Sharing Small Moment Stories: Narrative Writing in 1/2

Each year, whether it’s Year A or Year B, the 1/2 team launches Writing Workshop with a unit on Small Moment Stories. In the first couple months of school, the 1st and 2nd graders work on crafting personal narratives that zoom in and retell one small, vivid moment in time. Using a watermelon analogy as a teaching tool, the 1/2 teachers explain how a watermelon story represents a big topic, a watermelon slice is a smaller topic, and a seed story focuses on a small moment. For example, instead of writing about an entire vacation (a watermelon story), students first narrow it down to a specific day (slice story) and then choose one activity from that day (seed story). They draw inspiration from their own experiences, and this year, topics range from riding roller coasters to breaking an arm (ouch!) to the FCS Fall Fair. They plan carefully, breaking down the sequence of events and identifying the key elements of the story, before beginning to write their draft. Throughout the unit, the students are challenged to incorporate specific details to build up their story. By the end of the unit, students transform what began as a few simple sentences into pages of engaging, detailed storytelling.