Transcript Writing a Narrative Paragraph

WRITING A NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH
Indent
Lead
Sentenc
e
Supporting
Sentences
Closing
Sentence
My first try at making pizza was like a
wrestling match. First, the dough
attacked . It stuck to the rolling pin, to
my fingers, and to the counter. Then the
tomato sauce spilled under my feet and
nearly make me slip. The cheese grater
scraped my finger along with the
mozzarella. Finally, I shoved the messy
pizza into the oven. Twenty minutes
later, I took my first bite. Mmmmmm. I
knew I’d won the match!
THE LEAD SENTENCE

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The Lead Sentence introduces the topic and
may give you a hint about the main idea of the
story. The lead sentence should also get the
reader interested in the story.
My first try at making pizza was like a wrestling match.
Topic
Main Idea
Make your own lead sentence for this narrative
paragraph.
Lead Sentence. After breakfast, we tried
cooling off in the sprinkler, but Dad
squashed that plan. “You’ll ruin the
new grass!” he said. Then we tried
reading in front of the fan, but we still
felt sweaty. After lunch, Bill invited us
for a swim in her new pool. We swam
until our lips turned blue! At least we
couldn’t complain about being too hot
anymore.
SUPPORTING SENTENCES

Supporting Sentences follow the lead sentence.
They support the main idea by telling details
about it. They answer one or more of the
questions WHO? WHAT? WHERE? WHY? And
HOW? In our first paragraph, the supporting
sentences described why making pizza was like
a wrestling match.
Making Pizza = Wrestling Match
Dough
stuck To
everything.
Spilled tomato
sauce nearly
tripped me.
Cheese grater
scraped my
finger.
WHAT IS THE MAIN IDEA? WHICH SENTENCE
DOES NOT KEEP THE MAIN IDEA?
The minute the dentist clipped up my
x-ray, I suspected trouble. First, Dr Scholten
squinted at it. Then she frowned. As she
examined my x-ray more closely, she
mumbled something about a retainer. My
friend just got a new dog. Finally, Dr.
Scholten snapped off the light and informed
me, You need braces.”
ORDERING DETAILS

Events in a narrative paragraph are usually told
in the order they happened. Time-clue words
and phrases, such as first, next, and in the
morning, help signal when events take place.

Can you think of any other Time-clue words
THE CLOSING SENTENSE

The closing sentence in a narrative paragraph
can tell the last event in the story, something
learned form the story, or the writer thought or
felt about the experience. In the pizza
paragraph, the concluding sentence tells how
the “struggle” turned out.

Mmmmmm. I knew I’d won the match!
We never know what’s going to happen when
we take our Labrador retriever, Phil, on a trip.
Last year Mom, Dad, my sister Bridget, and I
were camping in a park. We set up our tent
close by a stream so that we could hear the
water gurgling over the rocks. In the middle
of the night, I woke up and looked around
for Phil. He was gone! I woke up everybody
else, and we crawled out of the tent and
started calling for him. Splash, splash! Phil
was in the stream, soaking wet. __________
Closing Sentence
CHECKLIST FOR MY PARAGRAPH
My lead sentence introduces the main idea
 Every supporting sentence tells details about
the main idea.
 My supporting sentences tell what happened in
order. Time-clue words and phrases make the
order clear.
 My closing sentence sums up what happened
or tells what I thought or felt.
