A narration lets us know something. It tells us what happened. It tells us a story.

Our students love to hear narrations. They strain to hear the latest news among their friends about what happened over the weekend and they rush to see the latest films that promise a good story. . . . . They are held by a good narrative in the same way that our ancestors, hundreds of years ago, gathered around a fire and listened to a tale woven from words.

As teachers we can use this interest to help students learn to write and, at the same time, meet most of the curriculum standards associated with writing skills. The key is student interest. When their heads are into it, young people can write far better than when they are simply doing an assignment. Narratives, perforce, put their heads into the task.

. . . instruct students to think about a personal experience of their own that matters to them. It doesn't need to be especially dramatic or important; it simply needs to be significant. The readers will want to get something for themselves from the writing and for this reason students should think about a story that will be valuable to readers. Length is not an issue. Students should just write. This assignment should be checked to ensure that the language shows rather than tells. It should be returned to the student for rewriting if necessary.