tense aspect

[sebayanpendam]

hi, i have a question about tense aspects. when i write a narrative , i use the simple past tense most of the time. Somehow, to me, the usage of the simple past tense and past continuous tense are almost similar. for example,

1. Ally walked to school the other day when she missed a bus.
2. Ally was walking to school the other day when she missed a bus.

Am i right in this sense? If not, what would be the difference between the two?

thanks

 

[euncu]

***neither a teacher nor a native-speaker***

I think, it'd be better to re-write the sentence like this;

Ally walked to school the other day, since she had missed the bus.

 

[billmcd]

In No. 1, she walked to school because she missed the bus.
In No. 2, she was already in the process of walking and missed the bus. And as written, it would mean to me that, perhaps she was not paying attention and, the bus passed during the process of walking.