story is focused and sticks to one main idea.
■ Main idea: A time when I was hurt in a bike
accident.
■ The story ends by making a point. This is called
a conclusion.
■ Conclusion: Even though I got hurt, I feel lucky to
be alive because things could have been much
worse.

14. How can I make my story better?
■ Even though my story has all the major parts a
narrative story needs to have, it could be even
better.
■ Adding more details and descriptions would
make my story more interesting for my
audience.

15. Let’s Give it a Try!
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were riding
our bikes down the steep hill at the end of our
street. I was going so fast that I hit a bump in the
road and flipped over my handlebars. I hit my
head hard on the pavement and had to be taken
to the hospital by my mother. I am lucky that
only fractured my skull and got a concussion
that day, it could have been much worse.

16. Let’s Give it a Try!
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were riding
our bikes down the steep hill at the end of our
street. We were racing as fast as we could down
the hill, trying to see who could get to the
bottom first. I was going so fast that I hit a bump
in the road and flipped over my handlebars. I
hit my head hard on the pavement and had to
be taken to the hospital by my mother. I am
lucky that only fractured my skull and got a
concussion that day, it could have been much
worse.
Add a new
detail
sentence

17. Let’s Give it a Try!
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were riding
our bikes down the steep hill at the end of our
street. We were racing as fast as we could down
the hill, trying to see who could get to the
bottom first. I was going so fast that I hit a bump
in the road and flipped over my handlebars.
Before I knew it I was sailing through the air,
headfirst, without a helmet on. I hit my head
hard on the pavement and had to be taken to
the hospital by my mother. I am lucky that only
fractured my skull and got a concussion that
day, it could have been much worse.
Add a new detail
sentence

18. Let’s Give it a Try!
My Bicycle Accident
When I was in third grade I got hurt in a
bicycle accident. My brother and I were riding
our bikes down the steep hill at the end of our
street. We were racing as fast as we could down
the hill, trying to see who could get to the
bottom first. I was going so fast that I hit a bump
in the road and flipped over my handlebars.
Before I knew it I was sailing through the air,
headfirst, without a helmet on. I hit my head
hard on the pavement and had to be taken to
the hospital by my mother. She raced me to the
Emergency Room where the doctors took x-rays
of my head and body. I am lucky that only
fractured my skull and got a concussion that
day, it could have been much worse.
Add a new detail
sentence