Kentucky Reading and Writing C.9-10.3.g

ELAGrades 9–10Composition

The Standard

C.9-10.3: Use narratives strategically in other modes of writing, utilizing effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured sequences for an intended purpose, including but not limited to introducing an idea and/or supporting a claim.

Provide a conclusion that explicitly connects the narrative’s relevance to the intended purpose of the writing.

Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing (2025) · Text Types and Purpose

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students end a narrative by showing why the events matter to the point they wanted to make. They connect a specific moment in the story to that point, rather than just stopping the action.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can finish the story and make its purpose clear. In a story meant to show why honesty matters, the ending connects telling the truth to what happened next or what the narrator learned.
Common Misconceptions: Students may stop as soon as the last event happens, leaving readers to guess why it matters. Others add a generic lesson, such as 'Never give up,' that does not fit the story.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: A narrator misses the bus and asks a neighbor for help; the writer wants to show that asking for help takes courage. Write a two-sentence ending that connects the event to that point.

Lesson moves

Put a story about admitting to a lost library book on paper strips; pairs replace its ending to show why honesty matters.
Ask students: 'If a story is about admitting a mistake, does ending with "Then I went home" show why the story matters?'
Play ending match: give groups three endings and three purposes for a story about losing a game, then have them explain their matches.
Use a summer job application prompt about responsibility; students end a story about returning a lost wallet by explaining why that choice matters.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to C.9-10.3.g, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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