A third-grade personal narrative should start with an introduction. Have students set up the scene in the first person with an opening that grabs the reader's attention, for example: "When I woke up that morning I thought it would be like any other school day. I soon found out that it wasn't. My parents were asleep when they should have been up. I was scared and didn't know what to do." Notice that the introduction also contains the author's feelings about the situation.
The body of the personal narrative should be made up of the events, told in order. In the above example, it might be about a child who wakes up, is worried because his parents aren't awake on time, scrambles to get dressed, makes his own breakfast and then discovers that it is Saturday. The narrative should detail all of these steps in chronological order. Have third-grade students make a new paragraph for each important detail.
A third-grade personal narrative should be punctuated with tactile details and the author's personal feelings. He might describe, for instance, how dark it is in the house with all the lights off, the empty sound of silence in the house and the bitter taste of his breakfast all alone. He might also describe the knot in his stomach when he thinks he will be late for school and the feeling of relief when he realizes it is Saturday.
The conclusion of a third-grade personal narrative should be brief and interesting. In addition to summing up the story, the author relates what he learned from the experience and how he changed. In the above example, it might read as follows: "It was a scary way to begin the weekend, but I felt relieved that I didn't have to go to school. From now on I will always check my calendar first thing in the morning."