Narrative Writing

Sec 3 EESL
Subjects and Morals for Children Stories
● Change
● Friendship
● Sharing
● Perseverance
● Think before you act
● Acceptance
● Kindness
Subjects and Morals for Children Stories
● A theme is not a word. So
what can we say about change
for example….
● If you don’t succeed try and
try again. Never giving up.
● Winnie the Pooh
○ Teaches us that we
shouldn’t judge others
○ We should seize the day
○ Pooh realizes through
adventure that
friendship helps a person
grow
Theme
● The moral of the story that the character needs to learn
● The theme cannot be 1 word
○ For ex: The theme of Winnie the Pooh is friendship.
● To describe the theme it needs to be one sentence
○ For ex: The theme of the short story, “The Necklace”
describes how greediness and deceit can lead you to a
lifetime of consequences.
Theme: Practice
● What is the theme of the following short stories?
Practice writing one sentence with a partner:
● The Lady or the Tiger
● The Fall of the House of Usher
● The Gift of the Magi
 Choosing Your Character
● 1-2 dominant traits

● Reader should relate (believable)

○ Not necessarily perfect

● Looks, feels, thinks, acts

● Values and goals

◆ Trait portrayed in interaction (quotes)

What Are Winnie the Pooh’s Traits?
● Naïve
● Slow-witted
● Friendly
● Thoughtful
● Willing to help his friends
● Says that he is not very smart,
but he is actually quite wise
 Choosing Appropriate Names in a Story
Do Don’t
✧ Tells you something about ✧ Not famous
characters
✧Ending in –s (Alexis, Frances)
✧ Fit the historical period
✧Avoid odd spelling
✧Avoid names sounding the
same (Jess, Julie, Jack, Jim)
Flow of a Story
Quotes
● Use dialogue when possible

○ significant
● Identify the speaker

○ “…” exclaims Carrie. “…” Carrie exclaims.

● Vary verbs / use adverbs / strong adjectives (descriptive writing)
● Never end a page with dialogue
○ Continue with characters’ reaction to speech
○ Continue the story