Third grade writers learned two strategies for generating topics for our personal narratives (stories about our lives). You can try them too:
1. Think of a person who is important to you. It's best to think of a person you spend lots of time with. A person with whom you have created lots of memories. Visualize that person. Let the memories pour into your mind. Write a list of memories.
My person is my aunt Denise. She and I are very close in age and we've done many things together over the years. When I visualize Denise these are some of the story topics that come to mind:
Turkish Twist
Burning the popcorn
Lost on the rowboat
Stuck on the paddleboat
Cooking lobster
Demi passing
Ask your third grade writer about the memories they wrote about.
2. Think of a place that is important to you. Think of a place where you spend lots of time. A place where you have created lots of memories. Visualize that place. Draw a quick sketch/map of that place. Let the memories pour into your mind. Label the map with your memories.
My place is a campground. I don't actually have one campground in mind. I have gone camping many times in my life so I have lots of memories at campground around New England. When I visualize campgrounds these are some of the story topics that come to mind:
tent falling
year of the mosquitoes
bonfire
Cowabunga!
canoe race with an anchor
The kids also listed memories of a place. Ask your child about the person/place they chose to remember. I bet you will generate an even larger list together!
We will continue using these strategies and others to develop small moments, focused stories of our lives. I can't wait to read them!