Getting students to engage in narrative writing in French can be a challenge, but it is possible to get students to spend more time on writing. How many times has this happened to you? You teach a French writing lesson and then send students to work independently. Two minutes later, you hear the dreaded words: J’ai fini. You take a look at their paper and find they’ve only written a couple of sentences. They can’t think of anything else to say! I’ll walk you through how to teach narrative writing so that you can keep “j’ai fini” at a minimum.
How to Teach Narrative Writing in French
How you introduce narrative writing to students will depend on the age and abilities of your students. With younger students, I start by drawing pictures. With other students, we jump into writing first. Either way, there are a few activities I like to work through first.
No matter their age, it’s important that students know narrative writing is simply telling a story on paper. Start by asking students about the types of stories they tell to their friends and family.
Then, pair students with a partner and have them make a list of different stories they can tell. For example, they could talk about what they did over the weekend, their favourite activity, or a sports tournament they attended. When they’re done, bring the class back together and make a big list with their ideas. These ideas will help later on when students are stuck on what to write about.
Next, it’s time to start writing! It may take a few days to get to this stage, and that is okay. You want to start by modelling the entire narrative writing process for students (especially if your students are new to French writing, like in French Immersion or Core French class).
It’s best if you break the modelling process down into chunks. Again, with older students, I jump straight into writing. With younger students, I like to have them draw their pictures first.
French Narrative Writing When Writing Comes First
If you choose to start with writing first, you’ll be modelling the entire writing process for students. Start with a think-aloud and brainstorm the topic you want to choose in front of students.
Then, when you’ve landed a topic, you’ll show students how to move from your idea into narrative writing. You might say, “Now that I’ve chosen my topic, what do I actually want to say about it? Oh! I know! I want to start with…”. Then begin writing in front of students.
Another thing you’ll want to model is the spelling process. If you focus on always spelling words correctly right away, then your students will spend too much time worrying about how to write a word and not enough time actually writing. I model sounding out words as I write, and make sure to underline the words I wasn’t sure how to spell. We revisit those words during the editing process.
You basically repeat this possess for the entire paper. I don’t recommend writing the entire paper in one sitting, though. Chunk it up over multiple days so students don’t check out.
Once the paper is done, now you move to the images! As you did with the writing, you will model the drawing process for students. Talk about what you wrote and what photo would best depict the story. As you begin to draw, you might go back to add more details to the story so that you can get the most clear image. For example, your story might not have mentioned the setting, which is important for the image.
Now, you’ll officially move into students working on their own narrative writing. Ask students to pick a topic and share it with the class. If students are struggling to pick a topic, hearing their classmates’ choices might help!
Then, students will begin writing. While they are working independently on their narrative writing, call students to your small group table to offer support. When students finish a story, have them pick a new topic and continue writing. This keeps students always working on their skills, and there is never a time when students are simply sitting or doing busy work.
French Narrative Writing When Drawing Comes First
Starting with drawing is pretty similar. To tell a story with pictures, the images need to be clear and detailed. You want to start by modelling the process using a think-aloud. Brainstorm a few topics with students and pick one.
Then, begin drawing in front of students. Create detailed pictures that help demonstrate your story in a clear way. Then, start to add labels to your drawing. Consider what are the really important parts of the story, like the setting and events in the plot.
Next, you’ll model for students how you take the pictures and turn them into narrative writing. Craft a few sentences that describe what you have drawn.
Now that you’ve modelled the process, you’ll let students practice on their own. Students will start by selecting their topics, drawing their images, and then crafting a few sentences. Make sure to regularly check in with students during this process using 1:1 conferences or small groups.
Once students have finished one story, move them right along to the next! This will help them continue with practice and avoid students claiming to be done.
Narrative Writing Unit
Learning how to teach narrative writing to students can be tricky. Which is why I created this narrative writing unit! It includes all of the components you need to get students to write successfully.
Inside the unit, you’ll find lesson plans, activities, templates, and more to get your students writing. I map out the process for you, so scaffolding is simple and straightforward. Plus, it includes both teaching options: beginning with images or jumping straight into writing.
Grab the Narrative Writing Unit
Want to check out the resource listed?
All the links above lead to TPT, but the resources are also available on our website. Here are the resources available here for purchase in CAD. Don’t forget you can also buy credits for an additional discount (up to $15 off).
Need more help with teaching French writing? Check out the blog for how to teach French description writing in three easy steps.
