Question

Students in a fifth-grade class are working on writing personal narratives. After examining their first drafts, the teacher realizes the students need additional scaffolding to be successful. Which of the following instructional methods will best help students develop their personal narratives?

A. Giving students a list of lively, descriptive, emotional, and precise words to consider using.
B. Reminding students that varying sentence structure makes writing more interesting.
C. Providing students with a review and checklist for how to write effective thesis statements.
D. Encouraging students to support key details with logic, facts, and quantifiable evidence.

Answer 1

For fifth-grade students working on personal narratives, the best instructional methods are to provide a list of vivid descriptive words and teach them about the impact of varied sentence structure on their writing.

Step-by-step explanation:

Among the instructional methods suggested, providing students with a review and checklist for how to write effective thesis statements would not be the best option for developing personal narratives in a fifth-grade class, as personal narratives do not typically require a thesis statement like more formal essays do. Giving students a list of lively, descriptive, emotional, and precise words can support their ability to create engaging and vivid narratives. Also, reminding students that varying sentence structure makes writing more interesting can help improve the flow and readability of their narratives. Lastly, encouraging students to support key details with logic, facts, and quantifiable evidence is more relevant in expository or persuasive writing than in personal narratives which are more focused on personal experiences and reflections. Therefore, for fifth-grade students working on personal narratives, the best instructional methods would be to provide them with descriptive words to enrich their storytelling and to enlighten them on the benefits of varied sentence structure.