Name: _____________________________________________________________ Date: ____________________________

Narrative Writing Checklist: Grade 5

I write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques,
descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
How is my Narrative writing? Did I write like a fifth grader? YES NO

I wrote an engaging beginning and established a setting or situation for my  

Introduction story (where, when, mood) to help orient my reader.
It is easy to tell who is telling the story (point of view).  
Writing Structure & Organization

I introduced the characters and described them in an interesting way.  

Organization I wrote my story with actions and events that happen in natural order.  
I used paragraphs to separate what happened first from what happened later  
(and finally) in my story.
Transitions I used a variety of interesting transition words and phrases to manage the  
sequence of events.

Conclusion I wrote an ending that connected to the main parts of the story. The character  
said, did, or realized something at the end that came from what happened in
the story. I gave readers a sense of closure.
Elaboration I wrote my story in such a way that readers could picture the actions, thoughts,  I
and feelings of my characters. .
Development & Elaboration of Ideas

I used dialogue to help readers know what my characters were thinking and  
feeling.
I used details and descriptions to develop the experiences and events in my  
story.
I showed how my characters responded to situations.  
I included precise words, phrases, and sensory details to bring life to my story.  
I used figurative language.

Task Focus My whole piece stays focused on my task or prompt.  

Vocabulary I used strong words, phrases, and clauses correctly to bring my writing to life.  
I used complete sentences.  
Conventions & Word Choice

Grammar
Punctuation Before I wrote my final draft I checked to make sure I used punctuation  
correctly (capitalization, commas, quotations, etc.)
Language

Language

Spelling Before I wrote my final draft I checked to make sure all my words were spelled  
correctly or I used resources to help me spell words I wasn’t sure about.

Sentence I vary the length of my sentences and I used different kinds of sentences to  
make my writing interesting and to draw my reader in.
Fluency
I started my sentences with different beginnings.  

Developed by Educational Performance Consultants. Design inspired by the work of Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study.