Sharing Experiences Worksheet

This sharing experiences worksheet gives first graders a friendly, uncluttered place to plan a story about something that really happened to them. Telling about an experience is the first kind of narrative writing a child is asked to do, and the hard part is almost never the memory — it is holding the parts of the day in order long enough to get them onto paper. This page makes that order visible: name what the story is about, write what happened first, write what happened next, then add the describing words that let a reader picture it.

The page works with any experience a child brings to school, so it can be pulled out all year long. A student writes the topic on the line at the top, fills the two numbered event boxes underneath, and finishes with a short list of words that tell more — the colors, sounds, and feelings that turn a plain retelling into a story worth listening to. Every writing line runs the full width of the page at first grade handwriting size, so there is real room to write instead of a cramped dash. Because every response is the child’s own experience, the page ships as one printable sheet a class can use again and again.

What’s Included

• One printable single-page personal narrative planner
• A topic line at the top for what the story is about
• Two numbered event boxes for what happened first and next
• A describing words box with two full-width writing lines
• First grade writing bands and solid rules sized for young handwriting
• Name and date line for easy classroom collection

Three Reasons This Helps Kids

• It puts the story in order. Two numbered boxes ask for first and next by name, so a child plans a sequence instead of writing one long run-on memory.
• It separates planning from writing. Getting the pieces down in short lines first means a young writer is not inventing and spelling and sequencing all at the same time, which is usually what stalls a first grader.
• It builds describing vocabulary on purpose. Asking for words that tell more turns adjectives from a grammar lesson into a tool the child actually reaches for while writing.

Ideas for Teachers and Parents

Use this first grade narrative writing worksheet on a Monday morning to capture the weekend, after a field trip, or as the planning step before a longer narrative draft. Model one together first: tell the class about something small that happened to you, think aloud as you fill the topic line, then take the two events and the describing words from volunteers so every student sees what belongs in each box. Then let students plan their own day. Ask them to read their finished page aloud to a partner and have the partner say the two events back in order — that quick check catches the child who wrote two versions of the same moment. For a speaking and listening extension, let each student share their plan with the whole group before drafting. Keep finished plans in a writing folder so students can watch their own sharing experiences worksheet pages get longer and more detailed across the year.

Related Resources

• Narrative Writing Brainstorming Worksheet
• Narrative Writing Small Moments Worksheet
• Writing a Narrative Organizer Worksheet
• Story Elements Song (Have Fun Teaching)