Bend I: Writing Small Moments that Matter

How can you use moments from your life to tell stories and write focused narratives?

Session 1: Finding Moments that Matter 

“Today I want to teach you that when writers write about their lives, they search for the moments that stand out from the rest. To tell your story, it can help to start with a moment that matters to you. You can think about important times in your life and the feelings you had and write the story of those moments.”

Session 2: Planning and Writing Small Moment Stories 

“Today I want to remind you that writers rehearse by planning how their books will go. They can turn the pages and tell the whole story before they write.”

Session 3: Hugging the Moment 

“Today I want to teach you that when writers find a moment that matters, they hug it tightly. They start and end the story close to the most important part. That means that when the moment ends, the story ends.”

Session 4: Including Feelings in Your Stories 

“Today I want to teach you that when you write the story of a moment that matters—and you think of the feelings you had—you can actually tell those W.2.3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure. 6 ■ May be reproduced for classroom use. ©2023 by RWPN, LLC. feelings in the story. And as you write across the pages, the feelings often change from the beginning to the end of the story.”

Session 5: Reaching for Just-Right Words 

“Today I want to teach you that writers aren’t satisfied unless they find words that are just right for their stories. When they want to describe a feeling, writers reach for the word that exactly matches the feeling.”

Session 6: Spelling Bravely 

“Today I want to remind you that writing the just-right words matters. To do that, writers have to spell tough words bravely. They can say the word, listen closely to the parts in the word, and then write what they hear, part by part.”

Session 7: Reflecting on the Big Work of the Bend 

“Today I want to teach you that writers take time to study and appreciate other people’s writing. When writers study writing, they notice things that they want to do too. They also notice next steps the writer could take.”