Kindergarten Spring — Lowercase Letter Formation, Sentence Frames, and the First Independent Writing
Lesson 16 40 min eng.gK.s.lesson_16.workshop_narrative_writing

Workshop narrative piece — 'First, ___. Then, ___.'

Skills targeted
Objectives
  • Students compose a two-sentence personal narrative using the frame 'First, ___. Then, ___.'
  • Students publish their narrative piece.
Vocabulary
narrativefirstthenstoryevent

Lesson plan

Warm-up

5 min

Mentor-text examination: 'Last Stop on Market Street' — discuss the FIRST event and the THEN event.

Teacher moves
  • Model identifying the sequence
Media
M-K-S-WR-16-B Photograph
Photo of two spreads from 'Last Stop on Market Street' showing the FIRST event (boarding the bus) and the THEN event (ar

Photo of two spreads from 'Last Stop on Market Street' showing the FIRST event (boarding the bus) and the THEN event (arriving at the soup kitchen). Sticky notes labeled FIRST and THEN.

Direct instruction

7 min

A NARRATIVE piece tells a story — something that happened. Use the frame 'First, ___. Then, ___.' to tell about a real event. Two sentences, two events, in order.

Key examples
  • Two events in order. Both happened to me.
    model 'First, I packed my lunch. Then, I rode my bike to school.'
    prompt Teacher's narrative.
  • Real events, in order.
    model 'First, I brushed my teeth. Then, I ate cereal.'
    prompt Try the frame: this morning at home.
Checks for understanding
  • What's the difference between narrative and informative?
  • Tell your partner two things from your morning using First/Then.
Media
M-K-S-WR-16-A Chart Physical / non-image

Anchor chart 'My Narrative'. Sentence frame 'First, ___. Then, ___.' in large print. Three filled examples with paired sketches. The First/Then sequence is shown as arrows from one event to the next. Used as the narrative-writing reference for the workshop.

Guided practice

20 min
Tasks
  • Independent workshop: draft your narrative using the frame.
    scaffold Topic-choice (yesterday, this morning, a memory).
  • Add illustrations for First and Then panels.
    scaffold Story-map paper with two boxes.
  • Conference: are both events real? Is the order correct?
    scaffold Teacher conferring rotation.

Formative assessment

3 min
Exit ticket
  • Share from author's chair.
  • Self-check: two real events, in order.
scoring Two real events in correct sequence = mastery; one event = practicing; events out of order or imagined = reteach.

Closure

Moves
  • Three children share
  • Class applauds
Media
M-K-S-WR-16-C Chart
Three-column chart 'Three Kinds of Writing'. Column 1 NARRATIVE — 'tells a story' — icon of a book with characters. Colu

Three-column chart 'Three Kinds of Writing'. Column 1 NARRATIVE — 'tells a story' — icon of a book with characters. Column 2 OPINION — 'tells what I think' — heart icon. Column 3 INFORMATIVE — 'teaches a fact' — magnifying glass icon. Each column has one mentor sentence and a kindergartner's published example.

Homework

5 min
Tasks
  • At bedtime, tell a family member a First/Then story about your day.

Exercises in this lesson

eng.gK.s.ex_24
Write a two-sentence narrative using the frame: 'First, ___. Then, ___.'
 write narrative · diff 4

Differentiation

Scaffolds
  • Topic menu
  • One-sentence reduction
  • Adult co-construction
Extensions
  • Three-sentence narrative: First/Then/Finally
  • Add a 'because' to one sentence
  • Stretch a sentence with a Tier-2 word
English Learners
  • Home-language draft acceptable
  • Bilingual topic menu
  • Pair share
Ieps 504s
  • AAC
  • Pre-built event options

Teacher notes

Narrative is the most personally meaningful of the three text types. Honor whatever the child chooses to share — first day at school, a grandmother's funeral, a soccer goal. Don't moralize about topic choice. Trauma-informed: if a child writes about a difficult event, listen, validate, and follow your school's mental-health-support protocol if appropriate.