Do you need help teaching your students how to revise the end of a narrative story? This post will give you ideas for a jammin’ conclusion! It is part of a revising step of the writing process in most writing curriculums. In DARE to revise, students are exchanging the old conclusion for a jammin’ one! These ideas are part of a scaffolding approach to writing with a series of lessons for writer’s workshop.
Use these step-by-step ideas to change the end of a narrative story!
1. TEACH
Follow one of these TEN WAYS TO END YOUR ESSAY! I will give you an idea for each that could be related to a story about the Revolutionary War.
1. Restate the main idea as a question. Was the Revolutionary War important?
2. Summarize the main points. The war was important because it helped America gain independence, democracy grow, and British to lose power.
3. End the story with a BANG!!!!! Let freedom ring!
4. Explain the effect….what happens after or in the future. America can now start developing their own government.
5. Add something personal. I thank the Patriots for my freedom of religion.
6. Give advice. Always stand up for what you believe in.
7. Surprise the reader. The British are back! (only to sign the Treaty of Paris)
8. Tell the lesson. Don’t forget that all men are created equal.
9. Share your feelings or thoughts. It is sad to know how many lives were lost.
10. Provide a wish or hope. I wish all people could avoid conflicts!
2. MENTOR TEXT
Mentor Texts are always a good way to introduce jammin’ conclusions. Some good ones are:
First Day Jitters by Danneberg
Owl Moon by Yolen
The First Dog by Jan Brett.
Don’t have any of these? If you have one of my interactive writing bundles, there are tons of choices.
3. MODEL
Take a look at a class story you are working on. If you have one of my interactive notebooks, this is the end of one of the modeling samples.
A bunch of hungry little puppies were squealing for their mother! The dog in Hillary’s hands jumped down and anxiously hobbled towards them! The adorable little puppies rushed over to her. Hillary’s heart just melted and she could see the compassion form in Pam’s eyes. The treasure was quietly awaiting in the corner with a note that said, “Use this fortune for what you feel is best.” Pam and Hillary looked at each other and knew right away what to do with the money. It was there right thing to do.
Pam now understood the meaning to Hillary’s favorite saying, “Everything happens for a reason.” Looking at the map, they both wondered…who put the message in the bottle?
4. TAKE NOTES
Take notes on these 10 jammin’ conclusions! Here is a sample:
5. PRACTICE
In small groups, provide students with a few NARRATIVE PROMPTS and ask them to write a jammin’ conclusion using one of the ten examples above.
6. APPLY
Students should then apply this lesson to their rough draft narrative. EXCHANGE the conclusion for a jammin’ one!
7. SHARE
It is always an effective strategy to allow students to share their jammin’ conclusions with each other.
I hope your students will be able to JAM ON!!!
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This lesson is also included in the STEP-BY-STEP WRITING® Program with mini-lessons designed to scaffold through the writing process. Writing units included are sentence structure, paragraph writing, narrative writing, opinion writing, and informative writing. See what is included in the image below and click on it to learn more about them! You will turn your reluctant writers into ROCKSTAR WRITERS™!
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