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Create a Visual Timeline for Writing a Narrative

Tags

ELA: Writing ^Music, Art and Makerspaces All Ages Strategy

Skills

Organization Verbal Reasoning Abstract Reasoning

Create a Visual Timeline for Writing a Narrative

If your student has difficulty explaining ideas in sequential order

How To Apply It!

  1. When writing personal narratives or stories, mapping out the events in a timeline format can be a great way to "see" the sequence of your story and determine if it makes sense or if events need to be added or taken away.
  2. Turn your paper sideways and draw a timeline. Make a dot and write in or draw pictures of your story's events in sequence.
  3. Leave enough room between dots so that you can add events that are missing, or add more detail as needed.
  4. Older students can space out the dots relative to general timing of events, so they may group together details surrounding a big event.
  5. Go back and re-read your timeline to make sure this sequence of events communicates your story well.
  6. Consider if you need to add more events or remove less important details. If you are not sure, this can be a good time to ask your teacher.
  7. Creating a quick timeline by hand is generally more efficient, but there are digital timeline and mapping options.

Why It Works (the Science Of Learning)!

Students who think more visually can benefit from laying out and seeing their stories in a visual format to ensure the sequence is understandable and thorough. Students who have difficulty including enough details or excluding non-essential items might find this strategy helps them see where they have enough or too much.