CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.8

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Writing a Narrative Paragraph

Once you finish prewriting, you are ready to write your paragraph. These writing activities will help you create a topic sentence, body sentences, and an ending sentence. You'll also read another student's paragraph to see how all of the parts came together.

Writing the Topic Sentence

Your narrative paragraph should begin with a topic sentence. It names the topic and shares a specific thought or feeling about it.

Sample Topic Sentence 1:

Whitewater rafting with my family was a crazy adventure.

  • Topic: Whitewater rafting with my family
  • Special Thought: A crazy adventure

Sample Topic Sentence 2:

I’ll never forget the time I saw the playful polar bear.

  • Topic: The playful polar bear
  • Special Feeling: Never forget seeing it

Write your topic sentence.

Respond to the first two items below, and use your responses to help you write a topic sentence for your narrative paragraph.

  1. Name your topic.
  2. Share a specific thought or feeling about it.
  3. Write your topic sentence.
By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Prewriting for Narrative Paragraphs

Prewriting is your first step in writing a narrative paragraph. These prewriting activities will help you select a memory to write about, create a focus statement, and gather and organize your details before you begin a first draft.

Prewriting to Choose Your Topic

Your narrative paragraph will share a special memory from your life. Here’s how you can get started.

Gather writing topics.

Finish the sentence starters below to collect writing ideas for your narrative. Draw a star next to the topic you like best.

  1. One of my favorite times with my best friend was . . .
  2. I’ll never forget the holiday when . . .
  3. I’ll never forget my family vacation to . . .
  4. One crazy thing my family did was . . .
  5. I’ll always remember the first time I . . .
  6. An exciting time in my neighborhood was when . . .

Teaching Tip

Students may also decide to use a writing topic from the “My Memory Wishes” activity.

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Reading a Narrative Paragraph

Before you capture your own memory wish in a narrative paragraph, you should read a similar paragraph created by a different student. As you read and respond to the paragraph, think about how the writer made the memory come to life for the reader.

Reading a Narrative Paragraph

A narrative paragraph tells a true story from the writer’s life. It has three main parts. The topic sentence introduces the topic of the story. The body sentences tell what happened in the story. And the ending sentence wraps up the story. The sample paragraph tells about a special trip to the zoo.

Listen to "Polar Bear Games"

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Sample Paragraph

Polar Bear Games

Topic SentenceI’ll never forget the time I saw the playful polar bear. My family and I were at the polar bear pen at the zoo. Inside the pen, a white polar bear named Amelia was wrestling with a log. Body SentencesThe bear rolled around and tossed the log into the air. Then she batted it into a giant swimming pool. But the polar bear wasn’t done with the log just yet. She leaped into the water and disappeared. “Let’s go down to the water-window!” I said, so my sister and I raced down to find her. Next, we pressed our faces against the glass, and the playful polar bear swam right in front us.Ending Sentences And guess what? She had the log tucked under her arm!

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Warm-Up for Narrative Paragraphs

Writing a Personal Narrative
(c) Thoughtful Learning 2016

This lesson will help you think about important memories you have that you would like to share in a narrative paragraph.

What Is a Narrative Paragraph?

Listen to "What Is a Narrative Paragraph?"

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A narrative paragraph is a short piece of writing that captures an important moment in your life. Narrative is another word for "story."

Your mind is like a bank for memories. It saves and stores special moments from your life for you to remember and enjoy. For example, what about that day that you hit the winning home run? In a narrative, you pull out a memory from your mind bank and tell the story to others. This unit will show you how to turn a special moment from your life into a story for readers to enjoy.

Thinking About Special Memories

Wouldn’t it be neat if you could experience something great all over again? Imagine if a genie granted you the power to relive three of your favorite memories. What memories would you do over?

Here’s how one student used his three memory wishes.

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Understanding Persuasive Paragraphs

In a persuasive paragraph, you give your opinion on a subject and try to get your reader to agree with you. To do this, you need to give facts and other reasons to support your opinion. Otherwise, you won’t persuade your readers.

Read a persuasive paragraph.

Note the opinion that the writer is presenting and supporting. Pay special attention to the reasons the writer gives for the opinion.

Listen to "Perfect Tree House Place"

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Opinion Statement Kids need a place to call their own, and a tree house is the perfect place. For instance, a tree house gives my friends and me a chance to get away from the pressures of school, homework, and little brothers or sisters. We can just hang out and be ourselves. Body Sentences We can also decorate our tree house any way we want. In addition, a tree house is a good place for thinking, playing music, looking at the sky, or just being with friends. Reasons Sure, if we didn’t have this kind of place, we’d find other ways to keep busy. We’d go to the mall, text our friends, play video games, or just watch TV. Ending Sentence But doesn’t a tree house sound like a better place for kids to spend their time?

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Understanding Explanatory Paragraphs

Your main purpose in an explanatory paragraph is to give information about a subject. You may give directions, present ideas, or explain how to do something. An explanatory paragraph uses transitions such as first, then, after, and finally.

Read an explanatory paragraph.

Read the following paragraph. Note how the first sentence introduces the topic, the body sentences include details with time transitions, and the ending sentence wraps up the explanation.

Listen to "Building Our Tree House"

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Topic Sentence Last summer, my friends and I built a tree house in our back yard. Our first step was to agree on a design for the tree house. Then we made a list of materials we needed and located a store that sold building supplies. We took our list and the money we had saved and went shopping. Body SentencesWe loaded everything into my dad’s van and headed back. The first thing we had to do was build a frame for the floor of the house. (My mom helped with that.) Then we used a rope to raise all the wood up into the tree. TransitionsAfterward, we nailed the floorboards to the frame, and we soon had a floor. After that, we added walls and a roof. It took us all afternoon, but it was worth it. Ending Sentence We now had a great place to hang out for the rest of the summer.

By Anonymous (not verified), 12 March, 2026

Understanding Narrative Paragraphs

In a narrative paragraph, you tell a story about a personal experience. You try to pull your readers into the story and keep them wondering what will happen next. Be sure to include specific details to make your experience come to life.

Read a narrative paragraph.

Note how the author catches your interest in the topic sentence, describes the event, creates suspense, and closes the paragraph.

Listen to "Climbing Contest"

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Topic Sentence

Topic Sentence Last Tuesday, I invited Danny, Julio, Renatta, and Mishiko to ride over to climb my favorite oak tree. We’ve all climbed the tree together before, but this time we decided to see who could climb the highest. Julio and Renatta climbed a little bit higher than usual, and I climbed almost to the end of one huge limb. Body SentencesMishiko climbed even higher than I did, but Danny won our little contest. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize how high he had climbed, until he looked down. He froze. He clung to the limb he was on and was afraid to climb down. What if he had to stay up in the tree all night? Renatta took off on her bike to tell her mom. Her mom called the fire department, and before long, an engine—with sirens blasting—arrived to rescue Danny. Ending Sentence It was very exciting, but we also learned a lesson about climbing contests.

Height-Challenged German Shepherd Have you ever seen a dog with big ears and short legs? Was it so irresistibly cute you just wanted to take it home? Chances are, you were looking at a Pembroke Welsh corgi. Let me introduce you to a dog of very high intelligence. Since Welsh corgis are so intelligent, they are easy to train. One of the jobs they are good at is herding sheep and cattle. Welsh corgis are also very loyal companions for people of all ages. The Welsh corgi’s small size means it doesn’t take up much room as a pet.
Deer Don’t Need to Flee to Stay Trouble-Free! Have you ever been in trouble and wanted to get away? The white-tailed deer can swim, run, hide, and fight to stay out of trouble. If you want to know how they do it, read on. In early April, fawns (baby deer) are born. After a few weeks, the doe (the mother deer) leaves her fawns to find food. The doe leaves her fawns in a bushy place. The trees and grass can help keep the fawns from being seen by hungry predators.