If you like to start the school year off by teaching personal narratives, you’re not alone! Many teachers use personal narrative writing prompts to get to know their students. It is one of the best ways to break the ice, especially with young students! It’s also a great way for you to get a baseline for their writing level!
But no matter what time of year you are having your elementary students write personal narratives, this blog post can help you! I’m going to share lots of personal narrative prompts that you can use with your elementary students, plus lesson plans that can help walk your students through the writing process.

Why I Like to Teach Personal Narrative Writing at the Beginning of the Year
This writing topic gives students a comfortable way to ease into learning writing skills because with a personal narrative, students are writing about their own personal experiences.
TIP———-> If you allow your students to share their narratives, this can be a way you can help your students get to know each other and build classroom community.
Personal Narrative Writing Prompts for Elementary Students
Oftentimes, students have memorable experiences from the summer so these can be easy things to have your students write about.
However, not all students enjoy their summer vacations the same way so it’s important to have alternate ideas to help students come up with ideas for their short story. There are many different personal narrative topics that you can brainstorm with your students.
Back to School: Here are some personal narrative writing prompts that are great alternatives to “what I did this summer”:
- The best day I ever had
- My favorite place in nature
- My favorite day at school
- My favorite time with a family member
- My best birthday
- My favorite holiday
- The funniest thing that ever happened to you
- The best field trip you ever took
- A time something embarrassing or silly happened
- A time you got hurt or broke a bone
- The biggest storm you ever experienced
- A favorite memory with a sibling or other relative
- A time you did something special for someone else
- The best surprise you ever had
- The time you had to make a difficult decision
- The time you made a new friendship
- The first time you got a pet
- The time you moved or changed schools
- A time when you get lost
- A time when you played a sport
- A time when you were a leader
- A time when you were grateful for someone
- A time where you cooked something
- A time when someone needed your help
- A time when the power was out
Here Are Even More FUN Narrative Writing Prompts:
- A time I got the giggles and couldn’t stop
- The weirdest thing I’ve ever eaten
- A time I played a prank on someone (or they played one on me!)
- The most unusual wild animal I’ve ever seen
- The time I tried a new food and loved it (or hated it!)
- A time I got messy (like REALLY messy!)
- The most fun I’ve ever had in the snow
- A time I got to stay up way past my bedtime
- A time when something didn’t go as planned but turned out great
- A time I won a prize or contest
- A time I went to an amusement park or fair
- The time I tried something I was scared of
- A time I made up a new game or activity
- The coolest or weirdest thing I’ve ever found
- A time I got to be in charge of something
- A time I visited a foreign country
- The time I found a treasure (or something I thought was a treasure!)
- A time I made up a secret handshake
- A time I got to ride something fun (like a roller coaster or a horse)
- A time I got to meet my favorite celebrity, or someone cool
- A time I went on an adventure in my backyard or neighborhood
- The most fun I’ve ever had at a sleepover or party
- A time I tried to make my own recipe
- A time I made a mistake that turned out okay
- A time I danced or sang in front of people
- A time I tried to teach someone how to do something
- A time I made something out of random objects
- A time I played dress-up or wore something funny
- A time I went exploring in an unexpected place
- The time I learned how to do a trick or talent
Writing Process for Personal Narratives
If you’re looking for lesson plans to help your students write their own personal narratives, then my writing units have everything you need. (These can be used for any grade level, but my units are specifically aligned to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade writing standards.)
There are twelve lesson plans that can be taught back to back or spread out over a few weeks. The pace you set is up to you!
The lesson plans cover:
- Brainstorming Topics
- Picking a Small Moment
- Remembering Details
- Writing a Skeleton Outline
- Developing a Strong Introduction
- Writing the First Draft
- Writing as a Paragraph
- Adding Details (Concrete Details for 4th and 5th Grade)
- Writing a Conclusion
- Editing With a Partner
- Revising & Revisiting the Rubric
- Publishing the Final Copy

The main point of a personal narrative is that students are writing their own stories about something they experienced themselves. Throughout the unit, you can have your students narrow down to a small moment so they can write specific details about their memory.
Personal narratives are a great opportunity to work on crafting introductions and conclusions since the story the students are telling has natural beginnings and endings. (This is a more abstract concept for students when they are writing informational pieces.)

Other Personal Narrative Writing Activities
Maybe you’d like to use these creative writing prompts differently (besides having your students write narrative essays each time). Here are some ideas:
- Try incorporating them into writing centers where students can choose a prompt and craft short stories.
- You could also use the prompts as morning journal entries to get students thinking and writing right away when they settle in in the morning.
- For group activities, have students share their responses in pair-and-share discussions to practice speaking and listening skills.
- Another idea? Turn prompts into comic strips or visual narratives, letting students illustrate their stories alongside their writing.
Are you ready to teach personal narratives? Get everything you need with these personal narrative writing units:
Looking for writing prompts for fictional narratives? Check out this post next time!
