Step 1: Plan for Success 

Starting with Step 1: Plan for Success, students were given a “Never Ending List” template to fill in their ideas for the different parts of a story.

As a younger primary group, these students use a template to plan their ideas by cutting out the characters, settings, problems and resolutions and sticking them on the template. Once they filled the grid out, they practised mixing and matching different parts to come up with a creative narrative.

This activity helps students come up with original, exciting and interesting ideas for their narrative writing!

Hayley @lifeandloveoflearning
Year 1/2, South Australia

Step 1: Plan for Success 

These Year 3 students were given a warm-up activity to brainstorm some ideas for the following words: 

• Jump
• Run
• Ice
• Ball

After just a few minutes of classroom brainstorming, these students have so many ideas to choose from when starting their narrative piece!

Mrs Praolini @mrspraolini
Year 3, South Australia

Step 4: Dynamic Dialogue 

Paper Fight Action Activity

Focusing on Step 4: Dynamic Dialogue and narrative writing, these students were engaged with a fun and interactive action activity!

This activity highlights how dialogue should:

• build characterisation
• help move the plot forward
• be interesting to read.

Mr Johnston @mr.j.learning.space 
Stage 3, New South Wales

Step 5: Show, Don’t Tell 

These clever Year 5 students were asked to use Step 5: Show, Don’t Tell to paint a spooky word picture.

After only two sessions working on this Step, here are some fantastic examples of their work!

Miss Sullivan
@teachingwithmisssullivan  
Year 5, Western Australia

Step 1: Plan for Success 

Over two lessons, these Year 4 students planned their arguments out using the persuasive story graphs. They then wrote a persuasive text for the topic: School uniforms are necessary!  

Miss Mulholland
@said_the_teacher 
Year 4, Victoria

Step 6: Ban the Boring

Step 7: Endings with Impact

‘All students should be taught how to swim’ was the topic chosen by this Year 5 student. 

It might be one of the best persuasive writing exemplars we’ve ever seen!

Mrs Kulikowski
@teacher_blog_aus
Year 5, Western Australia

Step 2: Sizzling Starts

Step 7: Endings with Impact

This activity is used often in this Year 6 classroom to encourage students to generate ideas quickly, write a first draft, collaborate with others and edit their work.

Students are given a topic (related to what they’ve been focusing on in the classroom) and a purpose (this time: to persuade).

@theclassroomdoorway
Year 6, New South Wales

Step 2: Sizzling Starts 

Book Week

Using a mentor text during Book Week (Walk of the Whales), this fun classroom activity was to  ‘draw a blue whale’. Then students were asked to write alternative beginnings using their knowledge of Step 2: Sizzling Starts. 

@teachingwithgratitude 
Year 2/3/4 Students, Regional Victoria

Step 2: Sizzling Starts 

For a fast and fun lesson, these Year 6 students were placed into small groups, and chose one of these informative topics out of a hat:

• Saliva
• Summer on Uranus last 21 Years

Then they were given 15 minutes to come up with these Sizzling Starts!

Tania @sparkle_in_6
Year 6, Western Australia