personal narrative essay 5th grade

Elementary Assessments

51 Great Narrative Writing Prompts for 5th Grade Students

Here you will find a delightful collection of narrative writing prompts for 5th grade.

Not only do these narrative prompts reduce writer’s block, they motivate students to reflect on personal experiences, develop ideas, and improve writing skills.

Even reluctant fifth grader writers will enjoy sharing about their lives using these high-interest narrative writing prompts.

So add a few of these narrative writing prompts for 5th grade to your writer’s workshop instruction this week.

Narrative Writing Prompts for 5th Grade

The following personal narrative writing prompts for 5th grade work well for various educational purposes.

1. Discuss a moment when someone showed you an act of kindness that you were not expecting.

2. Write about a moment when you received a grade lower than what you had expected.

3. Retell the events from the first day of school. How were you feeling? What activities did your class do? What was most memorable?

4. Write about a time when you were so shy that you could barely speak.

5. Retell the story of a time when you exhibited strong leadership skills.

6. Write about a time when you attended or participated in a parade.

7. Describe your favorite place in the entire world.

8. Write about the most amazing or most dreadful road trip you took with family or friends.

9. Tell the story of how you and your best friend met and became good friends.

10. Write a story about the most amazing summer vacation you ever experienced.

11. Share an exciting memory from visiting a theme park or waterpark.

12. Tell about a time when you felt very calm, relaxed, and peaceful. Who were you with? Where were you? What was going on around you?

13. Write about a time when you helped someone learn how to do something.

14. Describe the best birthday you have ever had.

15. Write about a time when you got into trouble for disrespecting a family member or teacher.

16. Retell the main events of the most special day of your life.

17. Write a story about a time when you got hurt during recess or P.E class.

18. Tell about a memorable first day of school.

19. Write a story about a horrible visit to the dentist or doctor.

20. Share what you like most and least about responding to narrative writing prompts for 5th grade.

21. Tell about a time when you played an innocent joke on a friend or relative.

22. Share an exciting summer memory that involves a water park, the ocean, or a swimming pool.

23. What is one of your biggest fears? Why is it a fear, and what steps can you take to overcome the fear?

24. Share your best talent. How do you share your talent with the world? When you grow up, how can you use your talent to earn money?

25. Recall a time when you made a recipe that turned out horribly.

26. Write about an incredible adventure that you took with your friends or family.

27. Tell about the best holiday gathering you’ve ever experienced.

28. Suppose you invented a time machine. Write a story about the adventures you’d have with it.

29. If you were teacher for the day, what activities would you do with students?

30. How are you different from yourself a year ago?

31. Write about someone who you consider a hero. What qualities and actions make this person a hero?

32. Tell about a time when you stood up for yourself.

33. Write about a time when someone made you feel special.

34. Share an experience helping a younger student do something.

35. Describe what your routine is like on a weekday morning.

36. Write about a memory teaching an adult how to do something.

37. Tell about a time when you received an unexpected apology.

38. Describe a memory barbecuing in the backyard with family.

39. Tell your favorite things to do at the beach.

40. Share an experience building a sand castle.

41. Write a news story about a recent event in your life.

42. Tell about a time when you lost something valuable. What was the outcome?

43. Write about a time when you broke something that didn’t belong to you.

44. Share your strategy for scoring well on narrative writing prompts for 5th graders.

45. Describe your favorite genre of TV shows and movies.

46. Share a memory of feeling alone.

47. Describe an experience meeting a distant relative for the first time.

48. Share a memory attending a wedding.

49. What are your best qualities? Give examples.

50. Retell a memorable Field Day.

51. What are some things most people don’t know about you?

Final Thoughts: Narrative Writing Prompts for 5th Grade

Now you have a ready-supply of narrative writing prompts for 5th grade students to use for various writing activities.

See Common Core English Language Arts (Writing) Standards to understand how to assess these narrative prompts.

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Personal narrative writing

Telling your own story.

In these writing worksheets, students are given a prompt and a graphic organizer from which to plan and write a personal narrative.

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65 Engaging Personal Narrative Ideas for Kids and Teens

Tell a story to engage the reader.

Personal narrative essays are all about telling stories. Try these personal narrative ideas to inspire kids and teens to tell meaningful stories from their own lives, no matter what they’ve experienced.

Plus, click the button below to get a set of personal narrative essay worksheets, which will take your students through the entire personal narrative essay planning process step-by-step.

What is a personal narrative essay?

Think of writing a personal narrative like writing and directing a film. Choose an engaging story from your own life with a message (the essay’s theme). Map out the plot with a narrative arc, including the introduction, rising action, climax, and conclusion. Engage your reader with lots of descriptive language, and take time at the end to reflect on what you learned from the story and how it affected your life. ( Get more tips about narrative writing here. )

“Describe a Time When You …” Personal Narrative Ideas

Firsts and bests personal narrative ideas, general personal narrative essay ideas, college essay personal narrative ideas.

These personal narrative ideas urge students to dig into their past experiences and share them with their audience. Be sure they share the details, including what took place and how it made them feel, and anything they learned from the experience.

Describe a time when you:

• Were scared
• Overcame a big challenge
• Learned an important life lesson
• Had to make a difficult decision
• Were proud of a friend or family member
• Did something you didn’t want to and ended up liking it
• Met a celebrity or someone you really admire
• Tried something new
• Made a mistake and had to apologize and/or fix the mistake
• Had a really terrible day

• Were in danger
• Helped someone in need
• Had a dream come true
• Felt inspired
• Were a leader
• Made someone else laugh
• Did something you later regretted
• Set a goal and achieved it

These essay topics explore the times you did something for the first time ever, or when you were the best version of yourself.

• Write about meeting your best friend for the first time and how your relationship developed.
• Tell about learning to ride a bike or drive a car.
• Tell about your proudest moment.
• What is your happiest memory?
• What is your earliest memory?
• Explain what it’s like to move to a new town or start a new school.
• What’s the best (or worst!) vacation you’ve ever taken?

• Tell the story of the time you got your first pet.
• Describe your favorite field trip of all time.
• Tell the story of your first day of kindergarten.
• What’s the best meal you’ve ever eaten?
• Describe the best party or celebration you’ve ever attended.
• Tell about the first time someone ever paid you for work (first job, chores for a neighbor, babysitting, etc.) and how it made you feel.
• Describe the first time you spent a night away from home without your family.
• What’s the best gift you’ve ever been given?

Here are more personal narrative topics to inspire young writers.

• Describe a performance or sporting event you took part in.
• Explain the process of cooking and eating your favorite meal.
• Write about a time when you or someone you know displayed courage.
• Share the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you.
• Describe a time when you or someone you know experienced prejudice or oppression.
• Explain a family tradition, how it developed, and its importance today.
• What is your favorite holiday? How does your family celebrate it?
• If you could relive any day in your life, what would it be? Would you want it to be the same or different?

• Describe your morning routine from the time you wake up until the moment the school bell rings to start the day.
• Share what you do on a typical non-school day.
• Tell about a time when you were injured. How did it happen?
• Describe an argument you and a friend had and how you resolved it.
• Tell about what you think your life will be like when you’re 25 years old.
• Explore a time when you felt you were treated unfairly.
• What makes your family different from everyone else’s family?

These personal narrative essay topics all come from real college applications. ( See more college essay prompts here. )

• Discuss a time when reflection or introspection led to clarity or understanding of an issue that is important to you.
• Share an example of how you have used your own critical-thinking skills on a specific subject, project, idea, or interest.
• Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you.
• Reflect on a personal experience where you intentionally expanded your cultural awareness.
• When was the last time you questioned something you had thought to be true?
• Reflect on a time when you or someone you observed had to make a choice about whether to act with integrity and honesty.
• Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.
• Describe a time when you were challenged by a perspective that differed from your own. How did you respond?
• Elaborate on an activity or experience you have had that made an impact on a community that is important to you.

• Describe any meaningful travel experiences you’ve had.
• Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it.
• What is the greatest compliment you have ever been given? Why was it meaningful to you?
• What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good?
• Describe a time when you’ve felt empowered or represented by an educator.
• Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.

Get your free personal narrative printable worksheets

Click the button below to fill out the form on this page and get a free printable personal essay planner. It includes five pages to help your students plan their essays. The worksheets cover setting, characters, plot, and more. Each worksheet is designed with a movie theme making the process interactive and relatable to students.

What are your favorite personal narrative ideas? Come share on the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, check out the big list of essay topics for high school (150+ ideas) ., you might also like.

15 Inspiring Personal Narrative Examples for Writers

Reveal a part of yourself in your essay. Continue Reading

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Personal Narrative Writing Guide

WHAT IS A PERSONAL NARRATIVE?

A Personal Narrative recounts an event or experience from the writer’s life in story form and often in intimate detail. This text type not only relates to the events happening around the author but also often reveals the writer’s inner thoughts and emotions also.

A personal narrative can be understood as nonfiction storytelling based on the writer’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Told in the first person, the writer draws on their life events to construct a story.

Combining elements of nonfiction recount writing with introspection and the frequent use of literary devices more commonly associated with fiction and poetry, a personal narrative can be best understood as a type of creative nonfiction .

PERSONAL NARRATIVE VERSUS A PERSONAL RECOUNT: SO WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Personal narratives are also frequently referred to as personal recounts. They share much in common but are unique text types, so let’s explore how they compare and contrast.

When we first instruct our students to write stories based on the events of their own lives, they will inevitably write simple recounts. These recounts are based on retelling personal incidents of their lives but lack the depth we can typically expect to find in a personal narrative.

While personal narratives also recount events from the writer’s life, with greater emphasis placed on exploring the writer’s thoughts and feelings on these events rather than just what happened.

A personal narrative is a means for the writer to explore the meaning of the events in their life. It is, at its core, an introspective and creative endeavor that focuses as much on the interior life of the writer as it does on external events.

While the conclusion of a traditional recount usually provides some of the writer’s insights, in a personal narrative, these are woven throughout the text.

STRUCTURE AND FEATURES OF A PERSONAL NARRATIVE

Personal narrative structure.

ORIENTATION Explain the who, what, when, and where of the experience in your introduction to your audience.

FOCUS Mainly focus on meaningful events.

CHRONOLOGY Events are described in the sequence in which they occurred.

ORGANIZATION Relevant information is organized into paragraphs

INSIGHT & MEANING Include personal comments, opinions or interpretations of the experience or event in your personal narrative.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES

TENSE The first and third person are used most frequently and recall is always written in the past tense. Present tense can be used for analysis and opinion.

NOUNS Use proper nouns to refer to specific people, places times and events

VOICE Both active and passive voice are used in recounts. Use these to express your emotions and thinking clearly.

CONNECTIVES Use conjunctions and connectives to link events and indicate time sequence in your personal narrative.

A COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING

Teach your students to write AMAZING PERSONAL NARRATIVES using a proven model of research skills, writing strategies and engaging content. ALL CONTENT, RESOURCES AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS INCLUDED covering.

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HOW LONG SHOULD A PERSONAL NARRATIVE BE?

The personal narrative is a modern text type and therefore has no traditionally defined optimum length, and we can find texts ranging from a couple of hundred words to a multi-volume series in this genre. 

However, for our students, this text type can be thought of in terms of length as similar to an essay. Like an essay, the text needs to be long enough to comprehensively answer the question, prompt, or the event/experience the student is retelling.

David Sedaris, the American writer and one of the best-known writers of humorous personal narratives, has written many books that could accurately be classified in this genre.

While these full-length books are often built around a loose theme, each chapter could stand alone as a personal narrative essay in its own right, each built around a single identifiable experience or event. 

As with an essay, the length of a personal narrative can be based on a variety of factors, including:

• Age and ability of the students
• Specifics of the question or writing prompt
• Any limitation imposed by a word count
• The complexity of the event/experience being written about.

Regardless of length, given its structural similarity with the essay, personal narratives usually follow a basic three-part structure.

HOW TO WRITE A PERSONAL NARRATIVE STEP-BY-STEP

We mentioned previously that this text type is relatively modern, so there aren’t many fixed rules concerning structure. That said, we can usually identify three distinct parts of a personal narrative corresponding to the three parts outlined in the hamburger essay or the 5-paragraph essay format. These are:

• The introduction
• The body paragraphs
• The conclusion

If you want an in-depth guide to this format, check out our comprehensive article here . But, for now, let’s take a brief look at the purpose of each section as it relates to a personal narrative.

WRITING THE INTRODUCTION OF A PERSONAL NARRATIVE

The introduction of a personal narrative performs several functions. 

1: It hooks the Reader

The first job of the introduction is to ‘hook’ the reader. If we can’t catch the reader’s interest initially, there will be no middle or end for the reader. A strong hook is needed at the very outset, and it can take several forms. 

Some effective hooks to open a personal narrative with include:

• A bold claim
• An interesting anecdote
• A fascinating fact or revealing statistic
• A compelling quotation

Whichever technique the student chooses to open their narrative with, they should ensure it is relevant to the subject matter explored, whether it focuses on external or internal events or experiences or a mixture of both. 

2: It orients the Reader

Like many other nonfiction and fiction text types, the opening paragraph (or paragraphs) will also orient the reader by answering some basic questions such as:

• What is the text about?
• Who is in this story?
• Where is it set?
• When do the events or experiences occur?

While it may also hint at why these events or experiences matter, a detailed answer to the why of a personal narrative may be saved for the text’s conclusion.

This section of the personal narrative can also be thought of as The Exposition .

3: It Sets the Tone

The introduction reveals not only what the text will be about but also how the writer (and, by extension, the reader) will treat the topic. This is the tone.

For example, a more sombre tone has been established where the language used is serious and formal. In this instance, the reader will adopt a more serious approach to the work.

On the other hand, if the treatment of the event or experience is humorous, this will be apparent in the language choices the writer makes and the mood they establish. Going forward, the reader can reasonably expect to be amused by what’s to come in the text.

THE BODY PARAGRAPHS OF A PERSONAL NARRATIVE

The body paragraphs of a personal narrative comprise the bulk of the text. 

As with any type of recount, this section will generally focus on the chronological retelling of an event or experience. 

However, there is another significant difference between this type of recount and the other types.’ The root of this difference can be found in the word ‘narrative’.

While the body paragraphs of a personal narrative can make use of some of the defining characteristics of more traditional types of recount, if the introduction acts as the exposition of the setting and character of the story, the body paragraphs move the text along its story arc.

Though we will cover the main elements briefly, structuring a story is an art in itself and if you want to find out more about it, check out our detailed article on the subject here.

Also, if you want to learn more about the structure of general recounts, find out more here .

While we’ve seen that the introduction of a personal narrative corresponds to a story’s exposition, the following elements of a story arc can be found in the text’s body.

1: The Problem

The problem or conflict is an essential ingredient in any story worth the name. It creates the story’s focal point, ignites the reader’s interest, and drives the story forward. In a personal narrative, this problem can be internal or external, however, there is often an emphasis placed on how the issues affect the writer psychologically.  2: The Rising Action  

As the narrative develops, the dramatic tension will tend to increase. The main problem will intensify, or the writer may introduce additional more minor problems to amp things up. 3: The Climax

This is where the story reaches its dramatic high point. In the case of a personal narrative where the conflict or problem is psychological, this drama and its climax may play out internally.

WRITING THE CONCLUSION OF YOUR PERSONAL NARRATIVE ESSAY

This third and final section of the personal narrative performs a slightly different function to a regular essay’s conclusion. 

While the conclusions of most nonfiction text types focus on restating a central thesis and/or providing a summary of arguments, the conclusion in a personal narrative follows a story’s final section more closely. 

That is, it usually contains the story’s falling action and resolution.

Let’s take a quick look at each.

1: The Falling Action

The story arc dips in dramatic tension after the dramatic high point of the climax. As personal narratives often focus on ‘internal’ events, this ‘action’ can also occur internally. 2: Resolution

The resolution marks the end of the story, and in this text type, it usually involves some personal change in circumstances or transformation. It can also take the form of a lesson learned or new knowledge attained.

TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT PERSONAL NARRATIVE ESSAY

• Begin with a clear and compelling story: Your personal narrative essay should focus on a significant event or experience in your life that you want to share with the reader.
• Write in the first person perspective: Use “I” statements to describe your experiences and thoughts and take us inside your mind.
• Be descriptive: To bring your story to life, use descriptive language to paint a picture of the sights, sounds, and emotions of your experience.
• Focus on what matters the most: Tell a powerful story with just a few key details. When writing your personal narrative, focus on the most impactful events and thoughts that help convey your message.
• Emphasize the impact the experience had upon you: Leave the reader with a clear understanding of the impact that the experience had on your life.
• Be true to yourself: Ensure your personal narrative essay is honest and genuine in your descriptions and reflections.
• Deliver a powerful ending: The conclusion should summarize the major points of your essay and leave the reader with a lasting impression.
• Review and Revise: Don’t be afraid to proofread your essay several times to ensure it is the best it can be.

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

PERSONAL NARRATIVE PRACTICE EXERCISE: ACTIVITY 1

• Organise your students into small groups of four or five
• Provide each group with a selection of personal recounts
• Can the students identify how each sample text attempts to hook the reader in the opening paragraph?
• How effectively does the introduction of each text orient the reader?
• What is the tone of the text? How has this tone been created?

PERSONAL NARRATIVE PRACTICE EXERCISE: ACTIVITY 2

In their groups, with their sample personal narrative texts, ask students to identify how the writer deals with each element as listed below and discuss how effectively they have done so.

• The Problem
• The Rising Action

PERSONAL NARRATIVE PRACTICE EXERCISE: ACTIVITY 3

Now students understand how to structure and write each stage of their personal narrative, encourage them to spend some time brainstorming events and experiences from their lives that could serve as the topic for their writing.

When they have chosen a suitable topic, instruct them to begin planning the writing of their text using the categories listed above. They might even wish to create a simple graphic organizer to help. 

For example:

Introduction

• What is the opening hook?

Body Paragraphs

• What is the central problem?
• What happens in the rising action?
• How does the climax play out?
• What happens in the falling action?
• What is the resolution of the story?

Once students have their narrative adequately planned, it’s time to get them writing earnestly to put all that theory into practice.

PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING TEMPLATE / GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING EXAMPLES

VIDEO TUTORIAL ON PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING

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RELEVANT ARTICLES

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How to Write a Historical Recount Text

5 Easy Recount Writing Lesson Plans students love.

15 Awesome Recount & Personal Narrative Topics

Narrative Writing | Student Writing Samples

Personal Experience Narrative Sample- Grade 5

Read Time 2 mins | Dec 8, 2021 3:42:12 PM | Written by: Toolbox

Personal Experience Narrative Grade 5 Sample Jason

This is a story about my friend Jason and me . The experience was going on the Omega ramp at a skateboard park . The experience concluded when I am successful on the ramp with Jason’s support .  

What worked:

• Entertaining Beginning:   There is a sense of story with a beginning, middle, and end.
• Extended Ending:   There is a successful ending that is clear to the reader.
• The theme of friendship is evident in the story.

Feedback with Prescriptive Feedback:

CHOOSE a Focus Skill: One skill that will make the biggest impact

Entertaining Beginnings:  

• Section 2 Lesson 1: Starting Off on the Right Foot
• Section 2 Lesson 2: Analyze the Beginning
• Section 2 Lesson 3: Revising Story Beginnings

Elaborative Detail: This student needs modeled lessons in description of setting and feelings.  Elaborative detail is a critical foundational skill that builds the essential parts of the narrative story. 

• Section 3 Lesson 3: General or Specific?  The awareness level for elaborative detail.
• Section 3 Lesson 5: Creating Elaborative Segments (modeling is crucial)

Main Event: Student needs to elaborate the main event by answering the productive questions.

• Section 5 Lesson 1: Comparing Summaries and Fully Elaborated Main Events
• Section 5 Lesson 2: Main Event- students apply the productive questioning techniques in order to fully elaborate a main event.  (scripted model lesson)

Recommended Resources

• Empowering Writer's Methodology
• Narrative Writing Guide for Grade 5