Narrative Essay Lesson
The goal
This lesson has a simple learning outcome: define the features of a narrative essay. But I also wanted to get learners excited and curious about stories. How could I make storytelling fun? How could I get them to draw on what they already know about the stories they know and love? My aim was to show them that narrative essays are just stories and that they exist all around us, not just in an English lesson!
Click the images below to see the learning path of this lesson.
Lesson hook
This lesson starts with a bit of fun to hook the learner's attention. Everybody loves a good ghost story!
Make it fun
Next the lesson starts with a visual story, a short Pixar film about falling in love. Even learners who are not big readers can connect to storytelling through this short film.
Let's get thinking
The Pixar example becomes a launchpad to thinking about the features of a story. In a low stakes brainstorm activity, the learners try to pin down what a story actually is. This encourages independent thinking. They then consolidate some of their ideas in a short video.
Interactivity
Now it's time to develop this information in more depth. A common pitfall at this point is to write endless notes that encourage passive learners. To keep learners engaged, this section includes interactivity, where appropriate.
Chunking content
There is also careful chunking. By presenting content in 'small bites', the learners are able to tackle and master information at a steady pace, without getting overwhelmed.