Student Facing Checklist for Narrative Writing, Grades K-10

Student Facing Checklist for Narrative Writing, Grades K-10OverallLeadTransitionsEndingNarrative ChecklistGrade 7StructureI created a narrative that has realistic characters,tension and change, and that not only conveys, butalso develops an idea or lesson.The beginning not only sets the story in motion, italso grounds it in a place or situation. It includesdetails that will later be important to the storyI used transitional phrases to alert my reader tothe passage of time, to connect parts of thestory,(and suddenly, if only, meanwhile)I wrote an ending that conveys change and thatclarifies the meaning (develops the issue, idea,moral, or lesson)Yes!StartingToNot YetI have the reader a sense of closure by showing clearlyhow the character or place has changed or the problemhas been resolved.OrganizationI used narrative paragraphs to clarify when timechanges, when the setting changes, or fordramatic impact.The narrative structure is mostly conventional andlinear, and the sequence of events is clear.ElaborationDevelopmentI developed the action, dialogue, details, and innerthinking to develop the issue, idea, moral, orlesson.I developed the central character as well as thesetting and the character’s relationship to thesetting.DescriptionI developed characters’ motivations and showedwhy characters do what they do. I developed some ofthe complexity and change in characters.I used specific details to help the reader picture theplace and the mood.I stretched out parts that seemed significant to themeaning, and summarized parts that act as transitions.I varied my language and sentence structure tomatch the tone and the characters.©Units of Study for Teaching Writing, Grade by Grade: A Yearlong Workshop Curriculum, Grades K-8,by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues (Heinemann, 2013/2014)For distribution only in TCRWP schoolsDRAFT