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Anecdote Examples and Worksheets

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An anecdote is a brief telling or story of an interesting, and usually funny, incident or occurrence.  We often give anecdotes in our everyday lives. We give an anecdote when we tell our friends or family about something funny or interesting that happened during our day. The difference between a short story and an anecdote is that an anecdote is quick and tries to get to the point of the story.

Anecdotes are intended to be true accounts, and the point of the story becomes more important than how the story is told. Since the story is true, the point of the story is to reveal a simple truth or characteristic about the storytellers life or a truth about humans in general. They can be about anything as long as it is something that happened to you or happened around you.

Many people use anecdotes to help highlight or stress their point, or they use it to stress the importance of the information they are giving. This is especially typical with health professionals, teachers, parents, and protection agencies. For instance, a police officer might tell the story of how a driver was given a ticket for not following a rule of the road before talking about road safety. A teacher might talk about how his or her family celebrates a holiday before talking to a classroom about the meaning of a holiday and how different cultures celebrate it. A tutor might tell the student that he or she had problems with math before helping a student with a math problem. These anecdotes serve different purposes. They can help others understand something, or it can used to make others feel better when they struggle at something.

While many anecdotes have a purpose, whether it be to prepare a class or highlight your point, they can be used naturally in conversation just to continue conversation and share stories with others.

The following are situations in which someone might use an anecdote:

  • A parent might tell their child a story about when they went out before their child goes out with friends for the night.
  • If a woman becomes a mother, her own mother might tell her a story about when she first became a mother.
  • If someone has a strange dream, you might share with them a strange dream you had once.
  • If a friend is training their dog, you might tell a story about how you successfully trained your dog with a specific training method.
  • If you move to a new town, you might meet someone who tells you that they were once new in town to make you feel comfortable.
  • Before a teacher talks about a subject, he may discuss how he used that particular skill in real life to make the lesson seem more important.
  • When passing a farm or particular place of work, someone may tell a story about how they used to live or work on a farm, or they may talk about when they worked at a particular place or company.
  • A fireman might tell the story about how he fought a fire caused by carelessness when teaching students about the importance of fire safety.

Famous Anecdotes

About Nikola Tesla, scientist:

Nikola Tesla was known to be very fond of birds. He used to go to a park every day to feed the pigeons. He found an injured pigeon and spent thousands of dollars to fix its broken bones. He brought it back to health and he the pigeon became companions.

This anecdote is used to show the tenderheartedness and compassion of the great scientist who is usually just known for his scientific endeavors and inventions.

Anecdote Worksheets

This bundle contains 5 ready-to-use anecdote worksheets that are perfect to test student knowledge and understanding of what an anecdote is and how it can be used. You can use these anecdote worksheets in the classroom with students, or with home schooled children as well.

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Link will appear as Anecdote Examples and Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, July 14, 2017

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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